Nakamura joins Le Mans midfielder Daisuke Matsui and Wolfsburg's Makoto Hasebe in national team coach Takeshi Okada's side as he looks to finalise his squad for the World Cup qualifiers in June.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Junichi Inamoto and Koji Nakata, who will return to Kashima Antlers from Swiss club FC Basel at the end of the season, were not selected due to their injury problems.

Kawasaki Frontale defender Yusuke Igawa, who has been in good form in the J League recently, is the only newcomer in the squad while Vissel Kobe striker Yoshito Okubo is also in the squad.

Japan will play Ivory Coast on May 24 in Toyota and Paraguay on May 27 in Saitama while Ivory Coast and Paraguay will play each other on May 22 in Yokohama.

"Ahead of our World Cup qualifiers these games are a great opportunity for us to assess our readiness in the Kirin Cup," said Okada.

"We'll play for victory but I'd also like to see how the new players can fit into the team in those games. The European-based players have good skills, which I want to blend into the rest of the team."

Nakamura is expected to miss the first game with Ivory Coast as the 29-year-old will return only after completing the Scottish Premier League season on May 22.

Squad: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kasawaki Frontale); Shuhei Terada (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yusuke Igawa (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuto Nagatomo, Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers); Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawaskai Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Le Mans), Keita Suzuki (Urawa Reds), Koji Yamase (Yokohama F. Marinos), Yasuyuki Konno, Makoto Hsaebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka); Naohiro Takahara (Urawa Reds), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata).