It is expected that the decision will be made next year.

"It's very important to get cricket into the 2026 Asian Games and put the game in front of people," JCA head of operations Alan Curr told Forbes Magazine.

"You're not taken seriously in Japan unless you're an Olympic sport, for non-playing countries, cricket is seen as a minor sport."

Cricket is one of nine sports under consideration by the International Olympic Committee for inclusion at Los Angeles 2028.

Curr believes that if it is also part of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, it could serve as a springboard for bigger International Cricket Council (ICC) events to be hosted by Japan.

"It is seen as a country that could potentially host a World Cup down the track," Curr insisted.

Cricket was first included at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou when Japan’s women defeated China to win bronze.

 It was also on the programme at the 2014 Games in Incheon in South Korea.

The sport is scheduled for an Asian Games return for the delayed 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, due to begin on September 23.

A cricket oval has been created at Zhejiang University of Technology for the purpose.

Curr initially joined the JCA in 2014 after moving from London to establish a ICC schools cricket development programme for the under-12s, originally intended to be funded with a grant of $250,000 (£197,000/€229,000)

"The ICC saw Japan as a growth country for cricket considering its population and gross domestic product (GDP) and the plan was to set up an entry level programme for under 12s, the ICC had similar programmes in the United States and Canada," Curr explained.

"When I first came to Japan, it was clear that there was talent here, more than I expected."

When Japan played in the ICC men’s Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa in 2020, they lost to both India and Sri Lanka, but 11 members of the squad of 15 had participated in the scheme.

Unfortunately the initial funding for the programme was withdrawn before the completion of the cycle.

"One of our goals is to be less reliant on ICC funding and to generate our own, we want to only be reliant on ICC funding for about 50 per cent of our income in the next five years," said Curr.

Although baseball remains much more popular in the country, cricket has been played in Japan since 1863 and the national Japanese team were invited to play at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London in 2013.

The Japanese men’s team is currently ranked 60 in the ICC rankings for T20 and the women rank 52.

Later this month, the Japanese men are set to travel to Papua New Guinea  to take part in the ICC T20 East Asia-Pacific qualifier for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.

Their opening match is scheduled for July 22 against the Philippines in Port Moresby.

Japan are also listed to play Vanuatu and host nation Papua New Guinea, with one nation to qualify for the finals which are set to be hosted by the West Indies and the United States in June 2024.

"For us to create role models is a big thing and we want to be the number one team in the East-Asia region, we want to make players professional and get them into the big leagues in the world," Curr added.