Kotaro Matsushima drills a kick towards the Irish line but James Lowe tracks back to then find a decent touch with a kick down the line. A good few minutes for the Winger

Michael Morrow
BBC Sport NI at the Aviva Stadium

They don't come much easier than that.

Japan left themselves exposed on the short side and Bundee Aki and Jack Conan kept their heads to send James Lowe away.

Lowe had a tricky old start to his Ireland career so will no doubt have had some butterflies before today's game. They'll have gone now.

A few errors from Ireland, and it is all a bit disjointed as Ireland spread it across the field.

Japan get a throw in on halfway but they fumble it to give Ireland the first scrum.

The hosts kick off and Johnny Sexton is involved quickly, taking a high clearance near the right touch line before the ball is bundled into touch for a an Irish throw near the 22.

The anthems are over, and we are all set! Ireland are in their second kit - a purple-ish one, sorry colours are not my strong point - while Japan don their red-and-white kit, which I have always had a liking for.

OK, the teams are out in Dublin with Johnny Sexton - or 'Jonathan' as he is announced - getting a huge reception as he emerges ahead of his team mates.

Michael Morrow
BBC Sport NI at the Aviva Stadium

Got to say, with 10 minutes to kick off there are still a lot of empty seats around the Aviva.

They were still available this morning. The IRFU reckons we'll have a crowd of about 40,00 today and there are a fair few kicking about for the Argentina game in two weeks. Next week's visit of the All Blacks is, obviously, a sellout.

Seems an opportunity missed not to have a full house on the first available chance.

Some fans have said this week that they've felt priced out. A crying shame, and something to be looked at surely.

The Japan squad look very together - they have just left the pitch as a group and all holding on to the shoulder of team mate to the side or in front of them. Unusual but telling.

Michael Morrow
BBC Sport NI at the Aviva Stadium

There will never be another game between Ireland and Japan during which reference to the 2019 World Cup game isn't made.

Paul O'Connell was put in front of the media yesterday and gave interesting answers about Johnny Sexton reaching 100, the Leinster-centric nature of the Ireland team and *that* game in Shizuoka two years ago.

Of course O'Connell wasn't even part of the coaching staff then, but he watched on that day as Ireland were on the wrong side of a result that reverberated around the world knowing there were many things to learn.

From what we've been told, it's clear that Ireland have looked directly at that game when preparing for this and are determined not to make the same mistakes that they did at the World Cup.

O'Connell said the main thing the team had to keep in mind was that Japan are dangerous and will inevitably make linebreaks today, what Ireland need to ensure is that their mistakes are not what give Japan access to dangerous areas.

Image source, Getty Images

It is a day to remember for skipper Johnny Sexton, who wins his 100th cap today.

Now 36, Sexton was 24 when he made his debut against Fiji at RDS Park in 2009, kicking 16 points that day.

And coach Andy Farrell has paid a nice tribute to him while speaking to Channel 4: "I cannot say enough about him - he is the ultimate professional."

Image source, Getty Images

Michael Morrow
BBC Sport NI at the Aviva Stadium

As a light rain shower passed over the Aviva Stadium making way for bright blue sky complete with a rainbow, fans made there way into the Aviva Stadium for the first Ireland international with no fan restrictions for the first time since pre-covid times.

Pathetic fallacy, folks. GCSE English comes up trumps again.

And what about Ireland, do they reflect the good mood around Dublin 4? Well tentatively yes, they come into this game on the back of five straight wins and with Johnny Sexton's 100th cap plus the fans return, there's plenty here to be celebrated.

Whether Irish fans feel the same way after 80 minutes of rugby remains to be seen.

Image source, Getty Images

Head coach Andy Farrell has named 12 Leinster players in his starting team, including Andrew Porter who makes his first Ireland start at loosehead.

Centurion Jonny Sexton is partnered by Jamison Gibson Park at half-back and Garry Ringrose will link-up with Connacht's Bundee Aki at centre for the first time in more than a year.

Ireland: Keenan; Conway; Ringrose, Aki; Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson Park; Porter, Kelleher, Furlong; Beirne, Ryan; Doris, van der Flier, Conan.

Replacements: Sheehan, Healy, Bealham, Henderson, O'Mahony, Murray, Carbery, Earls.

The Brave Blossoms have made changes from July, with two changes in the backs as winger Dylan Riley and scrum-half Yutaka Nagare come in for Semisi Masirewa and Naoto Saito, who is named among the replacements.

Japan: Matushima; Riley; Lafaele, Nakamura; Fifita; Tamura, Nagare; Inagaki, Sakate, Koo; Cornelsen, Moore; Gunter, Labuschagne (capt), Himeno.

Replacements: Niwai, Millar, Valu, Tokunaga, Tatafu, Saito, Matsude, Yamanaka.

Good afternoon and welcome to the start of an intriguing weekend of international rugby. We're starting in Dublin, so without any further ado, here is the team news.