Stanislav Manolev scored early in the first half to lead Bulgaria past Japan 2-0 in a friendly on Thursday.
Manolev put the visitors ahead in the third minute with a free kick from 25 meters (yards) that beat Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
Bulgaria doubled the lead in the 70th when Japan captain Makoto Hasebe redirected substitute Hristo Zlatinski's free kick into the net for an own-goal.
''We wanted to take advantage of Japan's mistakes and we knew where they were going to come from,'' Bulgaria coach Lyuboslav Penev said. ''We wanted to disrupt them in midfield to create our chances, and we managed to capitalize on them.''
Bulgaria is second behind Group B leader Italy in European World Cup qualifiers.
Japan was using Thursday's match to warm up for next week's crucial World Cup qualifier against Australia. Japan can secure a fifth straight World Cup appearance with a draw.
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni brought in substitutes Yuto Nagatomo and Mike Havenaar for the second half but the hosts couldn't erase the deficit.
''This was a test for our next World Cup qualifiers against Australia and Iraq, and it is disappointing that we could not give a good performance to our fans,'' Zaccheroni said.
