32 Teams in 32 Days: Japan

Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.

Country: Japan
Nickname: Samurai Blue

Japan has the world's second-largest economy and is one of the planet's leaders in technology, heavy industry and commerce. Japan was forged during a long period of isolation beginning in 1603 by a shogunate (what we would call a military dictatorship). During the late 19th century, Japan became an aggressive regional power that occupied Korea and Formosa and defeated the armies of both Russia and China.

In 1933, Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 launched a full-scale invasion of China. As Germany's main ally during World War II, Japan brought the United States into the war with its attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. After the conclusion of World War II in the Pacific Theatre -- brought to an abrupt end by President Harry S. Truman's use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- Japan disbanded its army and amended its constitution to become, officially, a pacifist nation.

Today, Japan is a strong ally of the United States and a dominant player in the Asian theatre. While it still retains a sitting emperor, actual political power rests in its Parliament and in the hands of business executives. Japan is home to a number of multi-national corporations with deep reach around the world (Sony, Nintendo, Toyota, et al.), but the country remains hampered by a great deal of debt. In addition, Japan is shockingly expensive, even by American standards -- Tokyo is considered among the priciest destinations to visit.

Japanese design, technology, art and cuisine have been exported successfully around the world, with the U.S. being one of the largest consumers of Japanese-made or inspired products.

Soccer receives downright obsessive media coverage in Japan, which is a blessing and a curse: it can be stifling for the team and its players, but has unquestionably kept the sport in the limelight.

PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: Japan's best showing was reaching the knockout round back in the tourney they co-hosted with South Korea. (And yes, they have not gotten over the fact that South Korea finished fourth.) But, they’ve been a steady qualifier since 1998; this will be their fourth Cup in a row.

REGIONAL SUCCESS: They are three-time Asian Cup champs (1992, 2000, 2004). Weirdly enough, they were also bronze medalists at the 1968 Olympic games. Of more recent vintage was their second-place showing in the 2001 Confederations Cup.

LEAGUE OVERVIEW: The 18-team J-League 1 is the best league in the region. Started in 1991 (but kicked off in 1993) as a training ground for its players for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, the J-League has exploded, helping soccer become the country's second biggest sport -- but still well behind baseball. Attendance at J-League matches slipped a bit to just under 6,000,000 total fans in 2008. Approximately 10% of its players are imports; the league has also sent players abroad with limited success. The league's major teams are Urawa Reds, Yokohama F-Marinos and Kashima Antlers. Japan's new season kicked off at the beginning of March.

MANAGER: Takeshi Okada. A former player, he ran the ship back in 1998 in France, but was forced back into the hot seat when coach Ivica Osim suffered a stroke and had to be suddenly replaced. He's best known for his tenure at J-League club Yokohama F-Marinos.

KEY PLAYERS: Keisuke Honda (CSKA) has been a key man for club and country. At just 23, he's got Champions League experience and a nose for goal. Shinji Okazaki has impressed with Shimizu S-Pulse, and has scored 16 goals for the national team in just 25 games. Captain Yuji Nakazawa and Shunsuke Nakamura (both Yokohama) are the grand old men of the side; this is sure to be their last hurrah.

FIFA RANKINGS: 45th. Highest was 9th (1998) and lowest was 62nd (2000).

FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: Holland, Denmark, Cameroon.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST CAMEROON: Japan has a very good record against Cameroon, with the caveat that all of the matches have been played on Japanese soil. In the 2001 Confederations Cup, Japan handled Cameroon 2-0. More recently, Japan repeated the feat in a 2007 friendly. Overall, Japan is 2-1-0 against the Africans.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST DENMARK: Japan's women play the Danes all the time. The men? Only once, way back in 1971. Japan lost that match 3-2 in a Copenhagen friendly.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST HOLLAND: The Japanese have never beaten Holland at any level of competition. Again, while the women's teams play fairly frequently, the men have met just twice at the senior level, if you're counting the Olympic games. (And, technically, that's an Under-23 tournament.) Most recently, Japan dropped a friendly last year in Enschede 3-0 to the Dutch. At the Beijing Olympics, the Dutch ran out 1-0.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Japan didn't have a great run, finishing five points behind Australia in Group A. Adding insult, South Korea finished a point better in the other group. Japan lost to the Aussies once, were held to a draw by the Uzbeks and generally looked a bit soggy. However, they weren't really in any grave danger of missing the World Cup.

PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 10%. They're in a very tough group, with an African team. They could get slaughtered.

TO WATCH: Don't expect much, but do keep an eye on Okazaki. He's tipped to be the next Japanese player to head to Europe.

ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)

Defenders: Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers), Tomoaki Makino (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yuji Nakazwawa (Yokohama F Marinos), Yuhei Tokunaga (FC Tokyo)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F Marinos), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Naohiro Ishikawa (FC Tokyo), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers)

Forwards: Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kishi Yano (Albirex Niigata), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania), Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds)

TOMORROW'S TEAM: Slovenia