Japan brushed aside Canada 3-0 in the last game of the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday, finishing the four-team round-robin women's international football tournament with a win after two narrow defeats.
Nadeshiko Japan, 11th in the FIFA rankings, led their sixth-ranked rivals and Tokyo Olympic gold medalists in the 26th minute when Kiko Seike slid home Rikako Kobayashi's pass into the box at Toyota Stadium in Texas.
Japan doubled the advantage through Yui Hasegawa's 41st-minute penalty after Jun Endo showed good technique down the left to draw a foul.
Endo got herself on the scoresheet in the 77th minute with a tidy finish from close range after a fine pass from Hinata Miyazawa.
"We're having more scenes where things are clicking," Hasegawa said. "There've been lots of them, especially in our attacking link-up play."
It was a dominant performance from Futoshi Ikeda's team, who lost 1-0 to Brazil and the United States earlier in the competition.
"I'm happy the players have shown progress during the tournament," the manager said after his side ended a four-game losing streak that began in November.
The United States, top in the FIFA rankings, beat ninth-ranked Brazil 2-1 in the other match of the day to lift the title after three straight victories.
Japan, who ended level on three points with Brazil and Canada, finished second on goal difference.
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