South Africa took a narrow 5-3 lead over Japan to the half time break of their absorbing World Cup quarterfinal clash in Tokyo on Sunday.
The only try of the match so far was scored by winger Makazole Mapimpi when he touched down next to the near side corner flag.
But Handre Pollard failed to convert.
The Boks suffered a huge blow shortly after they opened the scoring when Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira was shown yellow for a dangerous tackle.
Coach Rassie Erasmus sacrificed captain Siya Kolisi who was temporarily replaced by Steven Kitshoff as a result of the sin bin.
Japan did not fully use their numerical advantage as they only managed to score a penalty by Yu Tamura midway through the half while Mtawarira was off the field.
Japan started slowly but they found their footing as the match progressed where they dominated possession and territory.
