Wilfried Bony and Gervinho scored within two minutes of each other as Ivory Coast rallied in the second half to beat Japan 2-1.
Keisuke Honda gave the Blue Samurai a lead after 15 minutes, but the Africans took control in the second half.
The Ivory Coast attack came to life shortly after Didier Drogba was introduced with an hour gone.
First, Bony redirected a driven cross from the right side the far post, and 100 seconds later Gervinho headed past Eiji Kawashima at the near post.
The Elephants controlled possession for most of the rest of the game, easily deflecting Japan's few chances.
