The Japan Team is the two-seed in the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, despite counting three first-time participants and two rookies among its members.

Three of the four Japanese athletes competing at New Korea Country Club are major champions, two of whom have won two of the five 2025 major championships, and three of the four have also earned wins this season at the Blue Bay LPGA, The Chevron Championship and the AIG Women’s Open.

Take a look at who is representing Japan in the Republic of Korea in the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

Miyu Yamashita

Hometown: Osaka, Japan

Age: 24

Previous Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown Appearances: First

LPGA Tour Victories: 1

Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking: 6

Notable: Yamashita is a 2025 LPGA Tour rookie and became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club after beating Charley Hull and Minami Katsu by two strokes in Wales in August.

The 24-year-old represented Japan at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ultimately finishing in a tie for fourth at Le Golf National, but this is her first time playing for her country in an international team competition like the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown since joining the LPGA Tour.

Mao Saigo

Hometown: Chiba, Japan

Age: 24

Previous Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown Appearances: First

LPGA Tour Victories: 1

Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking: 9

Notable: Saigo became a Rolex First-Time Winner and a major champion in April at The Chevron Championship when she won in a five-way playoff at The Club at Carlton Woods over Lindy Duncan, Ariya Jutanugarn, Hyo Joo Kim and Ruoning Yin.

She was named the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year in 2024, making her the first Japanese athlete since Hiromi Kobayashi in 1990 to secure the honor. This is Saigo’s first Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

Rio Takeda

Hometown: Kumamoto, Japan

Age: 22

Previous Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown Appearances: First

LPGA Tour Victories: 2

Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking: 12

Notable: Takeda picked up her first LPGA Tour victory as a non-member at the 2024 TOTO Japan Classic and deferred the immediate membership she was offered because of that win to the 2025 season, making her a rookie this year. She then became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Blue Bay LPGA in the People’s Republic of China in March, the first rookie to win this season.

Takeda has tallied seven top-10 finishes across her inaugural campaign in addition to her victory in China and has only missed two cuts in her 26 starts this year. This is Takeda’s first time competing in a Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

Ayaka Furue

Hometown: Kobe, Japan

Age: 25

Previous Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown Appearances: 2023

LPGA Tour Victories: 2

Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking: 23

Notable: Furue is the only member of the Japan Team that has previously played in a Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, making her debut in the event in 2023 when it was contested at TPC Harding Park.

The 25-year-old is a two-time LPGA Tour champion, picking up her first career victory in 2022 at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open and then winning The Amundi Evian Championship in 2024. She also won the Vare Trophy last season, becoming the first Japanese athlete in Tour history to secure the honor.

Meet the Japan Team: 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

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