It has been announced that three matches of the Japanese national rugby team in the new international tournament, the "Nations Championship 2026," which kicks off in July, will be broadcast live at 36 Aeon Cinemas nationwide. This was made possible through a collaboration between WOWOW, which will broadcast and stream the tournament live, and Aeon Entertainment, which operates Aeon Cinemas.
The Nations Championship features two groups of six countries: one representing the Northern Hemisphere (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, and Italy), and the other representing the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa), plus Japan and Fiji. Held every two years, the inaugural tournament will take place in July and November this year.
Each country will compete against the six countries in the opposite group. The winners of the Northern Hemisphere group and the winners of the Southern Hemisphere group will compete in the Finals Weekend, while the remaining teams will play matches to earn points for their respective groups.
The dates and times for the Japan national team matches that will be broadcast live at Aeon Cinemas are as follows:
"Japan vs Italy" = Doors open at 5:00 PM on July 4th, kickoff at 5:40 PM (Commentary by Fumiaki Tanaka, play-by-play by Hiroshi Sumita) ▽ "Japan vs Ireland" = Doors open at 6:40 PM on July 11th, kickoff at 7:10 PM (Commentary by Daisuke Ohata, play-by-play by Hiroaki Taniguchi) ▽ "Japan vs France" = Doors open at 5:00 PM, kickoff at 5:40 PM (Guest commentators: Ayumu Goromaru, Shotaro Onishi, play-by-play by Kenjiro Toyohara)
The theaters showing the live viewing are as follows. The price is 4,000 yen for adults and 2,000 yen for high school students and younger (please purchase tickets on the Aeon Cinema official website).
Hokkaido = Aeon Cinema Ebetsu; Miyagi Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Shinrifu; Iwate Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Ezuriko; Gunma Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Ota; Saitama Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Kumagaya, Aeon Cinema Kasukabe, Aeon Cinema Kawaguchi; Tokyo = Aeon Cinema Theaters Chofu, Aeon Cinema Itabashi, Aeon Cinema Tama Center, Aeon Cinema Musashimurayama; Chiba Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Ichikawa Myoden, Aeon Cinema Chiba New Town, Aeon Cinema Makuhari Shintoshin; Kanagawa Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Kohoku New Town, Aeon Cinema Shin-Yurigaoka, Aeon Cinema Zama, Aeon Cinema Minatomirai; Niigata Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Niigata Nishi; Ishikawa Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Kanazawa Forus; Nagano Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Suzaka; Shizuoka Prefecture = Aeon Cinema Fujinomiya
Aichi Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Odaka, Aeon Cinema Toyota KiTARA, Aeon Cinema Toyokawa; Mie Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Suzuka; Osaka Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Shijonawate, Aeon Cinema Rinku Sennan, Aeon Cinema Ibaraki; Kyoto Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Kyoto Katsuragawa; Hyogo Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Akashi, Aeon Cinema Sanda Woody Town; Hiroshima Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Hiroshima; Kagawa Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Utazu; Fukuoka Prefecture: Aeon Cinema Fukuoka, Aeon Cinema Tobata
