Ao Tanaka opened the floodgates early in the second half as Japan overwhelmed Thailand 5-0 in a men's international football friendly Monday at Tokyo's National Stadium.
Keito Nakamura, Takumu Kawamura and Takumi Minamino also found the net for Japan in the New Year's Day clash, which served as a warmup for the Asian Cup kicking off later this month in Qatar.
With a number of Samurai Blue mainstays still on duty for their European clubs, Hajime Moriyasu gave several new faces a chance to make their case for Asian Cup selection.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima's Kawamura, Sint-Truiden's Ryotaro Ito and Nurnberg's Kanji Okunuki made their senior national team debuts, while Junya Ito wore the captain's armband in the absence of regular skipper Wataru Endo.
Thailand's Japanese manager Masatada Ishii included Consadole Sapporo midfielder Supachok Sarachat and Urawa Reds midfielder Ekanit Panya in his squad.
The home team spent most of the first half in attacking territory but could not convert a handful of opportunities against a defensively minded Thai side before the break.
Japan's 51st-minute opener resulted from an attack triggered by second-half substitute Ritsu Doan, who made a run down the left before swinging a pass to Junya Ito on the opposite side of the box. The captain's shot was blocked by a defender, but Tanaka was on hand to fire home.
Nakamura made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute when he tapped in after Minamino's shot was stopped by Thailand keeper Patiwat Khammai.
Thailand defender Elias Dolah scored an own goal from a corner kick before Kawamura headed Japan's fourth in the 82nd minute.
Minamino sent one late attempt wide and had another stopped one-on-one by Patiwat before slotting the final goal in the first minute of injury time.
The Samurai Blue will begin their Asian Cup campaign against Group D opponents Vietnam on Jan. 14 before facing Iraq and Indonesia.
