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Able to brag of being one of the strongest teams in Asian soccer, Japan, victors in three of the previous five AFC Asian Cups, has high hopes for 2010's FIFA World Cup South Africa – the Samurai Blue's fourth appearance in the global tournament.

Number one on Japan's to-do list is to improve upon their disappointing showing in 2006 at World Cup Germany, when the Japanese nationals exited in the first round following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Australians, a 0-0 draw with Croatia, and a resounding 4-1 loss to Brazil. Japan will also be entering their first World Cup without their iconic mid-fielder Hidetoshi Nakata; the former Roma playmaker figured greatly in each of the national team's previous World Cups – France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002, Germany 2006 – before hanging up his cleats following latter event, even though only 29-years-old.

Having comfortably made it to the fourth and final stage of Asian Zone qualifying for South Africa 2010, the Samurai Blue won four, tied three, and lost only one of their eight Group 1 matches. A 2-1 loss in Australia and a frustrating 0-0 draw at home against the same foe were the lowlights of this final phase, although coach Takeshi Okada's squad still finished well ahead of Bahrain, Qatar, and Uzbekistan, in the five-team group.

Japan's biggest star is the former Celtic playmaking mid-fielder Shunsuke Nakamura, who in the summer of 2009 switched from Glasgow to La Liga with Espanyol. Another European-based mid-field contributor is 23-year-old Keisuke Honda, who, like Nakamura, is also a gifted left-footer. Heading up the defense is stingy 31-year-old captain Yuji Nakazawa, who is Japan's fourth-most capped player of all time, with 95 senior-level appearances to his name.