Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. On 23 November 2022, Japan produced an upset in which they beat Germany 2–1, with two goals in an eight-minute span during the second half.

We didn’t leave our amazing venues idle and our Expo Stars League matches in this 2023-24 season are being played in five of them — Al Bayt, Ahmad Bin Ali, Al Janoub, Al Thumama and Khalifa International Stadiums. Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions of the tournament, though they only played in the 1999 and 2019 events. For the IFAF, this is a great opportunity to once again demonstrate to millions of fans and the wider Olympic and sports communities, the excitement and dynamism of Flag Football as the global development of the sport continues to accelerate at a rapid pace," said Pierre Trochet, President of the IFAF. The team, however, got criticized for its defensive approach (as the offensive approach lead to a regretful scenario against Belgium during the World Cup 2018), 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.The state-of-the-art World Cup stadiums remain as one of the best memories of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and fans are just excited to attend matches at the venues,” Ballan said. The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played. On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the 2015 Copa América. We aim to keep delivering high-quality competitive football entertainment by raising the playing standards of all teams through higher performance,” he said. All 12 teams travelling to the United States were crowned champions of their respective NFL Flag National Tournaments.

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. Change country: -Select- Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Republic Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Fiji Finland France Gabon Republic Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Romania Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Vietnam Virgin Islands (U. Seven of those stadiums are being deployed again for the Asian Cup and five have been used in the Qatari league. The on-field officials initially ruled it had gone out of play before Tanaka scored, but VAR corrected the decision. 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, [91] and then in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics.The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss to Kuwait. 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. I’m sure it has left a lasting legacy besides motivating youngsters to chase their passion,” Ballan said. World Cup] Japan's ball possession rate is 18%, the lowest possession rate for a winning team since the 1966 tournament".