Pre-war era (1910s–1930s)

Japan's earliest international matches were at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo, where it was represented by a team from the Tokyo Higher Normal School. Although Japan made strong showings in swimming, baseball, and track and field, its football team suffered resounding defeats to the Republic of China and the Philippines.^[14] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s.^[15] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921,^[16] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929.^[15]

Japan's first "true" national team (as opposed to a university team chosen to represent the country) was fielded at the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, and drew with China for the championship title.^[15] Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its first Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.^[16] Japan was an entrant for the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, but withdrew before its scheduled qualifying match against the Dutch East Indies.^[17]

After World War II began in earnest, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies.^[15] Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.^[18]

While Korea was under Japanese rule, multiple Koreans played in international competition for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik (1936–40), Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940).

Post-war era (1950s–1980s)

Japan's postwar debut was in the 1951 Asian Games in India.^[18] Japan re-joined FIFA in 1950 and played in qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but lost the AFC qualifying berth to South Korea after two matches, beginning an intense rivalry.^[16] Japan also joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.^[15]

Dettmar Cramer joined the Japan national team as coach in 1960, and helped lead the team to the round of eight at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[19] Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. Although this result earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its growth and Japan would not qualify for the FIFA World Cup until 30 years later.^[20] Nonetheless, Japan had come close to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the deciding matches.

Japan made its first appearance in the Asian Cup in 1988, where they were eliminated in the group stage following a draw with Iran and losses to South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The late 1980s saw concrete moves to professionalize the sport in Japan. JFA introduced a Special Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limited number of professional players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. Action committees were held in 1988 and 1989 to discuss the introduction of a full professional league in Japan.^[19]

1990s: Rise

In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J.League, partly to raise the sport's profile and to strengthen the national team program. The following year, Japan hosted the 1992 Asian Cup and won their first title by defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final.^[21] The J.League was officially launched in 1993.^[22]

However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the "Agony of Doha".^[23] Japan's next tournament was a defence of their continental title at the 1996 Asian Cup. The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss to Kuwait.^[24]

The nation's first ever World Cup appearance was in 1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in favour of Argentina and Croatia, and the campaign ended with a 2–1 defeat to Jamaica. Japan impressed in all three games, however, with all three defeats were just one goal margin.^[25]

2000s

In the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Japan managed to reclaim their title after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, becoming Asian champions for the second time.^[26]

Two years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 draw with Belgium in their opening match, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1–0 win over Russia and a 2–0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey.^[27]

With the 2004 AFC Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title by winning their group after two victories over Thailand and Oman, before surpassing Jordan and Bahrain. They won against China in the final 3–1.^[28]

On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the round of 16, losing to Australia 1–3, drawing Croatia 0–0 and losing to Brazil 1–4.^[29]

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan failed to defend the title. Although easily winning the group Vietnam and two Arab rivals, Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were totally exhausted in their game against Australia, where Japan won only by a penalty shootout. Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals,^[30] before failing in the third-place match against South Korea.

2010s

During the 2010 World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1–0 away. Japan was drawn in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon.^[31] Japan started with a 1–0 win against Cameroon,^[32] before subsequently losing to the Netherlands 0–1.^[33] Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay.^[34] In the round of 16, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.^[35]

After the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by former Juventus and Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as a 1–0 victory over Argentina.

In 2011, Japan participated in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.^[36]

Japan then started their road to 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Throughout, they suffered only two losses to Uzbekistan and Jordan, and drawing against Australia. Afterwards, on 12 October, Japan earned a historic 1–0 victory over France. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation aside from Brazil to qualify.^[37]

Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil.^[38] They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 3–4.^[39] They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A.^[40] One month later, in the EAFF East Asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw to China. They then beat Australia 3–2 and beat South Korea 2–1 in the third and final match in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup to claim the title.^[41]

Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. They fell in their first match to Ivory Coast 2–1 after initially taking the lead, allowing two goals in a two-minute span. They drew their second game to Greece 0–0. To qualify for the second round, they needed a victory against Colombia and Greece to win against Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Colombia won 4–1, eliminating Japan from the World Cup.^[42] Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach.^[43] In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over,^[44] and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed.

Japan won its opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Group D against Asian Cup debutantes Palestine 4–0, with goals from Yasuhito Endō, Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda via a penalty and Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named man of the match. They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their next group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They qualified to knockout stage as Group D winner with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the United Arab Emirates in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, as Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their penalty kicks. Japan's elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years.^[45]

After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure.^[46] He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015.^[47] Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home.^[48] They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up 5 wins and 2 draws. Then, on 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home thus qualifying them for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, making it their sixth successive World Cup.^[49] However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup finals, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between coach and player, and poor recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, Japanese coach Akira Nishino, who had managed the Japanese Under-23 team at the 1996 Olympics, as the new manager.^[50]

Japan made history in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against a CONMEBOL team in an official tournament,^[51] as well as Japan's first ever victory at the FIFA World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match ended in a draw against Senegal, with one goal scored by Takashi Inui and the other by Keisuke Honda.^[52] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1,^[53] leaving Japan and Senegal tied for second with an identical record, however, as Japan had received two fewer yellow cards, Japan advanced to the knockout stage on the Fair Play Points tiebreaker, the first team to do so.^[54] The match with Poland caused controversy; as Japan were made aware of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an extremely conservative game, passing the ball around to one another and keeping it in their own box, seeking to avoid any bookings and didn't attempt to take any serious shots on goal, despite losing 0–1, with some fans booing the players.^[55][56][57] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.^[58] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.^[59] In the Round of 16 against Belgium, Japan took a surprising 2–0 lead with a goal in the 48th minute by Genki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd by Takashi Inui, but yielded 3 goals afterwards, including the winner by Nacer Chadli on the counterattack in the 94th minute. This was Japan's third time having reached the last 16, equaling their best result at a World Cup.^[60] Japan's defeat to eventual third-place finishers Belgium was the first time a nation had lost a knockout match at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage since England lost to West Germany 2–3 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition.^[61][62] This unfortunate scenario was due to the naivety of the Japanese,^[63][64][65] who were very offensive and did not fall back enough in defense once the two-goal lead was acquired (unlike France, eventual champion, in the semifinals who played low block against these same Belgians with success), leaving a lot of space to the Belgians, who also took advantage of their well-calculated tactics and superior strategies to turn the game around. However, Japan's impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and medias for their fighting spirits, as demonstrated by Japan's win over Colombia, a draw to Senegal and a strong counter offensive against heavyweight Belgium.^[66]

Japan participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and had an almost successful tournament. The team easily topped group F after defeating Turkmenistan 3–2,^[67] Oman 1–0^[68] and Uzbekistan 2–1.^[69] Japan, which opted for a cautious defensive approach (as the offensive approach lead to a regretful scenario against Belgium during the World Cup 2018), also beat fellow powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals by the narrowest of margins like during the group stage, both 2 knockout phases' games ended with 1–0 margin; Blue Samurai resist intense Saudi domination.^[70][71] After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final,^[72] Japan's hope to win their fifth Asian Cup in two decades shattered with the team suffering a 1–3 loss to Qatar, who won the Asian Cup for the first time.^[73]

Japan were invited to the 2019 Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the competition. They were in Group C with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. They lost their opening match, 0–4 to Chile.^[74] Japan, however, bounced back well and managed to unluckily draw against football giants Uruguay 2–2, who (Uruguay) were deemed to have been saved by VAR.^[75] Japan needed a win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal differences to Paraguay.^[76] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home.

2020s

After China was removed as host of the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, it was announced that Japan was the new host. After topping the table with two wins and one draw, Japan won the competition for the second time in their history.^[77]

Japan qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and were grouped with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain in Group E. On 23 November 2022, Japan produced an upset in which they beat Germany 2–1, with two goals in an eight-minute span during the second half.^[78] After being upset by Costa Rica 1–0,^[79] going into the final matchday, every team in Japan's group can qualify or be eliminated, with no team assured of any placement. In the end, Japan managed to qualify for the knockout stages by defeating Spain 2–1 in their final group match, also contributing to Germany's elimination from the tournament.^[80] By topping their group, Japan went on to face Croatia^[81] in the round of 16 where Japan would lose 1–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.^[82] It is the third team in 52 years to have come from behind twice in one tournament, following Brazil and (West) Germany.^[83] They beat Spain with the lowest possession (18%) of the ball ever for a winning side since the 1966 World Cup.^[84][85] It is the first time that an Asian team topped their World Cup group held outside their home country, and also the first Asian team to reach the knockouts twice in a row.^[86]

With a successful 2022 World Cup behind them and a run of 10 consecutive victories in all competitions since June 2023, many of them in style, Japan were considered the favourites for the 2023 Asian Nations Cup in Qatar, especially as the Samurai Blue had a strong squad.^[87] Japan, however, were the biggest disappointment of the tournament, putting in a catastrophic performance. Hajime Moriyasu's men began the tournament with an unconvincing victory over a Vietnamese side deprived of a number of key players (4–2, having broken the deadlock in the 85th minute and trailed 1–2 shortly after the half-hour mark),^[88] before going on to play a nightmarish game against Iraq (1–2). This defeat, Japan's first in the group phase since their first appearance at the continental showpiece in 1988, condemned them to finish at best 2nd in the group due to their unfavourable head-to-head record. The Land of the Rising Sun made sure of the points by overcoming Indonesia (3–1)^[89] and then eliminated Bahrain by the same scoreline in the Round of 16.^[90] Japan met Iran in the quarter-finals for a rematch of the previous edition's semi-final, and got the game off to a perfect start with Hidemasa Morita's 28th-minute opener, before falling completely flat in the second half, succumbing to Iran's fiery attacks and lacking the ideas to trouble Team Melli on the counter-attack, who exacted revenge and turned the match on its head thanks to some blatant defensive errors by Kō Itakura (1–2).^[91] This elimination was a real fiasco for a Japanese team that had suffered 2 defeats in the same competition, including one in the 1st round, something that hadn't happened since the 1988 edition (a draw and 3 defeats), but it was the first time since Japanese football turned professional. In particular, Japan showed worrying signs at the back, conceding at least one goal in every match, many of them from avoidable errors by inexperienced goalkeeper Zion Suzuki (due to the withdrawal of the usual starting goalkeepers) or by their defensive hinge, which, unlike the previous edition, was often overwhelmed; all this while often playing on alternating current and reacting too late or intermittently showing an apathetic face (a non-match in the first half against Iraq, the botched 2nd half against Iran). The squad also had to contend with an extra-sporting controversy, with the sudden departure of Junya Itō shortly before the crucial match against the Persians, the player from Reims having been accused of sexual assault.^[92]

Nicknames

Japan's national football team is nicknamed the Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー, Samurai Burū) by the JFA.^[1][2] The team also is often known by the last name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン, Okada Japan),^{[lower-alpha 1]} or during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the team is referred by the current manager's (Hajime Moriyasu) name, as "Moriyasu Japan" (森保ジャパン, Moriyasu Japan).^[93][94]

Kits

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Japan national football team kits.

The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past.^[95] In the early 1980s, the kit was white with blue trim. The kits worn for the 1992 Asian Cup consisted of white stripes (stylized to form a wing) with red diamonds. During the 1996 Asian Cup and in the 1998 World Cup, the national team kits were blue jerseys with red and white flame designs on the sleeves, and were designed by JFA (with the sponsor alternating each year between Asics, Puma, and Adidas). The 1996 design was reproduced in a special kit used against Syria on 7 June 2017.

Japan uses blue and white rather than red and white due to a superstition. Japan first used blue shirts in the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, where a team of the Tokyo Imperial University (whose color is light blue) represented Japan wearing light blue shirts,^[96] and then in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics.^[97] When Japan was coached by Kenzo Yokoyama (1988–1992) the kits were red and white, matching the colours of Japan's national flag. After failures at 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics qualifications, the red shirt was scrapped.

In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan temporarily switched the colour of the numbers from white to gold.

Japan's kit is provided by German company Adidas, the team's exclusive kit supplier since April 1999.^[98] Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team's official apparel sponsor alongside Adidas.

On 3 June 2021, Japan released the special 100th anniversary kit for a friendly match against Jamaica, but the match was cancelled and replaced with a match against the U-24 team. The kit was also used by the U-24 team against U-24 Ghana on 5 June 2021.

Kit suppliers

More information Kit provider, Period ...

Kit provider	Period
None	1936–1978
Asics	1979
Puma	1980–1985
Adidas	1986
Asics	1987–1988
Adidas	1989–1992
Asics	1993–1998
Adidas	1999–present

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Crest

The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association.^[99] The crest features the Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow from Japanese mythology that is a symbol for the sun, holding a solid red ball that is like the sun from national flag. The text "JFA" (for the Japan Football Association) is inscribed at the bottom of the crow. A red stripe is also present at the center of the shield behind the crow. The shield has a metallic gold trim and has a thicker black outline. The name of the country represented by the national team "Japan" is also inscribed within the black border.^[100][101]

The previous crest used from 1996 had a shield with a more complex shape. The ball held by the Yatagarasu had white details. The text "Japan" is absent and "JFA" is written in a different typeface.^[100]

Before 1988, Japan used the national flag outlined in red (and with JFA written in black on the lower left corner of the flag) on the shirts.

The Yatagarasu was first seen on the Japan shirts in 1988, where it was on a yellow circle with a blue outline with "JAPAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION" written around it. In 1991, the emblem changed to a white shield with a red vertical stripe on the center with the crow on it and "JFA" written in a green Gothic typeface. This crest was used until 1996.

Home stadium

Japan plays its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country, especially the Saitama Stadium 2002.

Rivalries

Supporters

Japanese national team supporters are known for chanting "Nippon Ole" (Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan) at home matches.^[113]

Sponsorship

Japan has one of the highest sponsorship incomes for a national squad. In 2006 their sponsorship income amounted to over 16.5 million pounds.

Primary sponsors include Adidas, ANA, Kirin, Saison Card International, FamilyMart, JAL, MS&AD Insurance Group, Asahi Shinbun, Mizuho Financial, Daito Trust Construction and KDDI.^[114]

Mascot

The mascots are "Karappe" (カラッペ) and "Karara" (カララ), two Yatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team kit. The mascots were designed by Japanese manga artist Susumu Matsushita. Each year when a new kit is launched, the mascots' uniforms are updated in order to match the kit being used by the team.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Pokémon character Pikachu served as the mascot.^[115]

2023

Japan  v  El Salvador

15 June 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup[116]	Japan	6–0	El Salvador	Toyota, Japan
19:10 UTC+9	Taniguchi 1' Ueda 4' (pen.) Kubo 25' Dōan 44' Nakamura 60' Furuhashi 73'	Report		Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 37,403 Referee: Andrew Madley (England)

Japan  v  Peru

20 June 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup[116]	Japan	4–1	Peru	Suita, Japan
18:55 UTC+9	H. Ito 22' Mitoma 37' J. Itō 63' Maeda 75'	Report	Gonzáles 83'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 35,001 Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Germany  v  Japan

9 September Friendly	Germany	1–4	Japan	Wolfsburg, Germany
20:45 UTC+2	Sané 19'	Report	J. Itō 11' Ueda 22' Asano 90' Tanaka 90+2'	Stadium: Volkswagen Arena Attendance: 24,980 Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)

Japan  v  Turkey

12 September 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup[116]	Japan	4–2	Turkey	Genk, Belgium
14:20 UTC+2	A. Ito 15' Nakamura 28', 36' J. Itō 78' (pen.)	Report	Kabak 44' Yıldırım 61'	Stadium: Cegeka Arena Attendance: 7,202 Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)

Japan  v  Canada

13 October 2023 Mizuho Blue Dream Match[117]	Japan	4–1	Canada	Niigata, Japan
19:35 UTC+9	Tanaka 2', 49' Davies 40' (o.g.) Nakamura 42'	Report	Hoilett 89'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 37,125 Referee: Alex King (Australia)

Japan  v  Tunisia

17 October 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup[116]	Japan	2–0	Tunisia	Kobe, Japan
19:10 UTC+9	Furuhashi 43' J. Ito 69'	Report		Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 26,529 Referee: Wang Di (China)

Japan  v  Myanmar

16 November 2026 World Cup qualification	Japan	5–0	Myanmar	Suita, Japan
19:00 UTC+9	Ueda 11', 45+4', 50' Kamada 28' Dôan 86'	Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 34,484 Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

Syria  v  Japan

21 November 2026 World Cup qualification	Syria	0–5	Japan	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
17:45 UTC+3		Report	Kubo 32' Ueda 37', 40' Sugawara 47' Hosoya 82'	Stadium: Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Attendance: 6,130 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

• Fixtures & Results (2023), JFA.jp

2024

Japan  v  Thailand

1 January 2024 Toyo Tires Cup[118][119]	Japan	5–0	Thailand	Tokyo, Japan
14:00 UTC+9	Tanaka 50' Nakamura 72' Dolah 75' (o.g.) Kawamura 82' Minamino 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Japan National Stadium Attendance: 61,916 Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

Japan  v  Jordan

9 January Unofficial Friendly	Japan	6–1	Jordan	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Itakura 14' Nakamura 17' 29' (o.g.) Minamino 43' Asano 71' Maeda 81'	Report	Rateb 87'	Stadium: Al Ersal Stadium Attendance: 0

Japan  v  Vietnam

14 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS	Japan	4–2	Vietnam	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Minamino 11', 45' Nakamura 45+2' Ueda 85'	Report	Đình Bắc 16' Tuấn Hải 33'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 17,385 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Iraq  v  Japan

19 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS	Iraq	2–1	Japan	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Hussein 5', 45+4'	Report	Endo 90+3'	Stadium: Education City Stadium Attendance: 38,663 Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

Japan  v  Indonesia

24 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup GS	Japan	3–1	Indonesia	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Ueda 6' (pen.), 52' Hubner 88' (o.g.)	Report	Walsh 90+1'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 26,453 Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Bahrain  v  Japan

31 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup R16	Bahrain	1–3	Japan	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Suzuki 64' (o.g.)	Report	Doan 31' Kubo 49' Ueda 72'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 31,832 Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Iran  v  Japan

3 February 2023 AFC Asian Cup QF	Iran	2–1	Japan	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Mohebi 55' Jahanbakhsh 90+6' (pen.)	Report	Morita 28'	Stadium: Education City Stadium Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Japan  v  North Korea

21 March 2026 World Cup qualification	Japan	1–0	North Korea	Tokyo, Japan
19:20 UTC+9	Tanaka 2'	Report		Stadium: Japan National Stadium Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

North Korea  v  Japan

26 March 2026 World Cup qualification	North Korea	0–3 Awarded[lower-alpha 2]	Japan
		Report

Myanmar  v  Japan

6 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Myanmar	v	Japan	Yangon, Myanmar
18:40 UTC+6:30		Report		Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium

Japan  v  Syria

11 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Japan	v	Syria	Hiroshima, Japan
19:10 UTC+9		Report		Stadium: Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima

• Fixtures & Results (2024), JFA.jp

Current staff

As of 30 March 2024

More information Role, Name ...

Role	Name
Head coach	Hajime Moriyasu
Assistant coach	Ryoichi Maeda Hiroshi Nanami Toshihide Saito
Physical coach	Ryoichi Matsumoto
Goalkeeper coach	Takashi Shimoda

Close

• Players & Staffs (2024), JFA.jp

Manager history

As of 21 March 2024 after the match against  North Korea.

More information Manager, Period ...

Manager	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Draw	Lost	Win %
Masujiro Nishida	1923	2	0	0	2	0%
Goro Yamada	1925	2	0	0	2	0%
Vacant	1925	2	1	0	1	50%
Shigeyoshi Suzuki (1st)	1930	2	1	1	0	50%
Shigemaru Takenokoshi (1st)	1934	3	1	0	2	33.33%
Shigeyoshi Suzuki (2nd)	1936	2	1	1	0	50%
Shigemaru Takenokoshi (2nd)	1940	1	1	0	0	100%
Hirokazu Ninomiya	1951	3	1	1	1	33.33%
Shigemaru Takenokoshi (3rd)	1954–56	12	2	4	6	16.66%
Taizo Kawamoto	1958	2	0	0	2	0%
Shigemaru Takenokoshi (4th)	1958–59	12	4	2	6	33.33%
Vacant	1960	1	0	0	1	0%
Hidetoki Takahashi	1961–1962	14	3	2	9	21.43%
Ken Naganuma (1st)	1963–1969	31	18	7	6	58.06%
Shunichiro Okano	1970–1971	19	11	2	6	57.90%
Ken Naganuma (2nd)	1972–1976	42	16	6	20	38.09%
Hiroshi Ninomiya	1976–1978	27	6	6	15	22.22%
Yukio Shimomura	1979–1980	14	8	4	2	57.14%
Masashi Watanabe	1980	3	2	0	1	66.67%
Saburō Kawabuchi	1980–1981	10	3	2	5	30%
Takaji Mori	1981–1985	43	22	5	16	51.16%
Yoshinobu Ishii	1986–1987	17	11	2	4	64.70%
Kenzo Yokoyama	1988–1991	24	5	7	12	20.83%
Hans Ooft	1992–1993	27	16	7	4	59.25%
Paulo Roberto Falcão	1994	9	3	4	2	33.33%
Shu Kamo	1994–1997	46	23	10	13	50%
Takeshi Okada (1st)	1997–1998	15	5	4	6	33.33%
Philippe Troussier	1998–2002	50	23	16	11	46%
Zico	2002–2006	71	37	16	18	52.11%
Ivica Osim	2006–2007	20	13	2	5	65%
Takeshi Okada (2nd)	2007–2010	50	26	13	11	52%
Hiromi Hara (caretaker)	2010	2	2	0	0	100%
Alberto Zaccheroni	2010–2014	55	30	12	13	54.54%
Javier Aguirre	2014–2015	10	7	1	2	70%
Vahid Halilhodžić	2015–2018	38	21	9	8	55.26%
Akira Nishino	2018	7	2	1	4	28.57%
Hajime Moriyasu[123][124][4][5][6]	2018–present	79	54	10	15	68.35%
Manager	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Draw	Lost	Win %

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Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against North Korea on 21 and 26 March 2024. On 18 March 2023, Kaishu Sano was sidelined due to an injury.^[125]

Caps and goals as of 21 March 2024, after the match against  North Korea.^[126]

More information No., Pos. ...

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Daiya Maekawa	(1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 29)	1	0	Vissel Kobe
12	1GK	Keisuke Osako	(1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 24)	7	0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
23	1GK	Zion Suzuki	(2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 21)	10	0	Sint-Truiden
2	2DF	Yukinari Sugawara	(2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 (age 23)	12	1	AZ
3	2DF	Shogo Taniguchi	(1991-07-15) 15 July 1991 (age 32)	27	1	Al-Rayyan
4	2DF	Ko Itakura	(1997-01-27) 27 January 1997 (age 27)	27	1	Borussia Mönchengladbach
14	2DF	Daiki Hashioka	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 (age 24)	8	0	Luton Town
15	2DF	Koki Machida	(1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 26)	9	0	Union SG
16	2DF	Tsuyoshi Watanabe	(1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 (age 27)	3	0	Gent
21	2DF	Hiroki Itō	(1999-05-12) 12 May 1999 (age 24)	17	1	VfB Stuttgart
22	2DF	Yuto Nagatomo	(1986-09-12) 12 September 1986 (age 37)	142	4	FC Tokyo
	2DF	Seiya Maikuma	(1997-10-16) 16 October 1997 (age 26)	8	0	Cerezo Osaka
5	3MF	Hidemasa Morita	(1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 (age 28)	33	3	Sporting CP
6	3MF	Wataru Endō (captain)	(1993-02-09) 9 February 1993 (age 31)	61	3	Liverpool
7	3MF	Takumu Kawamura	(1999-08-28) 28 August 1999 (age 24)	1	1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
8	3MF	Takumi Minamino	(1995-01-16) 16 January 1995 (age 29)	58	20	Monaco[lower-alpha 3]
10	3MF	Ritsu Dōan	(1998-06-16) 16 June 1998 (age 25)	48	8	SC Freiburg
13	3MF	Keito Nakamura	(2000-07-28) 28 July 2000 (age 23)	8	6	Reims
17	3MF	Ao Tanaka	(1998-09-10) 10 September 1998 (age 25)	26	8	Fortuna Düsseldorf
20	3MF	Takefusa Kubo	(2001-06-04) 4 June 2001 (age 22)	34	4	Real Sociedad
	3MF	Yuki Soma	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 27)	12	4	Casa Pia
9	4FW	Ayase Ueda	(1998-08-28) 28 August 1998 (age 25)	25	11	Feyenoord
11	4FW	Daizen Maeda	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 26)	17	3	Celtic
18	4FW	Takuma Asano	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 29)	52	9	VfL Bochum
19	4FW	Koki Ogawa	(1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 26)	2	3	NEC Nijmegen

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Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad in the last 12 months.^[127]

More information Pos., Player ...

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Taishi Brandon Nozawa	(2002-12-25) 25 December 2002 (age 21)	0	0	FC Tokyo	2023 AFC Asian Cup
GK	Ryosuke Kojima	(1997-01-30) 30 January 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Albirex Niigata	v.  Tunisia, 17 October 2023
GK	Daniel Schmidt	(1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 (age 32)	14	0	Gent	v.  Turkey, 12 September 2023
GK	Kosuke Nakamura	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995 (age 29)	8	0	Portimonense	v.  Turkey, 12 September 2023
DF	Takehiro Tomiyasu	(1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 (age 25)	41	1	Arsenal	2023 AFC Asian Cup
DF	Yūta Nakayama	(1997-02-16) 16 February 1997 (age 27)	22	0	Huddersfield Town	2023 AFC Asian Cup
DF	Ryoya Morishita	(1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Legia Warsaw	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
DF	Haruya Fujii	(2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Kortrijk	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
DF	Sota Miura	(2000-09-07) 7 September 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Kawasaki Frontale	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
DF	Ayumu Seko	(2000-06-07) 7 June 2000 (age 23)	3	0	Grasshoppers	v.  Peru, 20 June 2023
MF	Kaishu Sano	(2000-12-30) 30 December 2000 (age 23)	4	0	Kashima Antlers	v.  North Korea, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF	Junya Itō	(1993-03-09) 9 March 1993 (age 31)	54	13	Reims	2023 AFC Asian Cup WD
MF	Kaoru Mitoma	(1997-05-20) 20 May 1997 (age 26)	20	7	Brighton & Hove Albion	2023 AFC Asian Cup
MF	Reo Hatate	(1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 (age 26)	8	0	Celtic	2023 AFC Asian Cup
MF	Ryotaro Ito	(1998-02-06) 6 February 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Sint-Truiden	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
MF	Kanji Okunuki	(1999-08-11) 11 August 1999 (age 24)	1	0	1. FC Nürnberg	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
MF	Daichi Kamada	(1996-08-05) 5 August 1996 (age 27)	31	7	Lazio	v.  Syria, 21 November 2023 INJ
MF	Hayao Kawabe	(1995-09-08) 8 September 1995 (age 28)	6	1	Standard Liège	v.  Myanmar, 16 November 2023 INJ
MF	Atsuki Ito	(1998-08-11) 11 August 1998 (age 25)	3	1	Urawa Red Diamonds	v.  Myanmar, 16 November 2023 INJ
MF	Sota Kawasaki	(2001-07-30) 30 July 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Kyoto Sanga	v.  Peru, 20 June 2023
FW	Mao Hosoya	(2001-09-07) 7 September 2001 (age 22)	6	1	Kashiwa Reysol	2023 AFC Asian Cup
FW	Kyogo Furuhashi	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995 (age 29)	21	5	Celtic	v.  Myanmar, 16 November 2023 INJ
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

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Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Captains

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		M	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Withdrew										Qualified as invitees
1934	Did not enter										Did not enter
1938	Withdrew										Withdrew
1950	Suspended from FIFA										Suspended from FIFA
1954	Did not qualify										2	0	1	1	3	7
1958	Did not enter										Did not enter
1962	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	1	4
1966	Did not enter										Did not enter
1970	Did not qualify										4	0	2	2	4	8
1974											4	1	0	3	5	4
1978											4	0	1	3	0	5
1982											4	2	0	2	4	2
1986											8	5	1	2	15	5
1990											6	2	3	1	7	3
1994											13	9	3	1	35	6
1998	Group stage	31st	3	0	0	3	1	4	Squad		15	9	5	1	51	12
2002	Round of 16	9th	4	2	1	1	5	3	Squad		Qualified as co-hosts
2006	Group stage	28th	3	0	1	2	2	7	Squad		12	11	0	1	25	5
2010	Round of 16	9th	4	2	1	1	4	2	Squad		14	8	4	2	23	9
2014	Group stage	29th	3	0	1	2	2	6	Squad		14	8	3	3	30	8
2018	Round of 16	15th	4	1	1	2	6	7	Squad		18	13	3	2	44	7
2022		9th	4	2	1	1	5	4	Squad		18	15	1	2	58	6
2026	To be determined										3	3	0	0	11	0
2030											To be determined
2034
Total	Round of 16	7/22	25	7	6	12	25	33	—		140	85	27	28	311	91

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Match history

More information FIFA World Cup history, Year ...

FIFA World Cup history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1998	Group stage	Argentina	0–1	Loss
		Croatia	0–1	Loss
		Jamaica	1–2	Loss
2002	Group stage	Belgium	2–2	Draw
		Russia	1–0	Win
		Tunisia	2–0	Win
	Round of 16	Turkey	0–1	Loss
2006	Group stage	Australia	1–3	Loss
		Croatia	0–0	Draw
		Brazil	1–4	Loss
2010	Group stage	Cameroon	1–0	Win
		Netherlands	0–1	Loss
		Denmark	3–1	Win
	Round of 16	Paraguay	0–0 (3–5 p.)	Draw (Loss)
2014	Group stage	Ivory Coast	1–2	Loss
		Greece	0–0	Draw
		Colombia	1–4	Loss
2018	Group stage	Colombia	2–1	Win
		Senegal	2–2	Draw
		Poland	0–1	Loss
	Round of 16	Belgium	2–3	Loss
2022	Group stage	Germany	2–1	Win
		Costa Rica	0–1	Loss
		Spain	2–1	Win
	Round of 16	Croatia	1–1 (1–3 p.)	Draw (Loss)

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AFC Asian Cup

More information AFC Asian Cup record, Qualification record ...

AFC Asian Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956	Withdrew									Withdrew
1960	Withdrew									Withdrew
1964	Withdrew									Withdrew
1968	Did not qualify									4	3	1	0	8	4
1972	Withdrew									Withdrew
1976	Did not qualify									5	2	1	2	4	4
1980	Withdrew									Withdrew
1984	Withdrew									Withdrew
1988	Group stage	10th	4	0	1	3	0	6	Squad	4	2	1	1	6	3
1992	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	6	3	Squad	Qualified as hosts
1996	Quarter-finals	5th	4	3	0	1	7	3	Squad	Qualified as champions
2000	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	21	6	Squad	3	3	0	0	15	0
2004	Champions	1st	6	4	2	0	13	6	Squad	Qualified as champions
2007	Fourth place	4th	6	2	3	1	11	7	Squad	6	5	0	1	15	2
2011	Champions	1st	6	4	2	0	14	6	Squad	6	5	0	1	17	4
2015	Quarter-finals	5th	4	3	1	0	8	1	Squad	Qualified as champions
2019	Runners-up	2nd	7	6	0	1	12	6	Squad	8	7	1	0	27	0
2023	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	0	2	12	8	Squad	8	8	0	0	46	2
2027	Qualified									2	2	0	0	10	0
Total	4 Titles	10/18	53	33	12	8	104	52	—	46	37	4	5	148	19

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Match history

More information AFC Asian Cup history, Year ...

AFC Asian Cup history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1988	Group stage	Iran	0–0	Draw
		South Korea	0–2	Loss
		UAE	0–1	Loss
		Qatar	0–3	Loss
1992	Group stage	UAE	0–0	Draw
		North Korea	1–1	Draw
		Iran	1–0	Win
	Semi-finals	China	3–2	Win
	Final	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Win
1996	Group stage	Syria	2–1	Win
		Uzbekistan	4–0	Win
		China	1–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	Kuwait	0–2	Loss
2000	Group stage	Saudi Arabia	4–1	Win
		Uzbekistan	8–1	Win
		Qatar	1–1	Draw
	Quarter-finals	Iraq	4–1	Win
	Semi-finals	China	3–2	Win
	Final	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Win
2004	Group stage	Oman	1–0	Win
		Thailand	4–1	Win
		Iran	0–0	Draw
	Quarter-finals	Jordan	1–1 4–3	Draw Win
	Semi-finals	Bahrain	4–3	Win
	Final	China	3–1	Win
2007	Group stage	Qatar	1–1	Draw
		UAE	3–1	Win
		Vietnam	4–1	Win
	Quarter-finals	Australia	1–1 4–3	Draw Win
	Semi-finals	Saudi Arabia	2–3	Loss
	Third play-off	South Korea	0–0 5–6	Draw Loss
2011	Group stage	Jordan	1–1	Draw
		Syria	2–1	Win
		Saudi Arabia	5–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	Qatar	3–2	Win
	Semi-finals	South Korea	2–2 3–0	Draw Win
	Final	Australia	1–0	Win
2015	Group stage	Palestine	4–0	Win
		Iraq	1–0	Win
		Jordan	2–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	UAE	1–1 4–5	Draw Loss
2019	Group stage	Turkmenistan	3–2	Win
		Oman	1–0	Win
		Uzbekistan	2–1	Win
	Round of 16	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	Vietnam	1–0	Win
	Semi-finals	Iran	3–0	Win
	Final	Qatar	1–3	Loss
2023	Group stage	Vietnam	4–2	Win
		Iraq	1–2	Loss
		Indonesia	3–1	Win
	Round of 16	Bahrain	3–1	Win
	Quarter-finals	Iran	1–2	Loss

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Copa América

Japan is the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited to the 1999 Copa América.^[13] Japan was also invited to the 2011 tournament and initially accepted the invitation. However, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the JFA later withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements.^[129] On the next day, CONMEBOL invited Costa Rica to replace Japan in the competition.

On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the 2015 Copa América.^[130] However, Japan later declined the invitation due to scheduling problems.^[131]

On 14 May 2018, CONMEBOL announced that Japan, alongside Qatar, would be the two invited teams for the 2019 Copa América.^[132]

More information Copa América record, Year ...

Copa América record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad 1999 Group stage 10th 3 0 1 2 3 8 Squad 2011 Withdrew 2015 Withdrew 2019 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 3 7 Squad Total Group stage 2/4 6 0 3 3 6 15 — Match history CONMEBOL Copa América history Year Round Opponent Score Result Stadium 1999 Group stage  Peru 2–3 Loss Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción  Paraguay 0–4 Loss  Bolivia 1–1 Draw Monumental Rio Parapiti, Pedro Juan Caballero 2019 Group stage  Chile 0–4 Loss Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo  Uruguay 2–2 Draw Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre  Ecuador 1–1 Draw Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

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FIFA Confederations Cup

More information FIFA Confederations Cup record, year ...

FIFA Confederations Cup record
year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify
1995	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	8	Squad
1997	Did not qualify
1999
2001	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	6	1	Squad
2003	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	3	Squad
2005	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	4	4	Squad
2009	Did not qualify
2013	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	4	9	Squad
2017	Did not qualify
Total	Runners-up	5/10	16	5	2	9	19	25	—

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