For the last five consecutive FIFA World Cups, Japan national football team qualified.
On 16 December 2022, FIFA announced an expanded tournament that would have 32 teams and start in June 2025
The new tournament with 24 teams was supposed to start in 2021 and would have included all UEFA Champions League winners, UEFA Champions League runners-up, UEFA Europa League winners, and Copa Libertadores winners from the four seasons up to and including the year of the event, with the remainder qualifying from the other four confederations

