The North Korean men’s national football team arrived in Japan on Tuesday for the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The arrival came roughly a month after the North Korean women’s team entered Japan to compete in the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics. 

Japan’s men's team is scheduled to host a second-round qualifier for the World Cup against the North in Tokyo on Thursday and the North Korean team is set to host a qualifier against Japan in Pyongyang next Tuesday. 

Japan, by principle, prohibits the entry of North Korean nationals as part of its sanctions imposed since the reclusive state started launching missiles. 

However, Japan allowed the entry of the North’s national football teams after recognizing sports exchanges as an exceptional case. 

The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, a pro-North Korea group made up of ethnic Koreans living in Japan, plans to send a cheering squad of three-thousand-400 members to Thursday’s match.