Motoaki Inukai, the president of the Japanese Football Association (JFA), said: "We want to challenge it."

 

Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup tournament with neighbouring South Korea.

 

FIFA, the world's football governing body, last year abolished a system under which the host nation of the four-yearly premier football event was rotated among six continents.

 

Inukai said: "That means everybody is welcome [to bid] and Japan is expected to do so.

 

Japan last week hosted the Club World Cup final with the final in Yokohama on Sunday where Manchester United beat Liga de Quito 1-0.

 

Inukai said: "If Tokyo hosts the Olympics, it will help upgrade stadiums and training centres."

 

Tokyo's National Stadium, which hosted some Club World Cup matches, and other major venues in Japan would need upgrades for World Cup matches.

 

Inukai said the JFA would make a final decision on its World Cup bid after October next year when the International Olympic Committee picks the 2016 Olympic host from a short-list of Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

 

The 2018 and 2022 World Cup venues will be decided in December 2010.

 

Other Asian countries China and Qatar have also flagged possible bids while Australia, who are now part of the Asian Confederation, have already launched their campaign.

 

But Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam has previously indicated he only wants one official bid from the region

 

He said: "The idea is to have one bid, and then everyone getting behind that bid.

 

"We must see who has the best chance, and then try to convince other bidders to withdraw, because that is to the benefit of everyone."

 

Inukai earlier said that a World Cup bid would in no way hamper Tokyo's hopes of a second Summer Olympics. It hosted the 1964 Games.

 

He said: "The Olympics and the World Cup are totally different.

 

"Some people may say it will be too much [if Japan hosts both].

 

"But Japan has merits.

 

"Japan is safe and spectators are well-mannered."

 

FIFA made the decision on the simultaneous bidding at a meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.

 

It means that should a bidder for 2018 be unsuccessful then they would be able to enter the vote for 2022 to be held immediately afterwards, so long as the 2018 hosts are not from the same continent.

 

It is widely expected that the 2018 tournament will be awarded to Europe because South Africa are hosting it in 2010 and Brazil in 2014.