The official English translation of the Japan Football Association uses the term 'football' ('futtoboru' in Japanese), but the term 'sakka' (derived from 'soccer') is more commonly used in Japanese. The JFA's Japanese name is Nippon Sakka Kyokai.

Between 1980 and 2008, Japan hosted the annual final of the World Club Cup (also known as the Intercontinental Cup, between the club champions of Europe and South America) and its successor, the FIFA Club World Cup (between the champions of each continent).

Japan's first World Cup finals was in 1998, when they lost all three matches. They have qualified for every tournament since.