He and his fellow Cherry Blossoms will hold the fort in the meantime, while neighbouring South Korean players are also carving their own niches in the JRLO.

“The rugby level in Asia has had growth in both popularity and standard, but it’s quite stagnant at the moment,” Himeno said via an interpreter at a JRLO virtual press conference.

“It’s not improved so much, and as the Japan team, we’re kind of representing Asia as a whole in terms of popularity, getting the environment right, and bringing the standard up.

“For us, representing the whole of Asia and getting good results is one of our responsibilities. We used to have a few games in Asia, but there’s not been many chances lately.”

Verblitz coach Simon Cron contrasted the recruitment process in Japan with his native New Zealand and other top rugby breeding grounds. Most of Japan’s young talent is identified at university, but there is a delay as players do not integrate until after graduating.

Cron expects the university recruitment system to “evolve over the coming two or three years as professionalism continues to grow”, while other countries in the region had with players of untapped potential.

“It’s a very different beast over here,” said Cron, who will take over as Western Force coach in August after three seasons in Japan under the tutelage of legendary All-Blacks coach-turned-Verblitz director of rugby Steven Hansen.

“I’ve been in contact with some of the Singapore Sevens coaches to look at what’s happening in Singapore. I know China is one of the fastest-growing games, and I love that it’s developing in China.

“Any opportunity to give or to play in front of them – to give them the opportunity to see rugby – we should give to them.”

The former Waratahs assistant added that while Himeno was the prime candidate to be the face of Japanese rugby, it was crucial the forward did not stop improving as he inspired others.

“The mistake some people make is they look at the team and go, ‘there’s two or three foreign stars’,” Cron said. “The reality is we’ve got a squad of 48 and it’s the Japanese players that make the difference in the JRLO.

“It’s about building them up to be the best they can be and that will ultimately be the difference to them winning or losing the top four [spots in the conference]. You can’t ask the Hoopers, the Reads, the Himenos to carry the team individually – it really is about squad depth.”

Verblitz are third in Conference B with six wins from 10 this season, and Cron is intent that his side will improve on their third place in last year’s overall season.

But the coach said his players needed more “consistency for 80 minutes” and the avoiding of “our own errors” leading to losses.

“Frankly speaking, I don’t think we’re at the level we want to be playing at,” Himeno said. “I’m not quite satisfied yet – we need to work harder. But there are good things.

“Steve Hansen [the former All Blacks coach] is here, and we’re a really positive team who are getting better with every game. We just want to focus on the process and the results should follow.”

Himeno will also likely have a talismanic presence for the Japan national team’s Test against reigning Six Nations champions France in July, the result of which may influence whether the Brave Blossoms are included in other major competitions after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.