Japan has beaten out Singapore to win the right to host the 18th Super Rugby team when the southern hemisphere provincial competition expands for the 2016 season.
Governing body SANZAR's chief executive Greg Peters says they will now work exclusively with the Japan Rugby Football Union to finalise arrangements for their entry into Super Rugby.
This came after the Singapore bid effectively conceded defeat on Friday, leaving the way open for the JRFU, which will host the World Cup in 2019, to put together Asia's first team in the championship.
The new format of the competition will feature two South African conferences, one of which will include the Asian team, and coincides with the renegotiation of the broadcasting agreements that financially underpin it.
