Having shot to fame by winning football's 2011 Women's World Cup, Nadeshiko Japan's fall from grace since then has been made painfully clear by the lack of domestic broadcasting of their current games overseas.
Even with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand set to kick off on July 20, Nadeshiko Japan's games in the four-team SheBelieves Cup in the United States are not being televised or streamed back home.
After two narrow 1-0 defeats so far, 11th-ranked Nadeshiko Japan have not done themselves any favors in their hope to be seen.
"The results are important for the sake of (Japan) women's football and to provide the chance for us to be watched," said World Cup-winning attacker Mana Iwabuchi, currently on loan at Tottenham from Arsenal.
The level of local attention toward the tournament in the United States has been high, with some 25,000 fans flocking to a match involving the hosts, who currently top the FIFA rankings.
With the Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Canada and South American champions Brazil also featuring, watching Japan players' live action would have left their fans back home plenty to talk about ahead of the big tournament in the summer.
Former Japan attacker and World Cup winner Nahomi Kawasumi, now 37 and playing for NJ/NY Gotham in North America's National Women's Soccer League, used her Twitter account to provide live text coverage for Japan's first two games against Brazil and the United States, respectively.
"All the fans and supporters, please do not walk away from us," she tweeted before the Brazil game before adding, "Japanese women's soccer needs professional management."
The Japan Football Association said they were in negotiations with broadcasters to provide live match action right up until the start of the tournament before the talks broke down.
It is, nevertheless, undeniable that the team's results on the pitch since their 2011 glory have not helped their cause.
After winning that World Cup final on penalties against the United States, they let their rivals get revenge in the finals of the 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup.
Nadeshiko Japan's shock failure to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, a last-16 exit at the 2019 World Cup in France and a loss in the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals two years ago were nowhere near enough to signal a reversal of their fortunes.
Japan play Canada in their last game of the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday.
"I'll be doing my best to create as many good chances as I can," Iwabuchi said.
