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.
Japanese Super Cup
The Japanese Super Cup or is an annual one-match football (soccer) competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the J. League champions and the Emperor's Cup winners of the previous season. Fuji Xerox have sponsored the competition since its inception in 1994. The match usually played around late February each year.