NEWS

Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Wednesday named his squad for the East Asian Championship, which will be held from February 6 to 14 in Tokyo.

In the 23-strong squad, midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara of Kashima Antlers and forward Sota Hirayama of FC Tokyo retained their places, along with familiar faces such as midfielders Yasuhito Endo and Kengo Nakamura, and forward Shinji Okazaki of Shimizu S-Pulse.
But Tokyo midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa, Kashima forward Shinzo Koroki and Shonan Bellmare defender Taisuke Muramatsu were left out. Muramatsu left the squad last weekend after suffering an injury.
In the biannual tournament, Japan will play China on February 6 at Ajinomoto Stadium and Hong Kong on February 11 at the National Stadium, before meeting Korea Republic on February 14, also at Tokyo’s National Stadium. All the matches will kick off at 7:15 p.m.

Squad:
Goalkeepers—Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Defenders—Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuhei Tokunaga (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders—Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale),  Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Mu Kanazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Sota Hirayama (FC Tokyo), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)
Coach—Takeshi Okada