For the last five consecutive FIFA World Cups, Japan national football team qualified.
The represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association -LRB- JFA -RRB- , the governing body for association football in Japan .. Japan Football Association. Japan Football Association. Japan. Japan. association football. association football. association football in Japan. association football in Japan. The current head coach is Vahid Halilhodzic .. Vahid Halilhodzic. Vahid Halilhodzic. Japan is one of the most successful teams in Asia , having qualified for the last five consecutive FIFA World Cups with second round advancements in 2002 & 2010 , and having won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times in 1992 , 2000 , 2004 & 2011 .. AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 2002 FIFA World Cup. 2010 FIFA World Cup. Asian Cup. AFC Asian Cup. 1992 AFC Asian Cup. 2000 AFC Asian Cup. 2004 AFC Asian Cup. 2011 Copa America. Japan. Japan. Asia. Asia. AFC Asian Cup. AFC Asian Cup. The team has also finished second in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup .. 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea and , most recently , Australia .. rivals. Korea Republic–Japan football rivalry. South Korea. Korea Republic national football team. Australia. Australia national association football team. Japan is the only team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa America , having been invited in 1999 and 2011 .. 2011 Copa America. Copa America. Copa America. 1999 Copa America. Japan. Japan. Americas. Americas. Although they initially accepted the invitation for the 2011 tournament , the JFA later withdrew following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami .. 2011 Copa America. 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as , , or as abbreviated expressions .. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such , it is often known by the name of the manager .. For example , under Takeshi Okada , the team was known as .. Takeshi Okada. Takeshi Okada. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the `` Samurai Blue '' , while Japanese news media still refer it to by the manager 's last name , as , or in an abbreviated form .