After ringing the changes in a 4-1 thrashing of Ghana on Friday, Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu praised his World Cup-bound team's depth.
Moriyasu made nine changes to the starting lineup that held Brazil scoreless for 77 minutes earlier in the week before succumbing to a Neymar penalty in a 1-0 loss in Tokyo.
Real Madrid starlet Takefusa Kubo and Celtic striker Daizen Maeda both scored their first international goals against fellow World Cup qualifiers Ghana in Kobe.
Japan also defeated Paraguay at home last week, 4-1, and Moriyasu is pleased with how his team is shaping up ahead of the November-December showpiece in Qatar.
“We lost our last game against Brazil and we couldn’t lose two home games in a row,“ said the manager.
“The players prepared well and played well despite the team changing a lot. The players were determined to keep the team winning and functioning regardless of who was playing.”
Kubo, who spent last season on loan at Mallorca, scored his first goal for Japan in his 17th appearance, turning home Kaoru Mitoma's cross midway through the second half.
The 21-year-old said the goal had been “a long time coming”.
“Now people will stop saying I’ve scored zero and hopefully I’ll start banging them in from now on,“ he said.
Japan will play Tunisia in the final of the four-team Kirin Cup tournament on Tuesday while Ghana play Chile in the third-place playoff.