Sebastien Ogier led a Toyota one-two-three in the Japanese manufacturer's home rally on Friday as teammate Kalle Rovanpera's hopes of a third title suffered a setback.
Frenchman Ogier, chasing a record-equalling ninth championship, led Japanese teammate Takamoto Katsuta by 7.9 seconds after the opening leg with championship leader Elfyn Evans third and a further 2.3 behind.
Evans, who started the weekend 13 points clear of closest rivals Ogier and Rovanpera, is seeking his third Rally Japan win in a row and could take the title if he scores 23 points more than both his teammates.
That looked highly unlikely on Friday's evidence, with Evans already in danger of seeing his lead slashed to low single figures.
Rovanpera's hopes of closing the gap in the penultimate round of the season took a knock when he hit a barrier and damaged his car's rear-left suspension.
The incident left the Finn in 17th place, after setting the pace in Thursday's opening stage and then dropping to 23rd, and trailing Ogier by five minutes and 42 seconds.
"We just try to climb up some positions and see on Sunday if we can get some points," he said. "That's the only thing we can do."
Ogier won three of the day's six asphalt stages around Aichi and Gifu, with the rally based in Toyota City, and was happy with his day.
"We did what we had to do today. It’s always fun fighting for a championship, otherwise we would not be here. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re trying to keep our chances alive until the last rally," he said.
Katsuta won the third stage and said he felt confident in the car.
Evans, who won the fourth and seventh stages, recognised he needed to move up a gear.
"Seb has pulled the pin out a bit this afternoon and I haven't had the pace to
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