Japan ended its 2015 season with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in a World Cup second-round qualifier on Tuesday that saw it retain the Group E lead.
Keisuke Honda came off the bench in the second half to net in his fifth successive game for Vahid Halilhodzic's men, who went ahead shortly after the intermission thanks to a Cambodia own goal.
Finishing a tumultuous year which began with Japan being eliminated in the Asian Cup quarterfinals and the controversial sacking of coach Javier Aguirre, the Blue Samurai improved to 16 points from six games, one point ahead of Syria which defeated Singapore 2-1 away in stoppage time.