Nickname	Blues
Association	Japan Football Association
Coach	Zico, (2002-)
Most caps	Masami Ihara (123)
Top scorer	Kunishige Kamamoto (73)
First international Japan 0 - 5 China (Tokyo, Japan; May 9, 1917)
Largest win Japan 15 - 0 Philippines (Tokyo, Japan; September 27, 1967)
Worst defeat Japan 2 - 15 Philippines (Tokyo, Japan; September 10, 1917)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1998)
Best result	Round 2, 2002
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	5 (First in 1988)
Best result	Winners, 1992, 2000, 2004

The Japanese national football team is the national team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. It is currently the highest-ranked Asian national team, according to official FIFA rankings.

After being overshadowed for years by baseball and sumo wrestling, football has been rapidly gaining in popularity in Japan. The nation's first World Cup appearance was in 1998, four years before they co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. Although they lost all three group games in 1998, they managed to advance to in 2002 before being edged out by eventual third-place finishers Turkey 1-0.

The Japanese team has had considerably more success in the Asian Cup, taking home the winner's trophy in three of the last four finals. Their principal continental rivals are China, Iran, and South Korea.

On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for its third consecutive World Cup by beating North Korea 2-0 in Bangkok, Thailand. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Japan is in Group F along with Australia, Brazil, and Croatia.

World Cup record

• 1930 - Did not enter
• 1934 - Did not enter
• 1938 - Withdrew
• 1950 - Did not enter
• 1954 - Did not qualify
• 1958 - Did not enter
• 1962 - Did not qualify
• 1966 - Did not enter
• 1970 to 1994 - Did not qualify
• 1998 - Round 1
• 2002 - Round 2
• 2006 - Qualified

Asian Cup record

• 1956 to 1964 - Did not enter
• 1968 - Did not qualify
• 1972 - Did not enter
• 1976 - Did not qualify
• 1980 - Did not enter
• 1984 - Did not enter
• 1988 - Round 1
• 1992 - Champions
• 1996 - Quarterfinals
• 2000 - Champions
• 2004 - Champions

East Asian Cup record

• 2003 - Second place
• 2005 - Second place

Top goalscorers

• Kunishige Kamamoto - 73 (1964-1977)
• Kazuyoshi Miura - 56 (1990-2000)
• Takuya Takagi - 28 (1992-1997)
• Hiromi Hara - 24 (1978-1988)
• Masashi Nakayama - 21 (1990-2003)

Current famous players

• Alex
• Takashi Fukunishi
• Junichi Inamoto
• Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
• Tatsuhiko Kubo
• Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (current captain)
• Masashi Motoyama
• Shunsuke Nakamura
• Hidetoshi Nakata
• Mitsuo Ogasawara
• Shinji Ono
• Takayuki Suzuki