CARDIFF, Wales - Japan resumed their Nations Championship campaign with a 28-21 loss to Wales, falling short of a draw in a frantic finish at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Head coach Eddie Jones made five lineup changes from the defeat to Fiji two weeks ago, including a debut for uncapped flyhalf Riku Kitahara in the halves alongside veteran No. 9 Naoto Saito, co-captaining the side with Warner Dearns.
The Brave Blossoms trailed 21-14 at halftime, with converted tries from Ben Gunter and Dearns keeping them within striking distance of the hosts, who scored through Archie Griffin, Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit.
Adams notched his second try in the 69th minute before replacement scrumhalf Kenta Fukuda dotted down for the visitors with four minutes left, securing a bonus point and giving them a chance to end the contest on level terms.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Jones called the result a "missed opportunity."
"That could have been a historic win for us," he said. "We weren't quite good enough."
Japan dropped to 1-3 after four rounds of the 12-team Nations Championship, while Wales improved to 2-2. Jones' men will face England in the fifth round next Saturday.
