Japan 1950's Retro Football Shirt

Japan's first significant appearance on the world stage would come as late as the 1964 Olympics due in part to national team games not being regular events in earlier years. The 1950s was no different. Competitive qualifiers typically ended in defeat to South Korea, the main Asian powerhouse at the time, leaving occasional friendlies against regional rivals like Burma, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

In 1952 and 1953 no fixtures were scheduled at all and it was this lack of playing time that meant the the Japanese game barely moved on at all during this decade.