Aiko Nakamura won her singles match against Nicole Riner of Switzerland on Sunday to give Japan an insurmountable lead in their Fed Cup World Group 2 matchup and a place in a playoff in July.
Japan, which scored two victories the previous day from Nakamura and Japanese No. 1 Ai Sugiyama, finished the tournament with a 4-1 record to reach a promotion/relegation playoff against a World Group 1 team.
The 62nd-ranked Nakamura held off Riner 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 while Sugiyama, who is nursing a sore left thigh, teamed up with Akiko Morigami to defeat Timea Bacsinszky and Stefania Boffa 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 in doubles action.
Shinobu Asagoe, currently ranked 90th in the world, fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to the 16-year-old Bacsinszky, who is ranked just 233rd, in their singles match earlier Sunday.