Japan national football team
Japan is the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in both 1999 and 2011. However, Japan declined their invitation on 16 May 2011, after events related to the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements. On 17 May 2011, CONMEBOL invited Costa Rica to replace Japan in the competition; the Costa Rican Football Federation accepted their invitation later that day.
Japan at the AFC Asian Cup
Japan made debut at 1988 Asian Cup and it was the historical achievement that would put milestone for Japan to envision and develop its football, which was then-limited in amateur football. In the whole tournament however, Japan ended up finishing last, with just one draw and three defeats, scoring zero goal and conceded six goals.