Former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans will get his first taste of World Series Rugby when he leads the Panasonic Wild Knights into battle against the Western Force on August 17.
Deans, who has been coaching the Japanese side since 2014, is set to bring a strong squad to Perth for the match at nib Stadium.
The match will be the seventh of World Series Rugby.
The Force have already recorded wins over the Fiji Warriors and a Tongan representative side.
They will face the Rebels, Crusaders, Samoa, and Hong Kong over the coming months, before taking on the Wild Knights.
Force chief executive Nick Marvin said the participation of the Wild Knights in WSR was a taste of things to come.
Next year, WSR will be expanded into a six or eight-team competition featuring teams from the Asia Pacific region and Asia.
Marvin said it was highly likely a Japanese team would be part of the competition.
“For us, our future is the Asia Pacific,” Marvin said.
“To have Japan come over (is starting) what we think will be a long and fruitful relationship.”
The Wild Knights are one of Japan’s most powerful and richest teams.
They lost last season’s Top League championship decider 12-8 to the Suntory Sungoliath.