Host Japan's women defeated Taiwan 3-0 to pick up their fourth consecutive victory at the World Team Table Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
With the win, Japan improved to 4-0 in Group B to all but book its spot in the quarterfinals in first place. Japan's men, who have won three consecutive bronze medals at this tournament, won their second straight with a 3-0 drubbing of France to improve to 2-1.
Yuka Ishigaki, Kasumi Ishikawa and Sayaka Hirano each won their respective matches. The women potentially could still end even with Taiwan at 4-1, but they will finish the round-robin stage with a better record unless they were to forfeit their match on Thursday.
In Group A, defending champion China walloped North Korea 3-0 for its fourth consecutive win, all but punching its ticket into the final eight in first place.
Against France, Koki Niwa, Jun Mizutani and Kenta Matsudaira each needed a full five games to finish off their respective opponents. The men were to face undefeated Portugal the same day.