Heading for the World Cup, the international challenge of the Japanese Men's and Women's squads has begun.

The curtain for the international volleyball season has risen, and heading for the World Cup, the Japanese men's and women's squads have started their international challenge.

Meanwhile, the first international competition for women, the Montreux Volley Masters 2003, took place from 3rd to 8th June, in Montreux, Switzerland. The eight top teams, i.e. Russia, The first challenge of the men's squad is the World League, in which 16 outstanding teams from all over the world are competing. Japan has been playing Greece, the Czech Republic and France in Group D in order to qualify for the final round. Japan's 6 away matches and 4 home matches against Greece and the Czech Republic have already been played and the results were: 2 wins and 8 losses.

Cuba and the USA, competed in the tournament and Japan finished in 6th place. After the tournament, the Japanese squad continued its tour to Russia and arrived back in Japan on 18th June.