Japan Rugby Football Union has named Eddie Jones as its new head coach, ending weeks of speculation over the Australian's re-appointment to the job he held from 2012-15.
Jones, 63, will officially commence his duties from January 1, the organisation says on its website.
He resigned as Australia's head coach in October, after the Wallabies' worst Rugby World Cup campaign, where losses to Fiji and Wales saw the 1991 and 1999 champions exit at the poolstage for the first time.
Jones, whose mother and wife are Japanese, denied media reports during the tournament that he had been interviewed for the Japan job a couple of days before his team's final World Cup warm-up.
Jones will replace successor Jamie Joseph, who led Japan's 'Brave Blossoms' to the World Cup quarter-finals on home soil in 2019 and a poolstage exit in France.
Sacked by England last December, Jones returned home in January for his second stint as Australia's coach, after previously leading the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final.
He immediately said Australia would claim a third World Cup triumph in France, an assertion that looked laughable, after the Wallabies lost all five of their test matches in the run-up to the tournament.
Jones left the Wallabies with two wins - over Georgia and Portugal - and seven losses from nine tests in 2023, and ranked ninth in the world.
He remains highly regarded in Japan, after leading the Brave Blossoms to a stunning upset of South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
Reuters
