Kashima Antlers midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara kept his place in the Japan squad as the 23-man party for the East Asian Championships was named on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old returned to the national team for the first time since the 2006 World Cup and impressed in the goalless draw with Venezuela in yesterday's friendly.

FC Tokyo forward Sota Hirayama, a second-half substitute against the South Americans, was also included.

"I was satisfied with Ogasawara's work, he did well with his passing and shooting," said Japan coach Takeshi Okada. "Hirayama did more than I had expected."

However, Tokyo midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa and Antlers forward Shinzo Koroki were excluded from the list, while Shonan Bellmare defender Taisuke Muramatsu departed at the weekend after picking up an injury during last week's training camp.

The squad also features the likes of Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo, Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Kengo Nakamura and Shimizu S-Pulse forward Shinji Okazaki.

In the biennial tournament, Japan will play China on February 6, Hong Kong on February 11 and Korea Republic on February 14 in Tokyo.

Japan squad for East Asian Championships:

Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuhei Tokunaga (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Mu Kanazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Sota Hirayama (FC Tokyo), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse).