The French team need all five sets but triumphed 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-12 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to claim first place with its sixth straight victory while securing a berth this summer's games.

Hiroyuki Kai and Nobuyoshi Hosokawa put up a spirited challenge for Japan but France dominated to reach the Olympics for the first time in 12 years.

Japan (1-5), ranked 19th in the world, missed a chance to return to the summer games for the first time in three Olympics after suffering a fourth defeat on Friday.

Only the overall winner and the best Asian team from the eight-team competition will qualify for Athens.

Elsewhere, Australia (5-1) walloped China 3-0 to earn its fifth win, while China slipped to a 4-2 record at the tourney.

Iran (3-3) routed Algeria 3-0 and Canada (4-2) sent South Korea to its fifth defeat in a 3-1 victory.