Japan will take on France in two Tests in July when the teams meet for the first time since 2017.

Japan Rugby chairman Shigetaka Mori confirmed the matches would help build excitement before the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

“It doesn’t take a genius to imagine that many rugby fans will hotly anticipate the arrival of the French team, given how they’re riding high in the Six Nations championship through deft control of speed and power,” he said in a statement.

One of the fixtures will take place in central Japan’s Aichi, home of Toyota Verblitz. Through the games in July, “we hope to revive the enthusiasm and excitement” that Japan saw during its hosting of the 2019 World Cup, Mori added.

French Rugby president Bernard Laporte described Japan as a “rugby power” and said the matches would help Les Bleus prepare for the World Cup.

“It’s important for us to play against a team of the highest calibre,” Laporte said in the statement.

Under the tutelage of former All Black Jamie Joseph, Japan made the quarter-finals at their home World Cup in 2019.

They took on the British & Irish Lions last year, as well as Ireland and Scotland.

© Agence France-Presse