Japan - Team Fact Sheet

10 Choice Facts about Japan's World Cup Football Team

When you think of Japan, you think of samurai warriors, katana swords, coy geishas, silk kimonos, sushi, the tea ceremony, refinement, discipline, honour, flower arranging, judo, karate, sumo, bonsai trees, kamikazes, yakuza, drift racing, anime, Hello Kitty, the rising sun, the nation's creepy robot fetish, dependable cars, great electronics, and more.

And though Japan is famous for its sumo wrestlers and martial artists, they are also a football powerhouse in Asia. With 127 million to choose from, Japan has produced national sides that keep coming back to the big dance at the World Cup. They've been known to pull some sneak attacks, so you better keep an eye on them during the tournament. They're likely to surprise us all.

So here's the top 10 facts you need to know about the Japanese football team:

10. The Japanese football team's nickname is Blue Samurai, though this seems to be a new term. Usually they're called by a name in their language meaning "Japanese representatives of soccer." (Whoops, we just fell asleep writing that sentence. Just the phrase "representatives of soccer" bored us to a tearful sleep.) C'mon Japan! Where's that martial spirit we so admire?! Let's make it official: you're the Blue Samurai. End of discussion.

9. Japan made its World Cup debut in 1998 in France, though they didn't fare well. They lost 1-0 to Argentina. No shame there. Then lost 1-0 to Croatia. Too bad, but Croatia's a good team. Then they lost 2-1 to "The Reggae Boyz" of Jamaica. That was painful. They lost to a country with a population almost 60 times smaller, with almost no football pedigree. That brought some introspection, we can assure you.

8. Japan has won 3 of the last 5 Asian Cups, in 1992, 2000 & 2004. Considering that probably 3 billion people are represented by the nations in that Cup, Japan's feats are quite impressive. They're building up a solid reputation as international ballers.

7. Japan's coach is Takeshi Okada. A defender on the national team for 5 years back in the '80s, Okada was coach for the team's disastrous 1998 World Cup outing (see fact 9 above). But after some years in the club leagues, he was called back to the top job when the Bosnian coach of the squad Ivica Osim suffered a stroke in 2007. Perhaps he'll have better fortune at this World Cup.

6. Japan is captained by "The Bomber," Yuji Nakazawa. A defender with the Yokohama F. Marinos club, he has played on the national side since 1999.

5. Kunishige Kamamoto is Japan's top scorer with 75 goals. A forward on the national team from 1964-1977, he scored 7 goals at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He was the top scorer of the tournament, and Japan earned a bronze.

4. Masami Ihara has the most caps for Japan with 122. A defender on the national squad from 1988-1999, he was voted Asian Player of the Year in 1995.

3. FIFA ranked Japan 43rd before the World Cup, which is far off the pace of their high-ranking 4th position in 1995. They'll have to cut through a lot of talented teams to climb much higher.

2. Japan suffered its worst defeat in 1917 at the feet of the Philippines, who whooped them 15-2. Exactly 50 years later in 1967, they got their revenge, trouncing the Philippines 15-0. Honour restored!

1. This will be Japan's 4th consecutive World Cup appearance. Memories of their early smack-down have all but been erased by stellar performances on their home soil in the 2002 World Cup and so-so play in 2006. South Africa offers a chance to prove their bona-fides. We think they'll do it.