With six days to go until their winner-takes-all Rugby World Cup pool game against Argentina, the Brave Blossoms are hoping the tight bond that has developed among the players will help them reach the quarterfinals.
A similar dynamic took hold four years ago on home soil, when Japan went into its final pool game against Scotland knowing it had to win to advance.
"About half the squad are the same and the atmosphere is exactly the same," prop Asaeli Ai Valu said Monday at Stade Ernest Wallon.