Japan national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Japan

Nickname(s)	サムライ・ブルー (Samurai Blue) Since 19 October 2009
Association	Japan Football Association (JFA)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	EAFF (East Asia)
Head coach	Hajime Moriyasu
Captain	Wataru Endō
Most caps	Yasuhito Endō (152)
Top scorer	Kunishige Kamamoto (75)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	JPN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	27 23 (7 February 2019)
Highest	9 (February–March 1998)
Lowest	66 (December 1992)
Elo ranking
Current	23 19 (3 March 2019)
Highest	8 (August 2001, March 2002)
Lowest	123 (September 1962)
First international
Japan 0–5 China  (Tokyo, Japan; 9 May 1917)
Biggest win
Japan 15–0 Philippines  (Tokyo; 27 September 1967)
Biggest defeat
Japan 2–15 Philippines  (Tokyo; 10 May 1917)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (first in 1998)
Best result	Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)
Asian Cup
Appearances	11 (first in 1988)
Best result	Champions (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
Copa América (as guest)
Appearances	2 (first in 1999)
Best result	Group stage (1999, 2019)
EAFF Championship
Appearances	9 (first in 2003)
Best result	Champions (2013, 2022)
Confederations Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1995)
Best result	Runners-up (2001)
Medal record Men's football Olympic Games Bronze 1968 Mexico Team FIFA Confederations Cup Silver 2001 Korea/Japan Team Asian Cup Gold 1992 Japan Team Gold 2000 Lebanon Team Gold 2004 China Team Gold 2011 Qatar Team Silver 2019 UAE Team Asian Games Bronze 1951 New Delhi Team Bronze 1966 Bangkok Team EAFF Championship Gold 2013 South Korea Team Gold 2022 Japan Team Silver 2003 Japan Team Silver 2005 South Korea Team Silver 2008 China Team Silver 2017 Japan Team Silver 2019 South Korea Team Bronze 2010 Japan Team
Website	www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/

The Japan national football team (サッカー日本代表, Sakkā Nihon Daihyō or Sakkā Nippon Daihyō), also known by the nickname Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー, Samurai Burū), represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.

Until the end of the 1980s, Japan was a small and amateur team. For a long time, football was less popular than baseball and sumo. Since the early 1990s, when Japanese football became fully professionalized, Japan has emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia; they have qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 1998 (including an automatic berth in 2002 as co-hosts with South Korea) with knockout stage appearances that year, and in 2010, 2018 and 2022. They have won the Asian Cup a record four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. The team also finished runners-up in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 Asian Cup. Japan is one of three teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to have reached the final of a senior FIFA men's competition, the others being Australia and Saudi Arabia.

Japan's progression in a short period has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea and, most recently, Australia; they also developed rivalries against Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in the 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions of the tournament, although they only played in the 1999 and 2019 events.

As of October 2024, Japan is the highest-ranked AFC team at 15th, and has been since December 2022.

History

1910s–1930s: Pre-war era

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

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

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

1950s–1980s: Post-war era

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

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. 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 World Cup until 30 years later. Nonetheless, Japan were close to qualifying 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.

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. The J.League was officially launched in 1993.

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.

2000s: Two Asian Cup titles, World Cup co-hosts

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.

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 in extra time.

With the 2004 Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title by winning their group after two victories over Thailand and Oman, before achieving victories against Jordan and Bahrain. They defeated the hosts in the final 3–1.

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 future AFC rival Australia 3–1, drawing Croatia 0–0 and falling to Brazil 4–1.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan fail to defend its title. Although easily winning the group over Vietnam, 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, 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. Japan started with a 1–0 win against Cameroon, before subsequently losing to the Netherlands 0–1. Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay. In the round of 16, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach. 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.

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.

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, 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. Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1, 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. 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. The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played. Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage. 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. 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. This unfortunate scenario was due to the naivety of the Japanese, 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.

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, Oman 1–0 and Uzbekistan 2–1. 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. After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final, 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Japan qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and were drawn into Group E with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain. On 23 November, Japan produced an upset, beating Germany 2–1, with two goals in an eight-minute span during the second half. After losing to Costa Rica 1–0, going into the final matchday, every team in Group E could qualify or be eliminated, with no team assured of any placement. In the end, Japan managed to qualify for the round of 16 by defeating Spain 2–1 in their final group stage match, while also contributing to Germany's elimination from the tournament. By topping their group, Japan went on to face Croatia in the round of 16 where they would lose 3–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. It was the third team in 52 years to have come from behind twice in one tournament, following Brazil and (West) Germany. They beat Spain with the lowest possession (18%) of the ball ever for a winning side since the 1966 World Cup. It also was 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.

Japan were considered the favourites for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, but disappointed; Hajime Moriyasu's men began the tournament with an unconvincing victory over a Vietnamese side deprived of a number of key players (4–2), before going on to play a nightmarish game against Iraq (a 2–1 loss). This defeat, Japan's first in the group stage since their first appearance in 1988, condemned them to finish second in the group due to their unfavourable head-to-head record. The Japanese sealed three points after overcoming Indonesia 3–1 and then eliminated Bahrain by the same scoreline in the round of 16. 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, 2–1. The country suffered two defeats at the Asian Cup for the first time since their debut in 1988, while conceding at least one goal in every match. .....

Team image

Nicknames

Japan's national football team is nicknamed the Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー, Samurai Burū) by the JFA. 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), or during the 2022 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).

Kits

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 the 1996 Asian Cup and 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, and then in a match against Sweden in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Between 1988 and 1992, the kits were red and white, matching the colours of Japan's national flag. After failing to qualify for the 1990 World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics, the red shirt was scrapped.

In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 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. Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team's official apparel sponsor.

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

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

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. 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.

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.

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

South Korea

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

North Korea

Japan also maintains a significant rivalry with North Korea, although the rivalry is infrequent due to political circumstances. Like the rivalry against South Korea, the rivalry against North Korea is another extension of historical feud between Japan and Korea. They have met each other 20 times, with the head-to-head record being equal with 8 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses.

China

Japan and China used to have a strong rivalry, with the former defeating the latter 3–1 in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup final.

Australia

Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Australia, shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation. The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries. 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. 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.

Japan have met Australia 27 times, with a record of 11 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses.

Saudi Arabia

Japan and Saudi Arabia are two of the most historically successful national teams in Asia and have frequently met each other in many major tournaments, including in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualification. The frequency is also rivalled by high-level performances of Japan and Saudi Arabia in the Asian and global football stage, as they are two of the three AFC members (alongside Australia) to reach the final of any senior FIFA competition. Both countries also gained headlines for producing "unexpected" wins in the 2022 World Cup, with Japan earning wins against Germany and Spain and Saudi Arabia against eventual champions Argentina in the group stage. These wins over World Cup-winning oppositions have allowed comparisons of developments between Japan and Saudi Arabia to emerge.

In the head-to-head record, Japan have an advantage over the Saudis with 10 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses.

Iran

Japan and Iran have a combined seven Asian Cup titles, with a rivalry developing in the 1990s due to the famous "Joy of Johor Bahru" (ジョホール・バルの歓喜, Johōru Baru no kanki) that gave Japan a ticket to their first World Cup defeating the Persians by 3–2 in a neutral Asian play-off hosted in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

More recently, the two countries met in the 2019 and 2023 Asian Cups. The Samurai Blue defeated Team Melli 3–0 in the semifinals of the 2019 edition. The Iranians got revenge four years later eliminating Japan 2–1 in the quarter-finals.

Supporters

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

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.

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 World Cup, the Pokémon character Pikachu served as the mascot.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2024

2024 Toyo Tires Cup 1 January	Japan	5–0	Thailand	Tokyo, Japan
14:00 UTC+9	Tanaka  50' Nakamura  72' Dolah  75' (o.g.) Kawamura  82' Minamino  90+1'	http://jfa.jp/samuraiblue/20240101/match_page.html#pankz		Stadium: Japan National Stadium Attendance: 61,916 Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

Unofficial Friendly 9 January	Japan	6–1	Jordan	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Itakura  14' Nakamura  17'  29' (o.g.) Minamino  43' Asano  71' Maeda  81'	https://www.espn.co.uk/football/match/_/gameId/692531	Rateb  87'	Stadium: Al Ersal Stadium Attendance: 0

2023 AFC Asian Cup GS 14 January	Japan	4–2	Vietnam	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Minamino  11', 45' Nakamura  45+2' Ueda  85'	https://www.jfa.jp/samuraiblue/asiancup2023/groupD/match_page/m5.html	Đình Bắc  16' Tuấn Hải  33'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 17,385 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

2023 AFC Asian Cup GS 19 January	Iraq	2–1	Japan	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Hussein  5', 45+4'	http://jfa.jp/samuraiblue/asiancup2023/groupD/match_page/m18.html	Endō  90+3'	Stadium: Education City Stadium Attendance: 38,663 Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

2023 AFC Asian Cup GS 24 January	Japan	3–1	Indonesia	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Ueda  6' (pen.), 52' Hubner  88' (o.g.)	https://www.the-afc.com/en/matches/afc-asian-cup/2023/2363545	Walsh  90+1'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 26,453 Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

2023 AFC Asian Cup R16 31 January	Bahrain	1–3	Japan	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Suzuki  64' (o.g.)	https://www.the-afc.com/en/matches/afc-asian-cup/2023/2363564	Doan  31' Kubo  49' Ueda  72'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 31,832 Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

2023 AFC Asian Cup QF 3 February	Iran	2–1	Japan	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Mohebi  55' Jahanbakhsh  90+6' (pen.)	https://www.the-afc.com/en/matches/afc-asian-cup/2023/2363568	Morita  28'	Stadium: Education City Stadium Attendance: 35,640 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

2026 World Cup qualification 2R 21 March	Japan	1–0	North Korea	Tokyo, Japan
19:20 UTC+9	Tanaka  2'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017255?gender=1&date=2024-03-20		Stadium: Japan National Stadium Attendance: 59,354 Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

2026 World Cup qualification 2R 26 March	North Korea	0–3 Awarded	Japan
		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017258

2026 World Cup qualification 2R 6 June	Myanmar	0–5	Japan	Yangon, Myanmar
18:40 UTC+6:30		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017251?gender=1&date=2024-06-05	Nakamura  17', 90+3' Dōan  34' Ogawa  75', 83'	Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium Attendance: 21,200 Referee: Majed Al-Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)

2026 World Cup qualification 2R 11 June	Japan	5–0	Syria	Hiroshima, Japan
19:10 UTC+9	Ueda  13' Dōan  19' Krouma  22' (o.g.) Soma  73' (pen.) Minamino  85'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017256?gender=1&date=2024-06-10		Stadium: Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima Attendance: 26,650 Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Kuwait)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 5 September	Japan	7–0	China	Saitama, Japan
19:35 UTC+9	Endō  12' Mitoma  45+2' Minamino  52', 58' Itō  77' Maeda  87' Kubo  90+5'	https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018509		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 52,398 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 10 September	Bahrain	0–5	Japan	Riffa, Bahrain
19:00 UTC+3		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018497	Ueda  37' (pen.), 47' Morita  61', 64' Ogawa  81'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 22,729 Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 10 October	Saudi Arabia	0–2	Japan	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
21:00 UTC+3		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018515	Kamada  14' Ogawa  81'	Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium Attendance: 56,283 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 15 October	Japan	1–1	Australia	Saitama, Japan
19:35 UTC+9	Burgess  76' (o.g.)	https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018511	Taniguchi  58' (o.g.)	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 58,730 Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Kuwait)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 15 November	Indonesia	0–4	Japan	Jakarta, Indonesia
19:00 UTC+7		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018505	Hubner  36' (o.g.) Minamino  40' Morita  49' Sugawara  69'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Attendance: 60,304 Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 19 November	China	1–3	Japan	Xiamen, China
20:00 UTC+8	Lin Liangming  48'	https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018500	Ogawa  39', 54' Itakura  45+6'	Stadium: Xiamen Egret Stadium Attendance: 45,336 Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

• Fixtures & Results (2024), JFA.jp

2025

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 20 March	Japan	v	Bahrain	Saitama, Japan
19:35 UTC+9		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018508		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 25 March	Japan	v	Saudi Arabia	Saitama, Japan
19:35 UTC+9		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018510		Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 5 June	Australia	v	Japan	Australia
--:-- UTC+11		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018524

2026 World Cup qualification 3R 10 June	Japan	v	Indonesia	Japan
--:-- UTC+9		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288276/400018522

• Fixtures & Results (2025), JFA.jp

Coaching staff

Current staff

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

• Players & Staffs (2024), JFA.jp

Manager history

after the match against  China.

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	2018–present	88	62	11	15	70.45%
Manager	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Draw	Lost	Win %

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Indonesia and China on 15 and 19 November 2024, respectively.

Caps and goals as of 19 November 2024, after the match against  China.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Zion Suzuki	(2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 22)	16	0	Parma
12	1GK	Keisuke Osako	(1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 25)	8	0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
23	1GK	Kosei Tani	(2000-11-20) 20 November 2000 (age 24)	2	0	Machida Zelvia
2	2DF	Yukinari Sugawara	(2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 (age 24)	14	2	Southampton
3	2DF	Daiki Hashioka	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 (age 26)	11	0	Luton Town
4	2DF	Ko Itakura	(1997-01-27) 27 January 1997 (age 28)	35	2	Borussia Mönchengladbach
16	2DF	Kōki Machida	(1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 27)	16	0	Union Saint-Gilloise
22	2DF	Ayumu Seko	(2000-06-07) 7 June 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Grasshopper
	2DF	Yuto Nagatomo	(1986-09-12) 12 September 1986 (age 38)	142	4	FC Tokyo
	2DF	Kota Takai	(2004-09-04) 4 September 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Kawasaki Frontale
	2DF	Hiroki Sekine	(2002-08-11) 11 August 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Kashiwa Reysol
5	3MF	Hidemasa Morita	(1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 (age 30)	39	6	Sporting CP
6	3MF	Wataru Endō (captain)	(1993-02-09) 9 February 1993 (age 32)	67	4	Liverpool
7	3MF	Kaoru Mitoma	(1997-05-20) 20 May 1997 (age 28)	26	8	Brighton & Hove Albion
8	3MF	Takumi Minamino	(1995-01-16) 16 January 1995 (age 30)	65	24	Monaco
10	3MF	Ritsu Dōan	(1998-06-16) 16 June 1998 (age 26)	55	10	SC Freiburg
13	3MF	Keito Nakamura	(2000-07-28) 28 July 2000 (age 24)	14	8	Reims
14	3MF	Junya Itō	(1993-03-09) 9 March 1993 (age 32)	60	14	Reims
15	3MF	Daichi Kamada	(1996-08-05) 5 August 1996 (age 28)	38	8	Crystal Palace
17	3MF	Ao Tanaka	(1998-09-10) 10 September 1998 (age 26)	30	8	Leeds United
20	3MF	Takefusa Kubo	(2001-06-04) 4 June 2001 (age 24)	40	5	Real Sociedad
21	3MF	Reo Hatate	(1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 (age 27)	10	0	Celtic
	3MF	Joel Chima Fujita	(2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 (age 23)	2	0	Sint-Truiden
9	4FW	Kyogo Furuhashi	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995 (age 30)	22	5	Celtic
11	4FW	Daizen Maeda	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 27)	22	4	Celtic
18	4FW	Yuki Ohashi	(1996-07-27) 27 July 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Blackburn Rovers
19	4FW	Koki Ogawa	(1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 27)	9	9	NEC Nijmegen

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Daiya Maekawa	(1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 30)	2	0	Vissel Kobe	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
GK	Taishi Brandon Nozawa	(2002-12-25) 25 December 2002 (age 22)	0	0	FC Tokyo	2023 AFC Asian Cup
DF	Shogo Taniguchi	(1991-07-15) 15 July 1991 (age 33)	32	1	Sint-Truiden	v.  Indonesia, 15 November 2024 INJ
DF	Henry Heroki Mochizuki	(2001-09-20) 20 September 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Machida Zelvia	v.  Australia, 15 October 2024
DF	Yūta Nakayama	(1997-02-16) 16 February 1997 (age 28)	22	0	Machida Zelvia	v.  Bahrain, 10 September 2024
DF	Takehiro Tomiyasu	(1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 (age 26)	42	1	Arsenal	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
DF	Hiroki Itō	(1999-05-12) 12 May 1999 (age 26)	19	1	Bayern Munich	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
DF	Seiya Maikuma	(1997-10-16) 16 October 1997 (age 27)	8	0	AZ	v.  North Korea, 21 March 2024
DF	Tsuyoshi Watanabe	(1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 (age 28)	3	0	Gent	v.  North Korea, 21 March 2024
DF	Ryoya Morishita	(1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 28)	2	0	Legia Warsaw	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
DF	Haruya Fujii	(2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Kortrijk	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
DF	Sota Miura	(2000-09-07) 7 September 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Kawasaki Frontale	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
MF	Yuki Soma	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 28)	14	5	Machida Zelvia	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
MF	Takumu Kawamura	(1999-08-28) 28 August 1999 (age 25)	3	1	Red Bull Salzburg	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
MF	Kaishū Sano	(2000-12-30) 30 December 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Mainz 05	v.  North Korea, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF	Ryotaro Ito	(1998-02-06) 6 February 1998 (age 27)	1	0	Sint-Truiden	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
MF	Kanji Okunuki	(1999-08-11) 11 August 1999 (age 25)	1	0	1. FC Nürnberg	v.  Thailand, 1 January 2024
FW	Ayase Ueda	(1998-08-28) 28 August 1998 (age 26)	30	14	Feyenoord	v.  Australia, 15 October 2024
FW	Takuma Asano	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 30)	53	9	Mallorca	v.  Bahrain, 10 September 2024
FW	Mao Hosoya	(2001-09-07) 7 September 2001 (age 23)	6	1	Kashiwa Reysol	v.  Bahrain, 10 September 2024
FW	Yuito Suzuki	(2001-10-25) 25 October 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Brøndby	v.  Syria, 11 June 2024
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.

Records

Players in bold are still active with Japan.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Pos	Career
1	Yasuhito Endō	152	15	MF	2002–2015
2	Yuto Nagatomo	142	4	DF	2008–present
3	Maya Yoshida	126	12	DF	2010–2022
4	Masami Ihara	122	5	DF	1988–1999
5	Shinji Okazaki	119	50	FW	2008– 2019
6	Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi	116	0	GK	1997–2010
7	Makoto Hasebe	114	2	MF	2006–2018
8	Yuji Nakazawa	110	17	DF	1999–2010
9	Keisuke Honda	98	37	MF	2008–2018
	Shunsuke Nakamura	98	24	MF	2000–2010

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Kunishige Kamamoto	75	76	0.99	1964–1977
2	Kazuyoshi Miura	55	89	0.62	1990–2000
3	Shinji Okazaki	50	119	0.42	2008–2019
4	Hiromi Hara	37	75	0.49	1978–1988
	Keisuke Honda		98	0.38	2008–2018
6	Shinji Kagawa	31	97	0.32	2008–2019
7	Takuya Takagi	27	44	0.61	1992–1997
8	Kazushi Kimura	26	54	0.48	1979–1986
9	Yuya Osako	25	57	0.44	2013–2022
10	Takumi Minamino	24	64	0.38	2015–present

Captains

Name	Pos	Period	Note
Shigeo Yaegashi	MF	1968	Summer Olympics bronze medalist leading captain (1968)
Aritatsu Ogi	MF	1969–1974
Kunishige Kamamoto	FW	1975–1977
Nobuo Fujishima	MF	1978
Hiroshi Ochiai	MF DF	1978–1979
Hideki Maeda	MF	1980–1981
Mitsuhisa Taguchi	GK	1982–1984
Kazushi Kimura	MF	1986
Hisashi Kato	DF	1985–1987
Hiromi Hara	FW	1988
Shigetatsu Matsunaga	GK	1989
Shinichi Morishita		1990
Tetsuji Hashiratani	MF	1991–1995	AFC Asian Cup winning captain (1992)
Masami Ihara	DF	1996–1999
Masashi Nakayama	FW	2001	FIFA Confederations Cup runners-up leading captain (2001)
Ryuzo Morioka	CB	2000–2002	AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2000)
Hidetoshi Nakata	CM	2002–2004
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto	CB	2003–2006	AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2004), East Asian Football Championship runners-up leading captain (2003) (2005)
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi	GK	2006–2008	East Asian Football Championship runners-up leading captain (2008)
Yuji Nakazawa	CB	2008–2010	East Asian Football Championship third place leading captain (2010)
Makoto Hasebe	DM	2010–2018	AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2011)
Yuichi Komano	DF	2013	EAFF East Asian Cup winning captain (2013)
Gen Shoji	CB	2017	EAFF E-1 Championship runners-up leading captain (2017)
Maya Yoshida	CB	2018–2022	AFC Asian Cup runners-up leading captain (2019)
Sho Sasaki	LB	2019	EAFF E-1 Championship runners-up leading captain (2019)
Shogo Taniguchi	CB	2022	EAFF E-1 Championship winning captain (2022)
Wataru Endo	DM	2023–present

Competitive record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty shootouts. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicate 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record		Qualification record
Year		Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	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									9	8	1	0	37	1
2030											To be determined
2034
Total	Round of 16	7/22	25	7	6	12	25	33	—		147	91	28	28	342	92

Match history

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)

AFC Asian Cup

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
1964
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
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 defending 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 defending 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 defending 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									6	6	0	0	24	0
Total		4 Titles	11/19	53	33	12	8	104	52	—	50	41	4	5	162	19

Match history

AFC Asian Cup history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1988	Group stage	Iran	0–0	Draw
		South Korea	0–2	Loss
		United Arab Emirates	0–1	Loss
		Qatar	0–3	Loss
1992	Group stage	United Arab Emirates	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 p)	Draw (Win)
	Semi-finals	Bahrain	4–3	Win
	Final	China	3–1	Win
2007	Group stage	Qatar	1–1	Draw
		United Arab Emirates	3–1	Win
		Vietnam	4–1	Win
	Quarter-finals	Australia	1–1 (4–3 p)	Draw (Win)
	Semi-finals	Saudi Arabia	2–3	Loss
	Third place play-off	South Korea	0–0 (5–6 p)	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 p)	Draw (Win)
	Final	Australia	1–0	Win
2015	Group stage	[[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]]	4–0	Win
		Iraq	1–0	Win
		Jordan	2–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	United Arab Emirates	1–1 (4–5 p)	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

Copa América

Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited to the 1999 tournament. Japan was also invited in 2011 and initially accepted the invitation. However, following the Tōhoku earthquake, the JFA later withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements. 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. However, Japan later declined the invitation due to scheduling problems.

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

FIFA Confederations Cup

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	—

Match history

FIFA Confederations Cup history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Group stage	Nigeria	0–3	Loss
		Argentina	1–5	Loss
2001	Group stage	Canada	3–0	Win
		Cameroon	2–0	Win
		Brazil	0–0	Draw
	Semi-finals	Australia	1–0	Win
	Final	France	0–1	Loss
2003	Group stage	New Zealand	3–0	Win
		France	1–2	Loss
		Colombia	0–1	Loss
2005	Group stage	Mexico	1–2	Loss
		Greece	1–0	Win
		Brazil	2–2	Draw
2013	Group stage	Brazil	0–3	Loss
		Italy	3–4	Loss
		Mexico	1–2	Loss

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record		Qualification record
Year		Result	Position	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	M	W	D	L	GF	GA
1908		Did not enter									Did not enter
1912
1920
1924
1928
1936		Quarter-finals	8th	2	1	0	1	3	10	Squad	No qualification
1948		Did not enter									Did not enter
1952
1956		First round	10th	1	0	0	1	0	2	Squad	No qualification
1960		Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	1	2
1964		Quarter-finals	8th	3	1	0	3	6	15	Squad	Qualified as hosts
1968		Bronze medalists	3rd	6	3	2	1	9	8	Squad	5	4	1	0	26	4
1972		Did not qualify									4	2	0	2	14	7
1976											6	2	1	3	9	11
1980											5	3	1	1	16	5
1984											10	3	1	6	26	17
1988											8	6	1	1	19	3
1992–present		See Japan national under-23 team									See Japan national under-23 team
Total		Bronze medalists	4/17	12	5	2	6	18	35	—	40	21	5	14	111	49

Match history

Summer Olympics history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1936	First round	Sweden	3–2	Win
	Quarter-finals	Italy	0–8	Loss
1956	First round	Australia	0–2	Loss
1964	Group stage	Argentina	3–2	Win
		Ghana	2–3	Loss
	Quarter-finals	Czechoslovakia	0–4	Loss
1968	Group stage	Nigeria	3–1	Win
		Brazil	1–1	Draw
		Spain	0–0	Draw
	Quarter-finals	France	3–1	Win
	Semi-finals	Hungary	0–5	Loss
	Bronze play-off	Mexico	2–0	Win

Asian Games

EAFF E-1 Championship

EAFF E-1 Championship record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2003	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	1	0	3	0	Squad
2005			3	1	1	1	3	3	Squad
2008			3	1	2	0	3	2	Squad
2010	Third Place	3rd	3	1	1	1	4	3	Squad
2013	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	8	6	Squad
2015	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	2	1	3	4	Squad
2017	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	4	5	Squad
2019			3	2	0	1	7	2	Squad
2022	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	9	0	Squad
Total	Champions	9/9	27	13	9	5	44	25	—

Match history

EAFF E-1 Championship history
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
2003	First match	China	2–0	Win
	Second match	Hong Kong	1–0
	Third match	South Korea	0–0	Draw
2005	First match	North Korea	0–1	Loss
	Second match	China	2–2	Draw
	Third match	South Korea	1–0	Win
2008	First match	North Korea	1–1	Draw
	Second match	China	1–0	Win
	Third match	South Korea	1–1	Draw
2010	First match	China	0–0	Draw
	Second match	Hong Kong	3–0	Win
	Third match	South Korea	1–3	Loss
2013	First match	China	3–3	Draw
	Second match	Australia	3–2	Win
	Third match	South Korea	2–1	Win
2015	First match	North Korea	1–2	Loss
	Second match	South Korea	1–1	Draw
	Third match	China	1–1	Draw
2017	First match	North Korea	1–0	Win
	Second match	China	2–1
	Third match	South Korea	1–4	Loss
2019	First match	China	2–1	Win
	Second match	Hong Kong	5–0
	Third match	South Korea	0–1	Loss
2022	First match	Hong Kong	6–0	Win
	Second match	China	0–0	Draw
	Third match	South Korea	3–0	Win

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Japan's all-time international record, correct as of 18 November 2024.

Opponent	From	To	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Afghanistan	1951	2015	3	3	0	0	13	0	+13
Angola	2005	2005	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Argentina	1964	2010	8	1	0	7	4	16	−12
Australia	1956	2024	28	11	10	6	40	31	+9
Austria	2007	2007	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Azerbaijan	2012	2012	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Bahrain	1978	2024	13	10	1	2	26	11	+15
Bangladesh	1975	1993	5	5	0	0	22	1	+21
Belarus	2013	2013	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Belgium	1999	2018	6	2	2	2	11	8	+3
Bolivia	1999	2019	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006	2016	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2
Brazil	1968	2022	13	0	2	11	5	35	−30
Brunei	1980	2000	4	4	0	0	29	1	+28
Bulgaria	1976	2016	6	1	1	4	10	13	−3
Cambodia	1964	2015	4	4	0	0	10	0	+10
Cameroon	2001	2020	6	3	3	0	5	0	+5
Canada	2001	2023	4	3	0	1	10	4	+6
Chile	2008	2019	3	1	1	1	4	4	0
China	1917	2024	36	18	8	10	56	42	+14
Chinese Taipei	1963	1983	7	6	0	1	24	7	+17
Colombia	2003	2023	6	1	1	4	4	9	−5
Costa Rica	1995	2022	5	3	1	1	10	3	+7
Croatia	1997	2022	4	1	2	1	5	5	0
Cyprus	2014	2014	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Czech Republic	1998	2011	3	1	2	0	1	0	+1
Denmark	1971	2010	2	1	0	1	5	4	+1
Ecuador	1995	2022	4	2	2	0	5	1	+4
Egypt	1998	2007	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4
El Salvador	2019	2023	2	2	0	0	8	0	+8
England	1995	2010	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2
Finland	2006	2009	2	2	0	0	7	1	+6
France	1968	2012	6	1	1	4	5	14	−9
Germany	2004	2023	4	2	1	1	8	7	+1
Ghana	1994	2022	7	5	0	2	16	9	+5
Greece	2005	2014	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1
Guatemala	2010	2013	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4
Haiti	2017	2017	1	0	1	0	3	3	0
Honduras	2002	2014	3	2	1	0	14	7	+7
Hong Kong	1958	2022	27	16	6	5	59	17	+42
Hungary	1993	2004	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2
Iceland	1971	2012	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5
India	1954	2006	12	11	1	6	41	19	+22
Indonesia	1954	2024	17	10	2	5	40	24	+16
Iran	1951	2024	19	6	6	7	22	21	+1
Iraq	1978	2024	13	7	3	3	19	10	+9
Israel	1973	1977	5	0	0	5	1	10	−9
Italy	2001	2013	2	0	1	1	4	5	−1
Ivory Coast	1993	2020	5	3	0	2	4	4	0
Jamaica	1998	2014	4	2	1	1	7	3	+4
Jordan	1988	2015	6	3	2	1	12	4	+8
Kazakhstan	1997	2005	3	2	1	0	10	2	+8
Kuwait	1978	1998	5	1	0	4	2	8	−6
Kyrgyzstan	2018	2021	3	3	0	0	11	1	+10
Latvia	2005	2013	2	1	1	0	5	2	+3
Macau	1980	2000	5	5	0	0	45	0	+45
Malaysia	1958	2004	35	13	11	11	56	55	+1
Mali	2018	2018	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Malta	2006	2006	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Mexico	1996	2020	6	1	0	5	6	11	−5
Mongolia	1942	2021	5	5	0	0	71	0	+71
Montenegro	2007	2007	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Myanmar	1994	2024	5	5	0	0	27	0	+27
Nepal	1986	1998	4	4	0	0	19	0	+19
Netherlands	2009	2013	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4
New Zealand	1981	2017	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5
Nigeria	1995	2003	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
North Korea	1975	2024	22	10	4	8	23	16	+7
Norway	2002	2002	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Oman	1988	2021	14	10	3	1	21	5	+16
Pakistan	1960	1988	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1
[[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]]	2015	2015	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Panama	2018	2020	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4
Paraguay	1995	2022	12	5	4	2	15	10	+5
Peru	1999	2023	6	2	2	2	8	5	+3
Philippines	1917	1974	13	8	0	5	33	33	0
Poland	1996	2018	3	2	0	1	7	1	+6
Qatar	1982	2019	10	3	4	3	12	13	−1
Romania	1974	2003	6	1	2	3	6	13	−7
Russia	1995	2002	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
Saudi Arabia	1982	2024	19	12	1	6	29	17	+12
Scotland	1995	2009	3	1	2	0	2	0	+2
Senegal	1987	2018	4	0	2	2	4	7	−3
Serbia	2010	2021	3	1	0	2	1	5	−4
Singapore	1959	2015	28	23	2	3	67	21	+46
Slovakia	2000	2004	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3
Spain	2001	2022	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
South Africa	2009	2009	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
South Korea	1954	2022	81	16	23	42	76	124	−48
Sri Lanka	1972	1993	3	3	0	0	16	0	+16
Sweden	1936	2002	5	1	3	1	7	7	0
Switzerland	1993	2018	3	1	1	1	5	6	−1
Syria	1978	2024	13	11	2	0	37	9	+28
Tajikistan	2011	2021	4	4	0	0	19	1	+18
Thailand	1960	2024	28	19	6	3	70	23	+47
Togo	2009	2009	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5
Trinidad and Tobago	2006	2019	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2
Tunisia	1996	2023	6	5	0	1	8	3	+5
Turkey	1997	2023	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2
Turkmenistan	2019	2019	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Ukraine	2002	2018	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
United Arab Emirates	1981	2017	20	6	9	5	22	18	+4
United States	1993	2022	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3
Uruguay	1985	2023	9	2	3	4	18	24	−6
Uzbekistan	1996	2019	11	7	3	1	30	10	+20
Venezuela	2010	2019	5	1	3	1	6	6	0
Vietnam	2007	2024	6	5	1	0	12	4	+8
Wales	1992	1992	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Yemen	2006	2010	4	4	0	0	8	3	+5
Zambia	2014	2014	1	1	0	0	4	3	+1
Total (110 Countries)	1917	2024	811	387	165	249	1,436	952	+484

Honours

Major competitions

Worldwide

• Olympic Games
  • Bronze medal (1): 1968
• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2001

Intercontinental

• Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
  • Champions (2): 1993, 2007
• AFC–OFC Challenge Cup
  • Champions (1): 2001

Continental

• AFC Asian Cup
  • Champions (4): 1992, 2000, 2004, 2011
  • Runners-up (1): 2019
• Asian Games
  • Bronze medal (2): 1951, 1966

Regional

• Far Eastern Games
  • Gold medal (1): 1930
• EAFF East Asian Cup EAFF / E-1 Football Championship
  • Champions (2): 2013, 2022
  • Runners-up (5): 2003, 2005, 2008, 2017, 2019
  • Third place (1): 2010
• Dynasty Cup
  • Champions (3): 1992, 1995, 1998

Friendly

• Kirin Cup
  • Champions (12): 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015
• Bangabandhu Cup
  • Champions (1): 1999

Awards

• AFC National Team of the Year

Years: 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011

• Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize

Years: 2002

Summary

Competition				Total
Olympic Games	0	0	1	1
FIFA Confederations Cup	0	1	0	1
AFC Asian Cup	4	1	0	5
Asian Games	1	3	2	6
Afro-Asian Cup of Nations	2	0	0	2
AFC–OFC Challenge Cup	1	0	0	1
EAFF E-1 Football Championship	2	5	1	8
Far Eastern Games	1	0	0	1
Dynasty Cup	3	0	0	3
Total	14	10	4	28

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Japón para niños

National teams

Men's

• Japan national under-23 football team
• Japan national under-20 football team
• Japan national under-17 football team
• Japan national futsal team
• Japan national under-20 futsal team
• Japan national beach soccer team

Women's

• Japan women's national football team
• Japan women's national under-23 football team
• Japan women's national under-20 football team
• Japan women's national under-17 football team