The Rio Olympics are just over five months away, but with the new J. League season about to begin, Japan's soccer medal hopefuls have no time to sit back and dream of glory in Brazil.
Japan booked its ticket to the 16-team men's tournament at the Summer Games by finishing among the top three at last month's Asian Under-23 Championship in Doha, beating Iraq 2-1 in the semifinals before going on to claim the title with a 3-2 win over South Korea.
But with manager Makoto Teguramori not set to name his final 18-man squad until the summer, none of the players who helped secure qualification can be sure of their place in Rio.