Keiko Kato

Kato started playing rugby at the age of seven.^[1] She played basketball in Josho Gakuen Junior High School.^[1] After graduating from Josho Gakuen High School in 2007, she entered Hosei University.^[1]

In 2008, she made her international debut for the Japanese women's sevens team at the Hong Kong Sevens.^[1] A year later, she appeared for the Japanese sevens side in the Sevens World Cup in Dubai.^[1][2]

In 2010, she studied abroad in England, and also played for the Richmond Rugby Club for a year.^[3][4]

After graduating from Hosei University in 2012, she worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and also played for the Setagaya Ladies rugby club.^[1]

Kato won a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games.^[5] In 2016, she was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the Japanese sevens team for the Rio Olympics.^[6][7]

In 2017, she featured for the Sakura fifteens in the Asian Women's Championship ahead of the World Cup.^[8] She subsequently made the Sakura fifteens side for the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland.^[9][10]