Former Liverpool and France manager Gerard Houllier has urged Japan to cast aside its inferiority complex and close the gap on the world¡¯s leading soccer nations.

Houllier was the head of FIFA¡¯s Technical Study Group at the World Cup in Brazil last summer, where Japan crashed out in the first round after two meek defeats to Cote d¡¯Ivoire and Colombia and a goalless draw against Greece.

But the Frenchman, who was in Tokyo over the weekend to take part in a three-day coaching conference, believes the Samurai Blue are capable of far more than they delivered in Brazil, with self-confidence the key to making good on their potential.