After a long stretch absent from the Japan squad, Kyogo Furuhashi was called up for this latest stretch of international fixtures.
Last week, the 29-year-old forward was ultimately an unused substitute in his country's 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over Indonesia.
In that match, Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda played the entirety of the second half, while Reo Hatate came off the bench in the closing stages.
Against China today, however, Kyogo was brought on in the 77th minute for Koki Ogawa with Japan leading 3-1 – the latter striker having scored twice, in the 39th and 54th minute.
Kyogo wasn't able to extend Japan's lead in the process, but did eventually share the pitch with Maeda, who came on Takefusa Kubo with six minutes of normal time remaining.
Hatate was an unused substitute on the day.
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Ogawa, who has been given the nod over Kyogo more recently, plays for Eredivisie outfit NEC Nijmegen at club level.
In Holland's top flight this season, the forward has scored seven goals in all competitions, assisting for his teammates once in that time.
Kyogo, on the other hand, has netted six times in 16 appearances, with three assists along the way so far.
Japan's 3-1 win over China sees them climb to 16 points in their World Cup qualifying group, currently 10 points ahead of second-place Australia.
