Monaco attacker Takumi Minamino was recalled to the Japan national team squad Wednesday for the first time since last year's Qatar World Cup, ahead of home international friendlies against Canada and Tunisia this month.
Manager Hajime Moriyasu also named Huddersfield defender Yuta Nakayama as well as goalkeepers Daiya Maekawa of Vissel Kobe and Zion Suzuki of Sint-Truiden in his 26-man squad, but the attacking duo of Lazio's Daichi Kamada and Freiburg's Ritsu Doan missed out for conditioning reasons.
The Samurai Blue had two productive friendly outings in Europe in September, beating Germany 4-1 and Turkey 4-2, with both nations sacking their managers in the aftermath.