The Japanese women's national team will open the third and final round of Asian qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics away to North Korea at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium on Feb. 24, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed Saturday.
The match will be Japan's first women's international game in North Korea.
The final qualification round, also involving Australia and Uzbekistan, will be played on a home-and-away basis, with the top two teams earning tickets to Paris.
Nadeshiko Japan, aiming to qualify for their second straight Olympics, will host the return fixture against North Korea at Tokyo's National Stadium on Feb. 28. It will mark the first visit to Japan by athletes from North Korea since 2017.
Japan's men's national team is also scheduled to play Asian World Cup qualifiers at home and away to North Korea in March.
North Korea skipped the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021 after imposing strict border controls amid the coronavirus pandemic. The country did not return to international sporting competition until the Asian Games in September and October this year in Hangzhou, China.
Japan has effectively banned entry by citizens of North Korea in response to the country's missile launches and other activities, but a government source recently indicated an exception would be made for the upcoming football matches.
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