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To exaggerate a notion doing the rounds at the moment one might suggest that Japan just post the five points to Ireland ahead of the Pool A game on Saturday morning.

Head coach Jamie Joseph should, according to all conventional wisdom and good common sense, target the Scots.
On the one hand, that would be handy.

But the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa holds 50,889 and most of those will be Japanese fans. If one was to make a sweeping generalization of Japanese culture then surrender is unlikely.

"Japan should not be underestimated as they have been preparing for the last six or months with the only goal on the World Cup," Gio Aplon, the 17-cap Springbok, who plays his rugby for Toyota Verblitz in Japan's Top League, tells RTE Sport. 

"They play a fast pace, possession game and are really disciplined in their game plan and execution of it is similar to Ireland.

 

"Technically they are sound and can really push top tier teams to the edge.
"The quality teams in the Top League can hold the ball for numerous phases and also play at an unbelievably high pace with some real good attacking skills.

"However, rugby is not a top sport in Japan as baseball and soccer enjoy a lot more publicity and popularity.

"Japan as a team and as a nation has really developed in terms of the general interest in rugby by the fans."

And the Brave Blossoms' stunning win over South Africa 34-32 in Brighton back in 2015 played its part in the surge in interest. Ireland have had fair warning. 

Despite that win and subsequent victory over Samoa and the USA they failed to emerge from their pool with defeat to Scotland proving costly.
They got this campaign off to a winning start against Russia but they were lucky not to have tougher opponents on their big day. 

 

It looked like the pressure of delivering had gotten to the hosts as they made a series of basic errors at the start of the game, eventually running out 30-10 winners. 

"There is great anticipation for the World Cup and you can see a great buzz around the cities for the upcoming events," says Aplon, who was a try-scorer when South Africa beat Ireland in November 2010 in Dublin. 
"Japanese people are also quite curious in terms of new events and will definitely attend a lot off the games, which hopefully will trigger a great interest for the game."

Ahead of Saturday's game you can expect the usual plaudits from the Ireland camp. 

"They are a dangerous team and if they get some tempo then we might be back on the back foot," said Joe Schmidt after the win over Scotland. 

 

Japan, currently ranked number nine in the world, won the recent Pacific Nations Cup beating the USA, Tonga and Fiji along the way. 

And you can bet your bottom dollar Schmidt has seen all those games. 
"Japan are very strong," the Kiwi said following a question from a Japanese reporter before the team left Ireland.

"I've been really impressed with them in the Pacific Nations Cup. Three victories from three performances against really good teams.

 

"The latest one against the USA. But, I think they’ve got a variety to their game as well. Yu Tamura is playing exceptionally well, with guys like (Kotaro) Matsushima and (Kenki) Fukuokaon the edges.

"They’re incredibly dangerous. And with Michael Leitch leading their front line, yeah, I think they are going to be a really difficult task for us.
"We saw what they did in the last World Cup, and people were saying it was an upset against South Africa. . There’s an expectation now, more than an upset, that they can compete with whoever they play.

"They’ll have an eight-day turnaround when they play us, after playing Russia...we’ll be going to Shizuoka on the back of a six-day turnaround. So that will probably complicate things just a little but for us as well.
"We’re keeping an eye on the Japan team at the moment."

ONE TO WATCH 

 

Kazuki Himeno: The number eight made 121 yards from 17 carries and three clean breaks against Russia and shipped in with 13 tackles. Since making his debut at the back end of 2017, the Toyota Verblitz player has won 13 caps and scored three tries. Hat-trick hero Kotaro Matsushima might be another to keep an eye on. 
Head Coach: Jamie George

Captain: Michael Leitch

Forwards: Michael Leitch (capt), Keita Inagaki, Yusuke Kizu, Koo Ji-won, Isileli Nakajima, Asaeli Ai Valu, Takuya Kitade, Atsushi Sakata, Shota Horie, Luke Thompson, Wimpie van der Walt, Uwe Helu, James Moore, Hendrik Tui, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Pieter Labuschagne, Kazuki Himeno, Amanaki Mafi.

Backs: Kaito Shigeno, Fumiaki Tanaka, Yutaka Nagare, Yu Tamura, Rikiya Matsuda, Kenki Fukuoka, Ataata Moeakiola, Lomano Lemeki, William Tupou, Ryoto Nakamura, Timothy Lafaele, Kotaro Matsushima, Ryohei Yamanaka.