Japan finished the Dubai Sevens — the first leg of the Sevens World Series — in joint 15th place Saturday following a disappointing opener to new coach Damian Karauna's tenure.
Fielding a vastly different squad from the one that finished fourth at the Rio Olympics, Japan lost all five games it played.
Japan opened with a narrow 19-14 defeat to Australia before losing 17-7 to Kenya and 35-0 to France in Pool D.
In the knockout stages, Japan went down 31-14 to Argentina before Uganda beat it 26-19 to ensure it leaves Dubai with just one point and an awful lot of work to do before the next tournament in Cape Town on Dec. 10-11.