Mima Ito out of Japan team, Hitomi Sato in

Mima Ito left out of Japan's national team as Hitomi Sato is promoted

October 2026: the Tokyo 2020 medallist is missing from both the squad and the candidate list for the second half of the season

Video: World Table Tennis via YouTube

Mima Ito has been left out of Japan's women's national team for the second half of the 2026 season, with China Smash finalist Hitomi Sato promoted from the candidate list.

The Japan Table Tennis Association's list, dated 1 October and reported in mid-October, names seven players: Miwa Harimoto, Hina Hayata, Satsuki Odo, Hitomi Sato, Honoka Hashimoto, Miyuu Nagasaki and Rin Mende.

Ito was in the squad for the first half of the season but does not appear on the national team or on the 11-player candidate list. Chinese media described it as her first absence from the national team set-up in around 12 years.

Sato earns her place after a strong autumn. The defensive player reached the WTT China Smash final in October, where she lost to Wang Manyu (our report), and she is ninth in the latest world rankings.

Ito won three medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including mixed doubles gold with Jun Mizutani, but she slipped from 25th to 32nd in the world in the Week 46 rankings published on 9 November.

There are no changes in the men's squad, which remains Sora Matsushima, Tomokazu Harimoto, Shunsuke Togami, Hiroto Shinozuka and Yukiya Uda. Seiya Kishikawa and Ei Nakazawa continue as the men's and women's head coaches.