Koji Nakata was sent off and Yoshinobu Minowa had a nightmare national team debut as Japan suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat to Ukraine in the final game of their two-match tour of Eastern Europe on Wednesday.
Midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura carries the ball during Japan's international friendly in Kiev on Wednesday. Japan lost to Ukraine 1-0.
Japan defended stoutly and looked set for a hard-earned draw after Nakata was handed a dubious straight red card early in the second half in freezing rain at a sparsely-populated Kiev Olympic Stadium.
But second-half substitute Minowa conceded a penalty when he brought down Andriy Vorobey and Andriy Husin slotted home the spot kick to give Ukraine victory in the 89th minute.