Japan scored twice in the final six minutes to beat China 2-1 on Tuesday and make it two wins out of two at the E-1 Football Championship.
Japan beat North Korea 1-0 in its opening game of the four-team tournament last weekend thanks to a 95th-minute goal, and the home side again delivered late when Yu Kobayashi and Gen Shoji broke China's resistance before Yu Dabao scored an injury-time penalty at Ajinomoto Stadium.
Japan leads South Korea — which beat North Korea 1-0 earlier in the day after a 64th-minute own goal from Ri Yong Chol — by two points heading into Saturday's head-to-head encounter between the two teams, with only a draw necessary for the Samurai Blue to lift the trophy for a second time.