Despite losing the opportunity to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup narrowly against New Zealand, Japan is not losing hope and is now preparing to bid for the 2015 event. If Japan wins, it will mark as the first time that an Asian country will host the most prestigious rugby tournament.

Japan stated in its bid that it is about time that the International Rugby Board (IRB) would consider picking a country that is new and beyond the usual areas where rugby has become more established.

Reports revealed that Japan will be competing against South Africa, England and Italy for the right to host the 2015 event. The board will decide the host countries for both 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups this coming July in Dublin, Ireland.

Japanese Rugby Football Union chairman Nobby Mashimo said that it will be a great move to choose an Asian country this time as sixty percent of the world’s population resides in the continent. This will certainly boost the popularity of rugby in this side of the world.

Asia has launched last year a Five National rugby tournament attended by Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Arabian Gulf and Japan, who became the inaugural champions and successfully defended the title last weekend.