Prior to the late 1980s, Japan's national football team was largely amateur, with the sport less popular domestically thanbaseball orsumo.[10][11] Since the early 1990s, following the full professionalization of the sport, Japan has emerged as one of Asia's leading teams. The national team has qualified for everyFIFA World Cup since1998 (including an automatic berth as co-hosts of the2002 tournament alongsideSouth Korea), advancing to the knockout stage in 2002,2010,2018, and2022. Japan has also won a record fourAsian Cup titles, in1992,2000,2004, and2011. In addition, the team finished as runners-up in both the2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the2019 Asian Cup. Japan is one of only three teams from theAsian Football Confederation (AFC) to have reached the final of a seniorFIFA men's competition, alongsideAustralia andSaudi Arabia.
Japan's progression in a short period has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football.[12][13] Their principal continentalrivals are South Korea and,most recently, Australia; they also developed rivalries againstIran and Saudi Arabia.
Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in theCopa América, having been invited in the1999,2011,2015, and2019 editions of the tournament, although they only played in the 1999 and 2019 events.[14]
As of September 2025,[update] Japan is the highest-ranked AFC team at 19th, and has been the highest Asian side since December 2022.[15]
Japan's earliest international matches were at the1917 Far Eastern Championship Games inTokyo, where it was represented by a team from theTokyo 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.[16] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s.[17] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921,[18] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929.[17] However, Japan refused to participate in the1930 FIFA World Cup.[19]
AfterWorld War II began, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches againstManchuria and other colonies.[17] Its last prewar match for purposes ofElo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.[21] While Korea wasunder Japanese rule, multiple Koreans played in international competition for Japan, includingKim Yong-sik (1936–40),Kim Sung-gan (1940) andLee Yoo-hyung (1940).
Dettmar Cramer joined the Japan national team as coach in 1960, and helped lead the team to the round of eight at the1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[22] Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the1968 Summer Olympics inMexico City, where the team won thebronze 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.[23] Nonetheless, Japan were close to qualifying for the1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the deciding matches.
Japan made its first appearance in the Asian Cup in1988, where they were eliminated in the group stage following a draw withIran and losses toSouth Korea, theUnited Arab Emirates andQatar.
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.[22]
In the 1990s, the Japan Football Association began theprofessionalization of its national football team. In 1991, the owners of the semi-professionalJapan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professionalJ.League, partly to raise the sport's profile and to strengthen the national team program. The following year, Japan hosted the1992 Asian Cup and won their first title by defeatingSaudi Arabia 1–0 in the final.[24] The J.League was officially launched in 1993.[25]
However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the1994 World Cup after drawing withIraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the "Agony of Doha".[26] Japan's next tournament was a defence of their continental title at the1996 Asian Cup. The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss toKuwait.[27]
The nation's first ever World Cup appearance was in1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in favour ofArgentina andCroatia, and the campaign ended with a 2–1 defeat toJamaica. Japan impressed, however, as all three defeats were only by a one goal margin.[28]
In the2000 AFC Asian Cup, Japan managed to reclaim their title after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, becoming Asian champions for the second time.[29]
Two years later, Japan co-hosted the2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 draw withBelgium in their opening match, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1–0 win overRussia and a 2–0 victory againstTunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishersTurkey in extra time.[30]
With the2004 Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title by winning their group after two victories overThailand andOman, before achieving victories againstJordan andBahrain. They defeated the hosts in the final 3–1.[31]
On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the2006 World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beatingNorth Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the round of 16, losing to future AFC rivalAustralia 3–1, drawing Croatia 0–0 and falling toBrazil 4–1.[32]
The2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan fail to defend its title. Although easily winning the group overVietnam, Qatar and theUAE, 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,[33] before failing in the third-place match against South Korea.
Keisuke Honda was one of Japan's most successful national team players of the 2010s, playing in three World Cups and winning theMVP at the2011 AFC Asian Cup.
After the World Cup, head coachTakeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by formerJuventus andMilan coachAlberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories overGuatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as a 1–0 victory over Argentina.
Japan participated in the2011 Asian Cup inQatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in thefinal after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to qualify for the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[39] The country then started their road to the2014 World Cup inBrazil. Throughout, they suffered only two losses to Uzbekistan andJordan, and drew against Australia. After a 1–1 draw with Australia, they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation aside from the hosts to qualify.[40]
Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil.[41] They were then eliminated from the competition after losing toItaly 4–3.[42] They lost their final match 1–2 againstMexico and finished in fourth place in Group A.[43] One month later, in theEAFF East Asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw toChina. They then beat Australia 3–2 and beat South Korea 2–1 in the third and final match in thetournament to claim the title.[44]
Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside theIvory Coast,Greece andColombia. 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.[45] Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach.[46] In July 2014, former Mexico andEspanyol managerJavier Aguirre took over,[47] and Japan lost 0–2 toUruguay in the first game he managed.
Japan won its opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup inGroup D against Asian Cup debutantesPalestine 4–0, with goals fromYasuhito Endō,Shinji Okazaki,Keisuke Honda andMaya 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 the knockout stage as Group D winners with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the UAE in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, as Honda andShinji Kagawa missed their penalty kicks. Japan's elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years.[48]
After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure.[49] He was replaced byVahid Halilhodžić in March 2015.[50] Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home.[51] They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up five wins and two draws. On 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home, thus qualifying them for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making it their sixth successive World Cup.[52] However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between the coach and players, and poor recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, Japanese coachAkira Nishino as the new manager.[53]
Japan made history in the2018 World Cup by defeatingColombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against aCONMEBOL team in an official tournament,[54] as well as Japan's first ever victory at the World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match againstSenegal ended in a draw with goals fromTakashi Inui and Keisuke Honda.[55] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H againstPoland 1–0,[56] 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.[57] The match with Poland causedcontroversy, as Japan were made aware of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an extremely conservative game with no attempts to take a shot on goal, despite losing 1–0, with some fans booing the players.[58][59][60] The match received comparison to the1982 World CupDisgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.[61] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.[62]
In the round of 16 againstBelgium, Japan took a 2–0 lead with a goal in the 48th minute byGenki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd byTakashi Inui, but yielded three goals afterwards, including the winner byNacer Chadli on the counterattack in the 94th minute. The defeat to Belgium was the first time a nation had lost a knockout match at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage sinceEngland lost toWest Germany 3–2 inextra-time in thequarter-final of the1970 edition.[63][64] Despite losing a 2–0 lead, Japan's impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and the media.[65]
Japan participated in the2019 Asian Cup, finishing on top of group F after defeatingTurkmenistan 3–2,[66]Oman 1–0[67] and Uzbekistan 2–1.[68] Japan defeated Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals by a 1–0 margin.[69][70] After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final,[71] Japan's hope to win their fifth Asian Cup was lost with the team suffering a 3–1 defeat to Qatar, who won the Asian Cup for the first time.[72]
Japan were invited to the2019 Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the competition. They were placed in Group C with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. The nation lost their opening match 4–0 to Chile,[73] before bouncing back and drawing against Uruguay 2–2.[74] Japan needed a win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal difference to Paraguay.[75] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home.
After China was removed as host of the2022 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.[76]
Japan qualified for the2022 World Cup in Qatar, and were drawn intoGroup E with Germany,Costa Rica andSpain. On 23 November, Japan produced an upset, beating Germany 2–1, with two goals in an eight-minute span during the second half.[77] After losing to Costa Rica 1–0,[78] 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.[79] By topping their group, Japan went on to face Croatia[80] in the round of 16 where they would lose 3–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[81] It was the third team in 52 years to have come from behind twice in one tournament, following Brazil and (West) Germany.[82] They beat Spain with the lowest possession (18%) of the ball ever for a winning side since the1966 World Cup.[83][84] 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.[85]
Japan were considered the favourites for the2023 Asian Cup in Qatar,[86] but disappointed;Hajime Moriyasu's men began the tournament with an unconvincing victory over aVietnamese side deprived of a number of key players (4–2),[87] before going on to play a nightmarish game againstIraq (a 2–1 loss). This defeat, Japan's first in the group stage since their first appearance in1988, 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[88] and then eliminated Bahrain by the same scoreline in the round of 16.[89] 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 withHidemasa Morita's 28th-minute opener, before falling completely flat in the second half, succumbing to Iran's fiery attacks, 2–1.[90] 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.[91][92][93] The squad also had to contend with an extra controversy, with the sudden departure ofJunya Itō shortly before the match against Iran, due to theStade de Reims player having been accused ofsexual assault.[94]
On 20 March 2025, a 2–0 win againstBahrain saw Japan become the first non-host nation to qualify for the2026 FIFA World Cup.[95]
Japan's national football team is nicknamed theSamurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー,Samurai Burū) by theJFA.[1][2] The team also is often known by thelast name of the manager. For example, underTakeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン,Okada Japan),[a] 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).[96][97]
The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past.[98] 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 againstSyria on 7 June 2017.
Japan uses blue and white rather than red and white due to a superstition. Japan first used blue shirts in the1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, where a team of theTokyo Imperial University (whose color is light blue) represented Japan wearing light blue shirts,[99] and then in a match againstSweden in the1936 Summer Olympics.[100] Between 1988 and 1992, the kits were red and white, matching the colours of Japan's national flag. After failing to qualify for the1990 World Cup and1992 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 companyAdidas, the team's exclusive kit supplier since April 1999.[101] Before that,Asics andPuma had been the team's official apparel sponsor.
On 3 June 2021, Japan released the special 100th anniversary kit for a friendly match againstJamaica, but the match was cancelled and replaced with a match against theU-24 team. The kit was also used by the U-24 team againstU-24 Ghana on 5 June 2021.
The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association.[102] The crest features theYatagarasu, a three-legged crow fromJapanese mythology that is a symbol for the sun, holding a solid red ball that is like the sun fromnational 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.[103][104]
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.[103]
Before 1988, Japan used thenational 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 greenGothic typeface. This crest was used until 1996.
Japan maintains a strong football rivalry withSouth Korea. Japan have met South Korea 80 times, trailing the statistic at 17 wins, 23 draws, and 42 losses, while scoring 74 goals and conceding 124. Since November 1991, when the Japan Professional Football League was launched, the record is even with 10 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses.[105] 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 the2002 World Cup in a joint bid.
Japan maintains a rivalry withNorth Korea, although the rivalry is infrequent due to political circumstances.[106] Japan have met North Korea 22 times, with a record of 10 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses.[107]
Previously, when Japan had not established professional football, Japan had only 4 wins, 3 draws and 13 losses against China. However, Japan's establishment of professional football helped turn the tide, and the Japanese have been able to exert domination with 16 wins, 6 draws and just 2 losses. China has not beaten Japan since March 1998, and lost to them 3–1 in the2004 AFC Asian Cup final.[108]
Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouseAustralia, shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation.[109] The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries.[110] 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.[111] 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 the2007 AFC Asian Cup, the2011 AFC Asian Cup Final and the2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.[citation needed]
Japan have met Australia 27 times, with a record of 11 wins, 10 draws and 6 losses.[112]
Japan andSaudi 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.[113] 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 the2022 World Cup, with Japan earning wins againstGermany andSpain and Saudi Arabia against eventual championsArgentina in the group stage. These wins over World Cup-winning oppositions have allowed comparisons of developments between Japan and Saudi Arabia to emerge.[114][115]
In the head-to-head record, Japan have an advantage over the Saudis with 12 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses.[116]
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 inJohor 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.
Japan have met Iran 19 times, with a record of 6 wins, 6 draws and 7 losses.[117]
Japan has one of the highest sponsorship incomes for a national squad. In 2006 their sponsorship income amounted to over 16.5 million pounds.[citation needed]
The mascots are "Karappe" (カラッペ) and "Karara" (カララ), twoYatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team kit. The mascots were designed by Japanese manga artistSusumu 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.
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.
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided onpenalty 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.
Japan was the first team from outside theAmericas to participate in theCopa América, having been invited to the1999 tournament.[14] Japan was also invited in2011 and initially accepted the invitation. However, following theTōhoku earthquake, the JFA later withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements.[136] On the next day,CONMEBOL invitedCosta Rica to replace Japan in the competition.
On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL presidentEugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the2015 Copa América.[137] However, Japan later declined the invitation due to scheduling problems.[138]
On 14 May 2018, CONMEBOL announced that Japan, alongsideQatar, would be the two invited teams for the2019 Copa América.[139]
^A common methodology of nickname creation is done by taking the last name of incumbent head coach followed by "Japan". Past teams have been referred to as, "Osim Japan" (オシムジャパン,Oshimu Japan), "Zico Japan" (ジーコジャパン,Jīko Japan), "Troussier Japan" (トルシエジャパン,Torushie Japan)
^ab"Samurai Blue（日本代表）監督 森保一氏と契約合意" [Contract agreement with Samurai Blue (Japan National Team) manager Hajime Moriyasu].Japan Football Association (JFA) (in Japanese).Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. 28 December 2022.
^"Flashback: AFC Asian Cup 2007".the-AFC. Retrieved13 May 2023.It was east v west in the semi-finals, with historic rivals Japan and Saudi Arabia, who had between them split evenly the previous six titles, faced-off. Japan' Takahara failed to add to his four goals while his challenger Al Qahtani put Saudi in front. Yuji Nakazawa and Yuki Abe scored for the Samurai Blue, but it was a Malek Mouath brace that settled the game with a thrilling 3-2 victory for the Green Falcons.
^岡崎、本田がゴール！ ハリルジャパン初陣を勝利で飾る.Football Channel (in Japanese). Kanzen ltd. 27 March 2015.Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved9 April 2015.
^Sánchez Sandoval, Édgar (2 June 2016)."Copa América: Japón, el invitado más extraño" [Copa América: Japan, the most strange invitee] (in Spanish). Publimetro Chile.Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved1 July 2018.Even in 2015, the japanese were asked to be part of the Copa América in Chile, but they withdrew again due to problems with their calendar and previously scheduled matches.
^González, Christian (4 May 2018)."Conmebol confirma a Japón y Qatar en la Copa América de 2019" (in Spanish). La Tercera.Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved1 July 2018.CONMEBOL confirmed, via its website, what has been speculated several months ago: Japan and Qatar will be invited at the event that will be held in Brazil.
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