Japan was drawn Thursday against top-seeded France and Serbia in Pool A for November's Davis Cup finals.
The International Tennis Federation's new format for the competition divides 18 teams into six pools. The six winners and the two best second-place teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
Instead of taking a year to select a champion from eight teams in the elite world group, the finals will be held over one week, from Nov. 18 to 24, in Madrid. Matches have also been shortened from five sets to three.
France, last year's runner-up, did not need to qualify. Serbia, the second qualifying seed, advanced to the finals with a 3-2 win over Uzbekistan in February's qualifying, while Japan, the 12th-seeded qualifier, defeated China by the same score.