The Japanese men's national team, dubbed SAMURAI BLUE, who are looking to repeat the title at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, wrapped up their training camp in Japan with their morning practice, and left for Australia, the site for the tournament, out of the Narita airport on 2 Jan.

On the fifth day of the training camp at a field in Chiba Prefecture, the players warmed up with light ball exchanges, and then checked on how to finish with shots off crosses from both sides. They also worked on practical menus, such as 4-on-4s and 6-on-6s, being aware of quick moves to dodge pressing of opposing teams and pass works.

On their offensive practice, they worked on a situation assuming their offense outnumbered the opponents in front of the goal. They showed showed their aggressive plays, aggressively aiming to score, and head coach Javier Aguirre responded to their fine plays by repeatedly saying ''It's great, it's great'' in Japanese.
''I think we've come just fine,'' Hannover 96 midfielder KIYOTAKE Hiroshi said of the end of his team's domestic training camp. ''We played a lot of games, and me personally I get sharper when I play games. So I've been able to tune up just fine.''
Goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku said, ''I've come without injuries, and had moderately good stiffness on my body, so I think we've been able to have good practices. And once we get in Australia, we are going to be able to feel the atmosphere of the tournament.''

The team is scheduled to land in Sydney on the 3rd. YOSHIDA Maya, defender for Southampton, who was late to join the squad due to his club's scheduling, will arrive with the team.

Also, Kashima Antlers midfielder SHIBASAKI Gaku, who's been resting at a Tokyo hotel due to an influenza since the 1st, is expected to travel to join the team upon his recovery. Until then, FC Tokyo midfielder NAKAJIMA Shoya, who's a training partner for the national team, will continue to be with the team.
The Asian Cup will begin on 9 January. Japan is in Group D and will play against Palestine on the 12th in New Castle, against Iraq on the 16th in Brisbane and against Jordan on the 20th in Melbourne. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinal stage. The championship match will be played on 31 January.

Comments

NISHIKAWA Shusaku（Urawa Reds）
We've been practicing using the ball, so we've been having some fun, and we've been able to go through hard training, assuming various situations in actual games. We are probably going to elaborate our plays when we entre Australia, but we would like to work hard with everybody involved, raising our concentration. We could give up a goal, or we could score a goal by a mare chance. A little differences will determine the outcomes. We will have a training match soon after we entre Australia, and it's a great thing that we can check on our team things and being a goalkeeper, it's good to get the knack for the game as well. I would like to work actively.

HIGASHIGUCHI Masaaki（Gamba Osaka）
I was thinking that we would entre the practice a little bit more casually for our domestic training camp, but we've actually been working relatively harder. The ball isn't exactly the same as the one we are usually using, but we've been getting the knack for the game as we've worked on practical training, and it's been a very fruitful camp. I've been working trying to play in games, and I will just have to showcase what I can do, trying to compete in actual games. Once we get in the tournament, there won't be any easy matches. It'll all be away games, and some unpredictable things could happen that you don't have to go through in Japan, so we are going to have to pay attention. We are certainly looking to repeat the title, but both I and our team aren't overconfident, and we are determined to once again go for getting the championship trophy.

KAWASHIMA Eiji（Standard Liege）
(After I've worked on different training menus for a few days) I've rejoined the team today and been able to work along with other players throughout the practices, so I don't think there's any problems. Once we go over to Australia, we are going to have to prepare strategically. As much as we are going to be prepared tactically, we want to raise our tension. I have strong frustrations as we came short in the FIFA World Cup and I wasn't able to put up what I could do, so we are definitely looking for a positive outcome. The AFC Asian Cup will be a big tournament for Japan to make further progress. Our team has become a better group in the last few years, but a real good group has got to grow even during a tournament. We should not hesitate to talk harshly to others when we need to, while we are competing with each other, and hopefully we are going to be a real strong group throughout the tournament.

OKAZAKI Shinji (1.FSV Mainz)
I've been able to score the eight goals I've scored in Germany without much time gaps in between, and I think I've not had as much ups and downs as I did last year. I certainly want to look for better results, and I want to score goals in the AFC Asian Cup as well. Being a forward players, it's my job to score, but I've not had enough shots and it's frustrating for myself. (As I scored one goal in the previous Asian Cup) I felt that I should create more chances to score as a forward, and hopefully I can do that this time.

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