Kenshin Kawakami and five relievers combined on a two-hit shutout Thursday as Japan beat Australia 6-0 in a warmup game for the upcoming qualifying tournament for next year's Beijing Olympic Games. Kawakami, a Chunichi Dragons right-hander, retired the first 11 batters he faced until Justin Huber hit a two-out double in the fourth, setting the pace for Japan in the opener of a two-game series at Yahoo Dome. Cleanup hitter Takahiro Arai put Japan on the board in the first inning with an RBI groundout after Saburo Omura had a one-out single and Norichika Aoki followed with an infield hit combined with a throwing error by third baseman Glenn Williams, leaving runners on second and third. Japan made it 2-0 in the fourth when Atsunori Inaba singled to left field with one out and runners on second and third. Senichi Hoshino's team broke the game open with a four-run eighth, keyed by a Tomoya Satozaki RBI single and a two-run single by Munenori Kawasaki. On the mound, Kawakami allowed only one runner in four innings of work before giving way to the bullpen.
