Eddie Jones' project to rebuild Japan rugby in his image will come under increased international scrutiny when the Brave Blossoms play the All Blacks in a one-off Test in Yokohama.
In his second stint as Japan head coach, Australia-born Jones has established new selection policies which have allowed him to build a younger national squad, more responsive to his methods.
Watch every game of the Wallabies Spring Tour live and exclusive on Stan Sport.
Jones has powerful political support within the Japan Rugby Union which endures though his project hasn't yet yielded much success. Japan recently reached the final of the Pacific Nations Cup in which they were beaten 41-17 by Fiji.
In other matches this season Japan have beaten New Zealand Maori 26-14, Canada 55-28, the United States 41-24 and Samoa 49-27 but lost to England 52-17, New Zealand Maori 36-10, Georgia 25-23, Italy 42-14 and Fiji.
Saturday's Test against the All Blacks is the most high-profile match Japan will play this year which means greater attention will fall on Jones and his team, who will face a more exacting measure of their development.
Jones has brought a number of players into the national team from Japan's university system, partially breaking the monopoly of the clubs as a player nursery.
"We want to keep introducing new blood into Japanese rugby," he said.
"Between 2020 and 2023, Japan had 33 new Test caps over four years. In 2024, we've had 17 already.
"We're bringing new blood in and creating a new generation of players to increase the depth and quality of our squad."
Jones said despite the loss to Fiji, he is happy with Japan's progress.
"We played some very good rugby in the lead-up to the final, particularly in terms of our continuity in attack," he added.
"We need to bring this against New Zealand.
"We want to attack them with our speed and with relentless defence. We will have to be 100 per cent on the job for the whole time. When you play New Zealand, they're always the benchmark."
New Zealand face Japan en route to Europe where they will play England, Ireland, France and Italy over consecutive weekends. The tour will determine the success of head coach Scott Robertson's first season in charge.
Under Robertson the All Blacks beat England twice and Fiji once in July. But they were 3-3 in the Rugby Championship, losing twice to South Africa and once to Argentina. They did manage to retain the Bledisloe Cup with Australia.
Robertson says the All Blacks will be wary of Jones' proven ability to lead teams to shock results over favoured opponents.
"You have always got to be careful around Eddie Jones firstly," Robertson said.
"There have been a few big names (Jones' teams have beaten) other than the All Blacks. He's got great innovation, he pushes his teams to the limit and gets the best out of people."
