Photo essay: Rugby helps Japan's elderly citizens stay active

Senior citizens are encouraged to take up sport to keep fit and stay bonded to a community

Players from Fuwaku Rugby Club at a training session for the senior over-70s team in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture. All photos: AFP

Yasutake Oshima, 85, second left, with teammates from the Fuwaku Rugby Club, which was created in 1979

Oshima, 85, stretches at his home in Chigasaki in suburban Tokyo

Senior citizens in Japan are encouraged to play full-contact rugby

Senior rugby enthusiasts train at the Fukasawa Multi-Purpose Sports Plaza in Kamakura

Rugby is seen as a great way for older players to keep fit and bonded to a community

The sport is also seen as an effective way to keep senior citizens active and mentally engaged

Rugby enthusiast Yasutake Oshima shows a picture he took in Scotland in 2008

The Fuwaku rugby club was created in 1979 and is one of about 150 clubs in Japan that stage competitive full-contact matches for players over the age of 40

At a match between two over-60s teams at the Tochigi Prefectural Sports Park in Tochigi

Clubs use different colour shorts to identify players, depending on their age

Yasutake Oshima during line-out practice at Fuwaku Rugby Club

Senior citizens prepare for a match in Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture

Fuwaku players during a match in Tochigi prefecture

Senior citizens are encouraged to take up rugby for their mental and physical welfare

A match between two over-60s teams at the Tochigi Prefectural Sports Park

Players over the age of 70 during a training session at the Hodogaya Rugby Stadium in Yokohama

Senior players have many clubs to choose from with about 150 hosting competitive full-contact rugby matches for players over the age of 40

The Fuwaku Rugby Club is one of many in Japan that stages matches for older men

Players during a training session at the Fukasawa Multi-Purpose Sports Plaza in Kamakura

Yasutake Oshima at prayer in his home in suburban Tokyo

A match between seniors in Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture

Rugby is an increasingly popular sport in Japan, which hosted the 2019 Rugby World Cup

When you think of rugby, mental well-being is not likely to be one of the first things that comes to mind.

But in Japan, the full-contact sport has become a unique and effective way to keep a often forgotten section of society engaged – older men.

Rugby is a popular sport in Japan and has approximately 125,000 registered players. About 10,000 of these are veterans – players aged 60 or over.

The game is seen as a great way for older players to stay fit and bonded to a community. It has thus become an important outlet for those who may be living alone.

Yokohama Football Club was the first club in Japan, set up in 1866. However, participation was largely restricted to British and American traders and service personnel.

The Japanese began to get involved at the turn of the 20th century and played their first representative matches in the 1930s.

The Japanese national ruby team, also known as the Cherry Blossoms, have taken part in every Rugby World Cup and made a massive statement in 2015 when they conjured a last-minute 34-32 win over South Africa.

Hosts in 2019 – the first time the World Cup was staged in Asia – Japan produced further upsets by beating Ireland and Scotland to top their pool and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

They lost to eventual champions South Africa but it was a significant moment in the sport and nation's history.

Now, they head to France for the 2023 World Cup. Japan kick off their Pool D matches against Chile – who are also making their debut – in Toulouse on September 10 before taking on England, Samoa and Argentina in the rest of group play.