The Japan Football Association said Friday the new Japan manager will be a foreigner from a shortlist of around five, and it hopes to have him in place by the start of the new J. League season.

JFA technical director Masahiro Shimoda made it clear following an emergency technical committee meeting held at the JFA House that the new coach will not be Japanese.

Shimoda said the committee began throwing around names, with the list now pared down to around five. He did not divulge names but hopes to have signed Javier Aguirre's successor by March 7, when the first stage of the 2015 J. League season opens.