Local Japanese people are short, similar to us Filipinos. The same goes to Koreans. As you can see, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea are all having problems with the 5th position.
The most advantageous is Korea given that they have Ha-Seung Jin; however, most of their centers standing 6-9 are not as formidable compared to the ones in Europe. As I might know it, Kim Joo-Sung is still part of the NT; a role he has had since 2002. The thing I don't understand with the Koreans is why they didn't include Seo Hung-Jun (not sure if I got his name right) in their NT line-up last year.
As for the Japanese, they have centers standing 203 and above cm but like the Philippines, they are not that formidable in scoring but rather in defending. I think that the reason why the Japanese NT needed a naturalized player is because they need a man who is can has equal touches in the defensive and offensive side of basketball. My deep respects also to the Japanese because of their cheers to our NT during our stint in the FIBA Asia Champs, we needed their extra moral support.
As for you Mr. FEIFEI, we all know China is the best in Asia so why don't you be fair in posting responses by citing some factors of why the nations you chose are behind or beyond Japan's basketball. Think like a professional will you; People on top of things are suppose to show their class instead of being snobbish.
Oh yeah, Japan got a better standing in the recent Asian Champs because they were not part of the group of death. Imagine your team breezing through the first two games in your group while not worrying about winning or losing the last opponent. You should have sympathy to teams being placed in groups of death because they are the ones with the huge disadvantage; not only will they have to face a daunting task in the group stages, their team will be considered the most underdog because their players are bruised, injured, or exhausted during the next round.
If you recall in the FIBA World Championship 2006, Greece was placed in Group C, the toughest group of all, in which they lost Nikos Zisis after a game with Brazil.