Japan has participated in the U19 Rugby World Cup since the 30th championship in 1998. The highest place reached by Japan was ninth in 2003. Usually, Japan finishes 11th to 13th, which is about the same place as the Japan National Rugby Union Team. The JRFU has worked on various reinforcement measures for junior players, such as the annual overseas tour of the Japan U18 national team. On the other hand, the IRB has a policy to strengthen younger players by dividing them into several age groups, such as U19, U21, and U23. Japan also participates in this policy to strengthen the players in these ages as much as possible. In 2007, Osamu Ota took over as GM and John Kirwan became the head coach for the Japan National Rugby Union Team. Under this system, the RWC Best 8 Project was launched, and Masahiro Kunda was appointed as the project manager. Along with the JRFU's own reinforcement measures for the Japan U19 Japan national team, the JRFU started reinforcing young ruggers systematically and continually.