Overview
- The Japan Football Association decided on Thursday to keep Hajime Moriyasu as senior manager until the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 and to promote U‑21 coach Go Oiwa to succeed him after the tournament.
- Oiwa is scheduled to begin senior-team duties with an international friendly in March 2027 while he continues to lead the U‑21/U‑23 program that is pursuing qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
- Japan have been drawn in Group F for the Asian Cup and will face defending champions Qatar, Thailand and Indonesia in the tournament set for January–February 2027.
- Moriyasu, Japan’s longest-serving manager since 2018, led the team to the 2022 World Cup knockout stage and to the 2026 round of 32, where they lost 2-1 to Brazil after a 95th-minute winner.
- The JFA framed the plan as a balance of short-term continuity to protect Asian Cup preparation and long-term renewal through youth integration aimed at the 2028 Olympics and the 2030 World Cup, and it will hold a news conference to explain details.