Saitama Wild Knights flyhalf Takuya Yamasawa has been rewarded for his heroics in the League One final on Sunday with a recall to the Japan squad for mid-year tests against Uruguay and France.
Yamasawa stood in for injured teammate Rikiya Matsuda, the regular test flyhalf, and helped the Wild Knights to an 18-12 win over Tokyo Sungoliath, crucially stripping Damian McKenzie of the ball just as the All Black looked certain to score.
The 27-year-old Yamasawa, who played three times for his country in 2017, was the only international flyhalf in the 34-man training squad with the other playmakers, Lee Seung-Shin and Hayata Nakao, among nine uncapped players.
Yamasawa was one of 10 Wild Knights in the squad, including the Australian-raised trio of No 8 Jack Cornelsen, flanker Ben Gunter and centre Dylan Riley.
Head coach Jamie Joseph said the Covid-19 pandemic had stunted his team's development and preparations ahead of next year's World Cup in France.
Japan did not play any matches in 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions and managed seven games last year.
"Like with all sports, the challenges thrown at us by the pandemic have had a massive impact and we're clearly behind in terms of our development," said former All Black Joseph, who also represented Japan during his playing career.
"There's a really fresh look about the selections we've made in preparation for Uruguay and France. The number of injuries we've had during League One has created an opportunity for us to test new players and create a new team in preparation for the World Cup.
"This two-squad set-up gives us essentially two teams and allows us to grow and test our depth in all positions... It's a big part of what we need to be doing, going forward to 2023."
The 'Brave Blossoms' face Uruguay in Tokyo on June 18 and again in Fukuoka a week later before taking on Six Nations champions France in Toyota on July 2.
SQUAD:
Forwards:Keita Inagaki, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Yusuke Kizu, Craig Millar, Yukio Morikawa, Atsushi Sakate, Daigo Hashimoto, Shota Horie, Saumaki Amanaki, Warner Dearns, Sanaila Waqa, Ben Gunter, Masato Furukawa, Pieter Labuschagne, Michael Leitch, Jack Cornelsen, Faulua Makisi
Backs:Naoto Saito, Daiki Nakajima, Yutaka Nagare, Hayata Nakao, Takuya Yamasawa, Lee Seung-Shin, Yusuke Kajimura, Shogo Nakano, Dylan Riley, Taichi Takahashi, Jone Naikabula, Gerhard Van Den Heever, Siosaia Fifita, Rakuhei Yamashita, Ryuji Noguchi, Ryohei Yamanaka