Substitute Tatsuya Tanaka spared new coach Masakuni Yamamoto's an embarrassing loss with a strike midway through the second half Saturday to send Japan on its way to a 2-0 victory over Palestine at the Asian Games.
Japan, which brought an under-21 side to the tournament, was held scoreless for over an hour in its preliminary round opener at Yangsan stadium against a limited Palestinian side.
After resting key midfielder Yuki Abe, who is nursing a back injury, Japan lacked the spark to break down a dogged Palestine defense.
Japan pressed forward from the kickoff but failed to create more than a couple of chances in a disappointing first-half showing with Palestine often pulling all 11 players behind the ball.