However much today's match at Murrayfield means to the home side, nobody should underestimate how much it also means to the visitors.
Japan see themselves as a rising power in rugby and believe this could be the next step up in their breakthrough season.
They have already beaten a Wales team at home and, as Scott Wisemantel - in charge of the side while Eddie Jones is in hospital recovering from a stroke - pointed out, the next target is inevitably to beat one of the world's top 10 sides away from home.
"We can win. I don't think you go into any Test match with a defeatist attitude," he said. "We will have to play exceptionally well to win but we believe we can do it. This is a very important match, the focus is on Scotland, a top-10 nation, so it is important. It is also part of the build-up to 2015 and the Rugby World Cup. Beating Wales has been mentioned this week as has beating a top-10 country away from home. That is the goal. This is huge for us and Japanese rugby."
Japan have one advantage over Scotland - they have a good idea of what to expect from the opposition while Scotland have far less knowledge of them and virtually no experience of playing a team that plays in the way that they do. And in Wisemantel they also have a coach who knows his opposite number Scott Johnson intimately, the two having played together at Eastwood in Sydney.
"Johnno [Johnson] and I are good mates and I respect him hugely," said Wisemantel. "He is an innovative coach, expressive and has done a wonderful job with Scotland. They are a bit more expansive, having a bit more of a crack. The game they played agianst South Africa [in June] was fantastic and we are expecting a game with a fair bit of ball movement."
Last weekend against New Zealand, Japan conceded eight tries but still produced enough quality to scare the All Blacks and lay down a marker for their showing against Scotland.
"We learned that cumulative errors cost you against top-10 teams and you have to be able to maintain intensity for long periods of time," Wisemantel admitted. "This team does not lack courage, we are here to play. We are here to find out how good we can be."
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