Japan pushed forward early, with goalkeeper Yusuke Kawai shooting on target, but Guo Wei punched his effort away.

Seconds later, Ozu Moreira sent the ball towards the goal, only for China PR’s Wang Yu to make a crucial block.

China PR had a chance of their own in the fourth minute when a well-placed Cai Weiming received Wang Yu’s cross, but the Chinese captain was quickly crowded out by Japan’s defence and saw the ball collected by Kawai.

The first period ended without a breakthrough, despite Japan's repeated efforts to seize the lead.

A stubborn China PR defence continued to frustrate Teruku Tabata’s side after the break but Takaaki Oba finally broke the deadlock with an acrobatic strike into the top left corner in the 19th minute.

The 2023 runners-up doubled their lead when Ken Matsumoto received a lofted pass from Kawai and sent a stunning volley past the helpless China PR custodian.

Japan came close to their third when Ozu's through ball found Wang Jun whose attempt hit the crossbar.

Matsumoto then scored his second goal to widen the gap when he intercepted a poor clearance from Guo and made no mistake in finding the back of the net from close range.

With five minutes left before the final whistle, China PR finally opened their account, as skipper Cai beat Kawai at the goalmouth from Hao Minhui’s assist.

Japan, however, had the final say with goalkeeper Kawai netting their fourth.