--- title: "Nakazawa Kokoro and Negai pursue LA28 in Tokyo; could boost Japan lacrosse's Olympic bid" sdDatePublished: "2026-07-28T13:13:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/lacrosse-womens-world-championship-tokyo-2026-japan-nakazawa-kokoro-nakazawa-negai-la-28" topics: - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" - name: "sport event" identifier: "medtop:20001108" - name: "sport achievement" identifier: "medtop:20001301" - name: "competition discipline" identifier: "medtop:20000822" - name: "people" identifier: "medtop:20000502" locations: - "Yokohama" - "United States" - "Australia" - "Los Angeles" - "Canada" - "Japan" - "Tokyo" - "Louisville" --- Nakazawa Kokoro and Negai pursue LA28 in Tokyo; could boost Japan lacrosse's Olympic bid World Lacrosse Women’s Championship Tokyo 2026: Sisters Nakazawa Kokoro and Negai hope to follow father's footsteps to LA28 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship Tokyo 2026: Nakazawa Kokoro and Negai hope to follow father's footsteps to LA28 The Japanese sisters tell Olympics.com how they want to emulate their famous dad Yuji – who played football at Sydney 2000 – by competing at the Games themselves. As a former Japanese football stalwart, Nakazawa Yuji had his time. He was a two-time FIFA World Cup centre-half, won 110 caps and captained Japan. Nakazawa was the first defender to be named the J.League’s MVP back in 2004, and played at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games . Now it’s the time of his daughters - but in lacrosse . And Nakazawa Kokoro and Nakazawa Negai hope to follow in their father’s footsteps by competing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games . “I think I was in my last year of junior high when word started going around that lacrosse might be in the Olympics in LA,” Kokoro told Olympics.com , ahead of the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship 2026 , currently take place in Tokyo. “At the time, I just thought it would be nice if it happened, not much more. But once it was decided, it became a huge goal in my lacrosse career. My father was at the Games and I want to go, too. “I’ve been watching the Olympics since I was a child. It’s a new, different place for me. Why would I not go after it?” Japan rout Czechia 21-5 in World Lacrosse Women’s Championship opener World Lacrosse Women’s Championship Tokyo 2026: All results and scores World Lacrosse Women’s Championship Tokyo 2026: Preview Japan attacker Nakazawa Kokoro is trying to take her team to the podium at a major competition Nakazawa sisters on studying and playing in the U.S. Japan are ranked fifth in the world, pegged as medal hopes at the 24 July-2 August World Championship, and the Nakazawa sisters are a huge reason why. Kokoro, 25, is two years older than Negai. Kokoro is a graduate of the University of Louisville, who are in the ultra competitive Atlantic Coast Conference - in which Negai’s school, North Carolina, belong to. Lacrosse got serious for Kokoro when she was in junior high school. Through coaching ties from the under-19 national side, the firebrand attacker chose to enroll at a college in the U.S., who are world No. 1 and have won nine of the 11 world titles, including the last four. The hosts of the next Games are the prohibitive favourites to win gold at LA28, where the sport is making an Olympic comeback. Negai, a midfielder, followed Kokoro to Louisville in Kentucky before transferring to UNC after her junior year, and is eyeing the professional Women’s Lacrosse League. Yet the sisters say the difference in the lacrosse culture and environment between the U.S. and Japan remains night and day - and the very reason the U.S. are able to dominate the women’s game the way they do. “This might be a slight exaggeration, but it’s like being part of a professional club,” Negai said. “Of course it is a school but life revolves around lacrosse. You can practise whenever you want, use the field whenever you want. It’s a terrific environment for lacrosse. “Japan on the other hand, academics tend to take priority. But in the States, the setup is there so you can juggle schooling and lacrosse. That’s the impressive thing in America.” Kokoro has graduated from Louisville and is currently an assistant coach at Yokohama National University. She was hoping to turn pro, but was not drafted in what is a difficult league to crack with only four teams, which speaks to the depth of the talent in the U.S. “I am holding on to hope but it’s really tough to get in the door,” Kokoro said. “Whether it’s through this championship or the LA Olympics, I do want to give it a shot. But it’s really competitive. “In the WLL draft, only 16 players get picked, but more than 100 put their hands up so it’s not easy. “Especially for someone who plays in attack like me because there are so many attackers in America. I think I was close, but it just didn’t happen.” Nakazawa Negai and Japan have medal ambitions at LA28 LA28 medal would give “Japanese lacrosse a shot in the arm” At the previous World Championship in 2022, Japan produced their best-ever finish by placing fifth. But they were absolutely clobbered by the eventual champions U.S. 18-3 in the quarter-finals. “Against the No. 1 U.S., we couldn’t do a thing,” Kokoro said. And at the World Games last year - where the Olympic competition format of sixes was used, unlike the traditional field employed for the World championship - Japan lost by a goal to Australia in the bronze-medal game, missing out by a hair on what would’ve been their first podium finish at a major competition. For sure, the Nakazawas and Japan are closing the gap. And they face a huge test on Wednesday (28 July), when the hosts take on second-ranked Canada who have reached the final at the last three championships and are eyeing their maiden world title. Whether Japan break through here on home soil or at the Games two summers from now remains to be seen. But the Nakazawa girls, with Olympic bloodlines and international success coded in their DNA, are certainly up for it. “I wasn’t even born when my father was at the Olympics,” Negai said. “I’ve not been to the Games, it’s still something that’s on TV for me. "But to think that my father was there is pretty amazing and I’m looking forward to being there. We obviously have to get there first but it goes without saying that I want to go - and win. “I’m so excited. It’s incredible. I think we’re lucky. Being sisters, we tend to feel and think about the same things so I feel really fortunate.” Kokoro added: “We felt like we were a world apart from the semi-final teams four years ago. We’ve been working the last four years with that chip on our shoulders. “Then we lost last year at the World Games in the Olympic format. So we definitely want a medal. “We have to win a medal to give Japanese lacrosse a shot in the arm.” Picture by The Yomiuri Shimbun Lacrosse makes its Olympic comeback for LA 2028 Lacrosse is set to return to the Olympics at LA 2028 as a medal sport for the first time since 1908. American Charlotte North is one of the standout stars of the game, and speaks one-on-one with host Nick McCarvel about how the Olympic platform could help lacrosse grow, and why she thinks the sport is so well-suited for the Games. Picture by 2026 Getty Images 24 July - 2 August Lacrosse | Women's Championship | Tokyo | Japan