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Japan has officially joined the race to stage the 2015 or 2019 World Cup by submitting their tender documents to the International Rugby Board in Dublin.

Japan will join England, South Africa and Italy in bidding for the events, with the winners to be decided in July.

Asia has never staged the Rugby World Cup but the Japan bid has wide support in the region and is expected to include a proposal to play some matches in Hong Kong and Singapore.

"This is a special bid as it is a bid for rugby in Asia," Japan Rugby Football Union chairman Nobby Mashimo said.

"With the support of our friends from all 26 unions in the region, and the backing of the Japanese government and business community, we believe that we can deliver a Rugby World Cup that will capture the hearts and minds of people and provide the platform to take rugby to new levels in Asia."

Japan launched a stinging attack on the IRB after losing out to New Zealand in the bidding for the 2011 World Cup, accusing the sport's traditional powers of "passing the ball among themselves" at the expense of spreading the game globally.

With the 2011 tournament being held in the southern hemisphere, England are the strong favourites to host the 2015 World Cup with Japan firming as the early favourites for 2019.

"This time it is not the same," Mashimo said.

"We have no surprises up our sleeve, just our hearts on the table and a new JRFU at the helm ... with the country of Japan and friends of Asia dedicated to host and to welcome the expansion of the game into a new frontier."

Reuters