Japan national football team

Far Eastern Championship Games logo in 1917

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.[10] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s.[11] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921,[12] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929.[11]

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.[11] Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its first Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[12] Japan was an entrant for the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, but withdrew before its scheduled qualifying match against the Dutch East Indies.[13]

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.[11] Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.[14]

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).

Japan playing Argentine club Racing de Córdoba at the 1981 President's Cup

Japan's postwar debut was in the 1951 Asian Games in India.[14] 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.[12] Japan also joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.[11]

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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[15]

A match vs. Argentina at Toulouse in France in 1998.

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 in a 1–0 win during the final. The J.League was officially launched in 1993, causing interest in football and the national team to grow.

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". 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.

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.

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.

A match vs. Belgium at Saitama Stadium 2002 on 4 June 2002

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.

The 2004 AFC Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title, though its journey had been more troubling. Facing against an entirely hostile Chinese fans, the Japanese managed to top their group after two wins over Thailand and Oman, before overcame Jordan and Bahrain, both hard-fought games for Japan, to reach the final where they beat host China 3–1.

Japan against Brazil at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany in the 2006 FIFA World Cup

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.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan failed to defend the title. Although easily topped ahead of host Vietnam and two Arab rivals, Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were totally exhausted in their game against Australia, where Japan won only by penalty shootout. Having been exhausted for the win, Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals before failed in the third-place match to South Korea.

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 put in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon, and was not expected highly due to unimpressive results in friendlies.[17] Despite this criticisms, Japan went on to shock its opening match of the 2010 World Cup with a 1–0 win against Cameroon, before subsequently lost to the Netherlands 0–1. Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay, making it the first time ever Japan progressed from the group stage without hosting the World Cup. In the first knockout round, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay, but received praises for its outstanding performances.

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 one of their best ever results, a 1–0 victory over Argentina.

At the start of 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.[18]

Japan then started their road to 2014 World Cup in Brazil with numerous qualifiers. 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, a team they had never before defeated. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation (outside of Brazil, who hosted the tournament and qualified automatically) to qualify.

Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 3–4 in a hard-fought match but received praise for their style of play in the match. They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A. 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. The road to Brazil looked bright as Japan managed a 2–2 draw with the Netherlands and a 2–3 victory over Belgium. This was followed by three straight wins against Cyprus, Costa Rica and Zambia.

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 despite 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 needed Greece to beat Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Japan could not perform well against Colombia and were beaten 4–1, eliminating them from the World Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach after the World Cup. In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed.

Aguirre would begin a strong revamp of the team, switching out Zaccheroni's long-used 4–2–3–1 formation for his own 4–3–3 and applied this with a roster of the J.League's finest, dropping many regulars. A 2–2 draw against Venezuela was followed by a 1–0 victory over Jamaica. However, they lost their following match to Brazil 4–0, with Neymar scoring all four goals. Japan's sights turned to January and their title defense at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Japan national team vs Paraguay in 2008

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.

After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure. He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015. Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home. 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. 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.[19]

Japanese players before match with Iran at 2019 AFC Asian Cup

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,[20] 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.[21] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1,[22] 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.[23] 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.[24][25][26] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.[27] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30][31] 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.[32]

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,[33] Oman 1–0[34] and Uzbekistan 2–1.[35] The team, however, got criticized for its defensive approach, as Japan won the group with only one goal margin wins in all three matches and two later knockout stage's matches as Japan only beat fellow powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals both with 1–0 margin.[36][37] The semi-finals saw Japan put the best performance up to date, thrashing rival powerhouse Iran 3–0 to reach the final. However, Japan's hope to win the fifth Asian Cup in two decades shattered with the team suffered a 1–3 loss to Aspire-based Qatar and finished runners-up of the tournament.[38]

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.[39] Japan, however, bounced back well and managed to unluckily draw against football giants Uruguay 2–2, who (Uruguay) were deemed to been saved by VAR.[40] 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.[41] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home.

Japan was grouped with Myanmar, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In a pretty easy group, Japan proved to be the dominant force in their group, having cruised Myanmar, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan without conceding a goal so far.

In December, Japan participated in the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship hosted in South Korea. Coach Moriyasu summoned a young and inexperienced squad for the competition. With the young squad, Japan only managed to win against China and Hong Kong, and lost to rival South Korea, finished second in the competition.

The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as Sakkā Nippon Daihyō (サッカー日本代表), Nippon Daihyō (日本代表), or Daihyō (代表) as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン, Okada Japan).[42] Recently, the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while Japanese news media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup still referred it to by the recently departed manager's (Akira Nishino) last name, as "Nishino Japan" (西野ジャパン, Nishino Japan).[43][44]

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

Boeing 777-289 Samurai Blue Jet

The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past. 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 Japan's first World Cup appearance in 1996 Asian Cup and in 1998, 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,[45] and then in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics.[46] 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.[47] Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team's official apparel sponsor alongside Adidas.

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

Yatagarasu

The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association.[48] 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.[49][50]

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.[49]

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.

Japan National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 2020

Japan plays its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country. However, in majority in the final round of every FIFA World Cup qualification, plays at the Japan National Stadium.

Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea. The football rivalry is long-seated and is often seen as an extension of an overall historic rivalry between the 2 nations. Japan have met South Korea 80 times, trailing the statistic at 15 wins, 23 draws, and 42 losses. Japan have scored 73 goals and conceded 153. Both countries have made themselves unrivalled in both Asian Cup and World Cup records, being the two most successful Asian countries, and they hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a joint bid.

Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Australia, shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[51] The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries.[52] The rivalry is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the AFC in 2006.[53] The rivalry began at the 2006 World Cup where the two countries were grouped together, and continued with the two countries meeting regularly in various AFC competitions, such as the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final and the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.[54] Likewise, Australia and Japan also share a World Cup and continental records that is nearly unrivaled in Asia, and also similar that football is not the main sport in both nations until recently; yet hold an indistinguishable record that being the only three members from the AFC to have reached the final of any senior FIFA competition, the other being Saudi Arabia, both in the defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, albeit Australia achieved it when the country was still belonged to the OFC.[55]

Japan also has a long-standing rivalry with China, because of historical tensions between two countries in the past. China is leading the series with 16 wins, with Japan only has 14 wins; however Japan has achieved more successes than China.

Fans waving national flags in support of the Japanese national team

Japanese national team supporters are known for chanting "Nippon Ole" (Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan) at home matches.[56]

A match against Peru in 2007

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, Kirin, Saison Card International, FamilyMart, JAL, MS&AD Insurance Group, Asahi Shinbun, Mizuho Financial, Daito Trust Construction and KDDI.

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 change uniforms.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Pokémon character Pikachu served as the mascot.[57]

Japan  v  Uzbekistan

21 January Kirin Challenge Cup	Japan	v	Uzbekistan	Saitama, Japan
TBD		Report (JFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002

Japan  v  China PR

27 January 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Japan	v	China PR	Saitama, Japan
19:00 UTC+9		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Report (JFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002

Japan  v  Saudi Arabia

1 February 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Japan	v	Saudi Arabia	Saitama, Japan
19:35 UTC+9		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Report (JFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002

Australia  v  Japan

24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Australia	v	Japan
		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Report (JFA) Report (SW)

Japan  v  Vietnam

29 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Japan	v	Vietnam
		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Report (JFA) Report (SW)

Japan  v  Brazil

5 June Brasil Global Tour	Japan	v	Brazil	Tokyo, Japan
		Report (JFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Japan National Stadium

Japan  v TBD

July 2022 (2022-07) EAFF E-1 Football Championship	Japan	v	TBD	TBD, China
--:-- UTC+8				Stadium: TBD

Japan  v TBD

July 2022 (2022-07) EAFF E-1 Football Championship	Japan	v	TBD	TBD, China
--:-- UTC+8				Stadium: TBD

Japan  v TBD

July 2022 (2022-07) EAFF E-1 Football Championship	Japan	v	TBD	TBD, China
--:-- UTC+8				Stadium: TBD

• Official Fixtures – JFA.jp
• Japan National Teams 2022 Schedule – JFA.jp (as of 17 December 2021)
• Fixtures and Results – Soccerway.com

As of 8 December 2021[60]

Hajime Moriyasu, current head coach of Japan

Role	Name
Head coach	Hajime Moriyasu
Assistant coach	Akinobu Yokouchi
Assistant coach	Toshihide Saito
Assistant coach	Yusaku Ueno
Physical coach	Ryoichi Matsumoto
Goalkeeping coach	Takashi Shimoda

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	5	3	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	2018–	44	31	5	8	71.05%
Manager	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Draw	Lost	Win %

As of 16 November 2021 after the match against  Oman.

The following 22 players were called up for the Kirin Challenge Cup match against  Uzbekistan on 21 January 2022.[60]

Caps and goals as of 16 November 2021, after the match against  Oman.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Shūichi Gonda	(1989-03-03) 3 March 1989	28	0	Shimizu S-Pulse
	1GK	Kosei Tani	(2000-11-22) 22 November 2000	0	0	Shonan Bellmare
	2DF	Yuto Nagatomo	(1986-09-12) 12 September 1986	131	4	FC Tokyo
	2DF	Hiroki Sakai	(1990-04-12) 12 April 1990	68	1	Urawa Red Diamonds
	2DF	Sho Sasaki	(1989-10-02) 2 October 1989	13	1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
	2DF	Miki Yamane	(1993-12-22) 22 December 1993	6	1	Kawasaki Frontale
	2DF	Shogo Taniguchi	(1991-07-15) 15 July 1991	5	0	Kawasaki Frontale
	2DF	Shinnosuke Nakatani	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996	3	0	Nagoya Grampus
	2DF	Ryuya Nishio	(2001-05-16) 16 May 2001	0	0	Cerezo Osaka
	2DF	Ayumu Seko	(2000-06-07) 7 June 2000	0	0	Cerezo Osaka
	3MF	Yuki Soma	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997	3	0	Nagoya Grampus
	3MF	Sho Inagaki	(1991-12-25) 25 December 1991	1	2	Nagoya Grampus
	3MF	Ataru Esaka	(1992-05-31) 31 May 1992	1	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	3MF	Yasuto Wakizaka	(1995-06-11) 11 June 1995	1	0	Kawasaki Frontale
	3MF	Ryotaro Araki	(2002-01-29) 29 January 2002	0	0	Kashima Antlers
	3MF	Reo Hatate	(1997-11-21) 21 November 1997	0	0	Kawasaki Frontale
	3MF	Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa	(1998-07-09) 9 July 1998	0	0	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
	3MF	Kota Watanabe	(1998-10-18) 18 October 1998	0	0	Yokohama F. Marinos
	4FW	Yuya Osako	(1990-05-18) 18 May 1990	55	24	Vissel Kobe
	4FW	Yoshinori Muto	(1992-07-15) 15 July 1992	29	3	Vissel Kobe
	4FW	Ayase Ueda	(1998-08-28) 28 August 1998	6	0	Kashima Antlers
	4FW	Daizen Maeda	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997	2	0	Yokohama F. Marinos

(Players are listed within position group by order of seniority, kit number, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

The following players have been called up to the squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Eiji Kawashima	(1983-03-20) 20 March 1983	93	0	Strasbourg	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
GK	Daniel Schmidt	(1992-02-03) 3 February 1992	7	0	Sint-Truiden	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
GK	Kosuke Nakamura	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995	6	0	Portimonense	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
GK	Shusaku Nishikawa	(1986-06-18) 18 June 1986	31	0	Urawa Red Diamonds	v.  Mongolia, 30 March 2021
GK	Daiya Maekawa	(1994-09-08) 8 September 1994	0	0	Vissel Kobe	v.  Mongolia, 30 March 2021
DF	Maya Yoshida (captain)	(1988-08-24) 24 August 1988	113	11	Sampdoria	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF	Takehiro Tomiyasu	(1998-11-05) 5 November 1998	28	1	Arsenal	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF	Sei Muroya	(1994-04-05) 5 April 1994	16	0	Hannover 96	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF	Yūta Nakayama	(1997-02-16) 16 February 1997	9	0	PEC Zwolle	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF	Ko Itakura	(1997-01-27) 27 January 1997	5	1	Schalke 04	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF	Naomichi Ueda	(1994-10-24) 24 October 1994	16	1	Nîmes	v.  Australia, 12 October 2021
DF	Daiki Hashioka	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999	2	0	Sint-Truiden	v.  Australia, 12 October 2021
DF	Gen Shoji	(1992-12-11) 11 December 1992	20	1	Gamba Osaka	v.  China PR, 7 September 2021
DF	Ryoya Ogawa	(1996-11-24) 24 November 1996	5	0	FC Tokyo	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
DF	Yukinari Sugawara	(2000-06-28) 28 June 2000	1	0	AZ	v.  Myanmar, 28 May 2021
DF	Shinnosuke Hatanaka	(1995-08-25) 25 August 1995	8	0	Yokohama F. Marinos	v.  Mongolia, 30 March 2021
DF	Ken Matsubara	(1993-02-16) 16 February 1993	1	0	Yokohama F. Marinos	v.  Mongolia, 30 March 2021
MF	Genki Haraguchi	(1991-05-09) 9 May 1991	66	11	Union Berlin	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Gaku Shibasaki	(1992-05-28) 28 May 1992	55	3	Leganés	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Takumi Minamino	(1995-01-16) 16 January 1995	35	16	Liverpool	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Wataru Endo	(1993-02-09) 9 February 1993	34	2	VfB Stuttgart	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Junya Ito	(1993-03-09) 9 March 1993	29	7	Genk	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Ritsu Dōan	(1998-06-16) 16 June 1998	21	3	PSV	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Daichi Kamada	(1996-08-05) 5 August 1996	16	4	Eintracht Frankfurt	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Ao Tanaka	(1998-09-10) 10 September 1998	5	1	Fortuna Düsseldorf	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Kaoru Mitoma	(1997-05-20) 20 May 1997	1	0	Union SG	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
MF	Hidemasa Morita	(1995-05-10) 10 May 1995	12	2	Santa Clara	v.  Vietnam, 11 November 2021 SUS
MF	Kōji Miyoshi	(1997-03-26) 26 March 1997	5	2	Antwerp	v.  Australia, 12 October 2021
MF	Takefusa Kubo	(2001-06-04) 4 June 2001	13	0	Mallorca	v.  China PR, 7 September 2021
MF	Kento Hashimoto	(1993-08-16) 16 August 1993	13	1	Rostov	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
MF	Hayao Kawabe	(1995-09-08) 8 September 1995	4	1	Grasshoppers	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
MF	Tatsuhiro Sakamoto	(1996-10-22) 22 October 1996	2	0	Cerezo Osaka	v.  Kyrgyzstan, 15 June 2021
MF	Keita Endo	(1997-01-22) 22 January 1997	2	0	Union Berlin	v.  Myanmar, 28 May 2021
MF	Riki Harakawa	(1993-08-18) 18 August 1993	0	0	Cerezo Osaka	v.  South Korea, 25 March 2021 INJ
FW	Takuma Asano	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994	32	6	VfL Bochum	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
FW	Kyogo Furuhashi	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995	12	3	Celtic	v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
FW	Ado Onaiwu	(1995-11-08) 8 November 1995	3	3	Toulouse	v.  Australia, 12 October 2021
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.

(Players are listed within position group by order of latest call-up, seniority, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

*Bold indicates winning squads

As of 16 November 2021[61]

*Players in bold are still active with Japan.

Updated 15 June 2021

• Youngest player

Daisuke Ichikawa, 17 year and 322 days old, 1 April 1998 against  South Korea

• Youngest goalscorer

Shinji Kagawa, 19 year and 206 days old, 9 October 2008 against  United Arab Emirates

• Youngest captain

Gen Shoji, 24 year and 363 days old, 9 December 2017 EAFF E-1 Championship

• Oldest player

Eiji Kawashima, 38 year and 87 days old, 15 June 2021 against  Kyrgyzstan

• Oldest goalscorer

Masashi Nakayama, 33 year and 326 days old, 15 August 2001 against  Australia

• Oldest captain

Shigeo Yaegashi, 35 year and 203 days old, 13 October 1968 Summer Olympics

• Most hat-trick

8, Kunishige Kamamoto

• Most goal in one match

6, Kunishige Kamamoto, 27 September 1967 against  Philippines

6, Kazuyoshi Miura, 22 June 1997 against  Macau

• Most goal in calendar year

18, Kazuyoshi Miura, 1997

Most manager appearances

Zico: 71