The reason Japan fails to perform in tournaments is because of the counter-strategies used against them

They push through with physicality and use aerial duels to overpower them,
minimizing the effectiveness of the passing game that Japan excels at.
That's how it works.
Even yesterday, they minimized Japan's pride—their footwork—by using long balls to the keeper.
And in the World Cup match against Brazil, they suddenly switched to an aerial-focused game in the second half to defeat Japan.
In friendly matches, there's no need to go that far, so Japan can play their preferred style,
but in situations like tournaments where results are everything, teams stick to the counter-strategies.