[10][11] 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.

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.

[12][13] 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.

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.

[20] After World War II began, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies.

[22] Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal.

[23] 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.

[25] 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".

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, 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.

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.

[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 coach Akira Nishino as the new manager.

[57] 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 with no attempts to take a shot on goal, despite losing 1–0, with some fans booing the players.

[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.

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.

[85] Japan were considered the favourites for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar,[86] 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),[87] before going on to play a nightmarish game against Iraq (a 2–1 loss).

[91][92][93] The squad also had to contend with an extra controversy, with the sudden departure of Junya Itō shortly before the match against Iran, due to the Stade de Reims player having been accused of sexual assault.

The kits worn for the 1992 Asian Cup consisted of white stripes (stylized to form a wing) with red diamonds.

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

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.

Japan have met South Korea 80 times, trailing the statistic at 16 wins, 23 draws, and 42 losses, while scoring 73 goals and conceding 124.

However, Japan's establishment of professional football helped turn the tide, and the Japanese have been able to exert domination with 15 wins, 6 draws and just 2 losses.

[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.

[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 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

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

[119] The mascots are "Karappe" (カラッペ) and "Karara" (カララ), two Yatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team kit.

Win Draw Loss Fixture 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.

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.