The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) runs from April to August. As of early June this year, there were five Japanese players registered with the league, and players of Japanese descent are also making their mark. We attended the match on 6 June, which, as it happened, turned into a clash between two Japanese goalkeepers.
There are five Japanese players as of June 11, 2026
Tatsunoshin Ishida (Melbourne Ice)
Yu Hikosaka (Perth Thunder)
Ryo Murakami (Sydney Ice Dogs)
Kanta Hashimoto (Central Coast Rhinos - has returned home due to injury)
Akihide Watanabe (Newcastle Northstars)
Listen to SBS Japanese Audio on Tue, Thu and Fri from 1pm on SBS 3.
Replays from 10pm on Tue, Thu and Sat on SBS1.
Listen to past stories from our podcast.
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