Brazilian striker Franca and Tadanari Lee scored second-half goals Monday to help Kashiwa Reysol reach the Emperor's Cup final with a 2-1 victory over FC Tokyo.
The substitutes' goals in the final 22 minutes gave Kashiwa a spot in the New Year's Day final with Gamba Osaka, the Asian club champions who ran out 1-0 winners after extra time over Yokohama F. Marinos in the other semifinal.
At Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, FC Tokyo took the lead just after the half-hour mark through Tatsuya Suzuki but was left to rue missed gilt-edged chances to double its advantage with strike duo Cabore and Shingo Akamine the main culprits up front.