Maika Hamano scored the precious winning goal for the Japanese national team in the 17th minute of the match.
Japan's victory came in front of a record crowd of 74,397 spectators at a Women's Asian Cup match, where the "Nadeshiko" team won the continental title for the third time, after winning in 2014 and 2018, both also at the expense of Australia.
Australia started the match with their first chance after just two minutes, when Mary Fowler received a long pass from the back and passed it to Caitlin Foord inside the area, who set up the ball for Sam Kerr to shoot, but goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita blocked the attempt.
The Japanese goalkeeper was back in action in the 11th minute after Fowler physically outmaneuvered Toko Koga and sent Ford through on goal, but the Arsenal striker shot straight into Yamashita's arms.
Without any preamble, Japan opened the scoring in the 17th minute through the number 17 jersey holder, Maika Hamano, who took advantage of the space available to her outside the penalty area, turned around, and unleashed a curling shot that eluded goalkeeper MacKenzie Arnold and settled in the bottom corner.
Japan then imposed their control with their passing-based style, but almost paid the price for defensive complacency when Yamashita's short pass reached Ford directly, whose shot rebounded off defender Hana Takahashi.
Japan almost extended their lead before the end of the first half when Keira Connie-Cruz misjudged Hamano's cross, allowing it to reach Hikaru Kitagawa, but Arnold was in the right place to block a low shot from the left-back.
In contrast, Australia almost equalized before the break when Kerr passed the ball to Ford inside the area, but the latter shot wide.
The open play continued into the second half, with Japan's first chance coming when Hamano flicked the ball down with her heel to Kitagawa, who sent in a direct cross that was met by Riko Ueki with a header that went wide.
Australia gradually began to assert its dominance, and in the 60th minute, Connie-Kruse intercepted the ball from Fuka Nagano in midfield and tried to lift it over Yamashita, but it was not powerful enough to threaten the Japanese goalkeeper.
Five minutes before the end of regulation time, Japan defended valiantly against attempts by Emily van Egmond and Ford, before Yamashita shone again with a remarkable save from Ford's header, confirming Japan's recapture of the title and erasing the memories of their semi-final exit in 2022.
Japan topped Group C in the first round with a perfect 9 points from three matches, after beating Chinese Taipei 2-0, India 11-0, and Vietnam 4-0. They then won the quarter-final against the Philippines 7-0 and the semi-final against the Republic of Korea 4-1.
In contrast, the Australian national team secured second place in Group A with 7 points from three matches, having defeated the Philippines 1-0, Iran 4-0, drawn with the Republic of Korea 3-3, and won in the quarter-finals against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 2-1, and in the semi-finals against China 2-1.
It should be noted that the top six teams qualified to represent Asia in the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
