Returning Olympians who know the agony of just losing out on a medal and youthful exuberance will spearhead Japan's challenge in the rugby sevens Olympic tournament as the hosts look to show the sport has taken off here following the success of Rugby World Cup 2019.
Japan's men's team, which has never finished higher than 15th overall in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, produced one of the biggest shocks in sevens history last time out as they beat powerhouse New Zealand 14-12 in the pool stage at Rio 2016. They followed that up with a win over France before losses to eventual champions Fiji in the semifinals and South Africa in the bronze medal game left them empty handed.
"Our goal was to get a medal in Rio, so we prepared for that," Yusaku Kuwazuru recently told World Rugby.