【78th Japan Handball Championship】2026 Tournament Guidelines Announced: New Rest Days and Return to Komazawa After 10 Years

The Japan Handball Association has announced the guidelines for the 78th Japan Handball Championship (Men's/Women's Divisions). The men's tournament will be held from December 8 (Tue) to December 13 (Sun), 2026, and the women's tournament from December 15 (Tue) to December 20 (Sun), 2026, both at the Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Ground Gymnasium in Tokyo.

## Tournament Overview

### Men's Division
- Duration: December 8 (Tue) - 13 (Sun), 2026
- Rest Day: December 11 (Fri)
- Venues: Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium (full schedule), Indoor Ball Court (Days 1 & 2)

### Women's Division
- Duration: December 15 (Tue) - 20 (Sun), 2026
- Rest Day: December 18 (Fri)
- Venues: Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium (full schedule), Indoor Ball Court (Days 1 & 2)

Organizer: Japan Handball Association
Supervision: Japan Handball Association, Tokyo Handball Association
Special Support: Yomiuri Shimbun
Sponsors: Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., Sanki Engineering Co., Ltd., Ajinomoto Co., Inc., SSK Corporation (Hummel), Molten Corporation

## Key Points

### 1. New Rest Days
Rest days have been introduced into the competition schedule for the first time. December 11 (Fri) for the men's tournament and December 18 (Fri) for the women's tournament will be non-match days to ensure conditioning time for players ahead of the semi-finals and finals.

### 2. Participating Teams
Both divisions will feature 24 teams. The breakdown includes League H slots (Men's 12/Women's 11), JHA/Student federation recommendations (2 each), Japan Open recommendation (1 each), and Prefectural representative slots (Men's 9/Women's 10).

### 3. Determination of Eligibility
Participation for League H teams will be decided by the final rankings following the "2025-26 Season League H Playoffs" held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium from June 12-14, 2026.

### 4. Seeding
League H's top 8 teams in both divisions will be seeded and will start from the second round.

### 5. Return to Komazawa
This tournament returns to the Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium after 10 years.