Japan began their World Cup campaign in earnest on Friday with the 40-strong squad gathered at a training camp in Miyazaki on southern Kyushu island giving comfort and hope to two players who lost their homes in last month's tsunami.
Tighthead prop Kensuke Hatakeyama and second-rower Shinya Makabe lost all their possessions in the tsunami triggered by the devastating 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan last month.
'We were thinking of postponing our camp, the first step in our World Cup campaign, but the two players with families in the affected zone insisted that we go ahead and said they also wanted to take part in the camp,' said Japan head coach John Kirwan (pictured).
Japan's first 15-a-side international assignment since the tragedy will be at the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition when they take on Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Football Club on April 30.
Former All Blacks winger Kirwan said carrying on with life was the best solution for a nation which was struggling to come to terms with the disaster that left at least 28,000 people dead or missing.
'Luckily for Hatakeyama and Makabe, their families and dear ones are okay. Both of them said we need to show some positivity and get the country back on its feet, so we are carrying on,' Kirwan said.