TOKYO – Japan Rugby League One today announced its referee panel for the 2025-26 season, comprised of six individuals with diverse playing backgrounds and varying levels of officiating experiance. โThe selectionsโฃ signal a commitment too developing bothโ seasoned and emerging talent within theโ league’s officiating ranks.
The panel includes Rikito Nobuhara (born november 6,2006,Kyoto Seisho),a currentโข Otemon Gakuin University student and first-time โreferee; Tetsuya hirakawa (born March โ30,1992,Yokkaichi agriculture โ Ryukei University) with 43 games refereed; Kenkiโ Furuse (born January 25,2002,Higashi Fukuoka โ Waseda University) who hasโ officiated 60 games; Motonoriโ Mizutani (born November 19,1990,Asahigaoka โฃโ โฃHiroshima University) with 22 games under his belt;โ Yusaku Murata (born February 12,1998,Kumamoto Kita โ Fuku โขUniversity โโ Fuku University Graduate School),also a first-time referee; and Koki Yamauchi (born October 6,1995,Yawata โ Nishiโ kyushu University) who has refereed 38 games.
Hirakawa’s playing career included positions as โขa WTB and FB, while Furuse played HO, Mizutani as FL, and Murata and โคYamauchi โฃboth โas โฃCTBs. Furuse is currently employed โby the japanโ Rugby Football Association, as is Yamauchi. Mizutani teaches at Aichi โคPrefectural Nagakute High School, and Hirakawa works at Medical System Network Co., Ltd. Murata is affiliated with Fukuoka University. The “number of games refereed” statistic reflects combined experience in both the โJapan Rugby Top League and League One.
