Japan has qualified for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics finishing atop Group G at the Olympic Games Qualification tournament hosted in Japan.

For the fourth straight Olympic Games, Japan's women's ice hockey team will compete. After beating France and Poland, Japan has secured top stop in Group G of the Olympic Qualifying tournament, securing their place at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.

Japan outshot Poland 49-5 finishing with a 6-0 win. Rui Ukita and Yumeka Wajima both scored a pair of goals for Japan in their win, while Akane Shiga and Suzuka Mauda each had a goal and an assist. Mei Miuri had three assists.

“I’m very relieved we secure the Olympic berth,” Japanese captain Shiori Koike told the IIHF. “We knew if things went our way today we could wrap up an Olympic berth, so we just went out there and tried to enjoy it."

In the other Group G game of the day, France beat China 4-1.

The remainder of Group G has yet to taste the Winter Olympics from a qualification standpoint. China played at the 2022 Olympics as the host, while neither France nor Poland have ever appeared in the Winter Olympics for ice hockey. France will change that in 2030 when they host the Olympic Games in the French Alps.

Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, and Germany are the teams remaining in contention for the other Olympics spots.