Japan became the first country to reach the 2006 World Cup on Wednesday after defeating DPR Korea 2-0 here in the penultimate round of the Asian qualifiers.

　　Atsushi Yanigasawa and Masashi Oguro were on target for the Japanese in the Group B game which was held at the eerily empty 40,000-seater Supachalasai Stadium in hot and humid conditions. FIFA had ordered the match to be played behind closed doors as sanction against DPR Korea after crowd trouble in Pyongyang following their 0-2 loss in March to Iran.

　　Only two feeble chances presented themselves to Zico men in the first period despite a good start. Koji Nakata, who plays for French club Marseille, connected with his head on the half-hour mark but the direction was wide. Ten minutes later Nakata threatened again in a melee with a smart push but the alert Korean goalkeeper Kim Myong Gil blocked and cleared the shot with his right leg.