All J-League games have already been suspended until the end of March, with officials unable to guarantee the safety of fans in stadiums that took the brunt of the tragic 8.9 magnitude quake. Media in the Copa's host country, Argentina, have gone as far as to say the Blue Samurai are very close to pulling out of South America's premier international tournament, with a decision expected by Wednesday.
"The subject is very serious. With the aftershocks continuing and without being able to guarantee the public's security, we have taken the decision to cancel all the games until the end of March," J-League head Kazumi Ohigashi is reported as saying by Ole, one of many news outlets to claim the national team's withdrawal is inevitable. The big issue for Japanese officials, as revealed by Ohigashi, is that the league's suspension would mean finishing in the middle of the Copa, which would deprive clubs of key players.
"The J.League, Nabisco Cup fixtures are tight as it is. We have no choice but to play games in July. The plan is to play the existing number of J.League and Nabisco Cup games, and to do that we have to play during the Copa America."
At the time of writing there has been no official indication as to Japan's presence in the Copa, nor who would replace them in the case of withdrawal. The Asians, who were expected to field an under-23 side due to complications with cross-governing body competition, had been drawn with the hosts, Colombia and Bolivia in the first round group stage.
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