Bernard Lapasset, the chairman of World Rugby, said Monday that he supports the inclusion of Japan in the Southern Hemisphere's Rugby Championship alongside New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
In Tokyo for planning ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which will be hosted in Japan, Lapasset said the important thing was broadening the base of the game's development.
"We opened the door for Japan to be included in the competition in the Southern Hemisphere," he said after a news conference. "Japan is part of the total global vision of the rugby that we are promoting in the world especially in the South with Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia."