An early Christine Sinclair strike gave Canada the lead, but Mana Iwabuchi's goal in the dying moments pulled Japan level as the teams drew 1-1 to open Group E play of women's soccer at Tokyo 2020.
The match, played in Sapporo, was highlighted by Sinclair's first-half goal, as well as a crucial penalty save by injured Canada goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé.
First up was the opening goal by Sinclair, which came in the sixth-minute of play. A pass played down the right by Ashley Lawrence allowed Nichelle Prince to use her speed, with Prince cutting the ball back toward the penalty spot from the end line. The ball met Sinclair, whose first-time effort caromed off the far post and rolled right back to the Canadian legend, who had continued her run toward the near post and easily tapped in the rebound.
The goal was Sinclair's 187th in international play, increasing her lead in the all-time record books.
Japan nearly equalized minutes after the halftime break as Labbé was judged to have fouled an attacker inside the penalty area. The goalkeeper collided with Mina Tanaka as the Japanese forward looked set to shoot, resulting in an injury to Labbé and, eventually, a penalty kick.
A clearly distressed Labbé elected to face the spot-kick, and parried the shot away before being surrounded by her appreciative teammates. However, the ailment suffered in the collision was enough to force Labbé from the match several minutes later, with Kailen Sheridan stepping in to replace her.
Despite the high of Sinclair's early goal and Labbé's penalty heroics, Canada couldn't keep Japan from equalizing in the late stages, as Iwabuchi struck from distance to ensure that the teams would split the points.
Canada's next match is on July 24 against Chile.