New manager Vahid Halilhodzic on Thursday put a firm stamp on his first Japan squad -- for this month's home friendlies against Tunisia and Uzbekistan -- by ending the distinguished international career of Yasuhito Endo.

The firebrand Franco-Bosnian coach paid tribute to the 35-year-old Gamba Osaka midfielder, who won his 152nd cap for Japan at the Asian Cup earlier this year, but insisted it was time to look to the future before the games in Oita on March 27 and Tokyo on March 31.

"You will notice one name missing from the list," Halilhodzic told reporters. "Yasuhito Endo has made a huge contribution to Japanese football. I have come here for the project of building for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But we must not forget Endo's contribution and he deserves respect for what he has done for Japan."

Halilhodzic, who led Algeria to the knockout stages of last year's World Cup in Brazil, did what predecessor Javier Aguirre stubbornly refused to by picking Endo's club team-mate Takashi Usami, whose goals fired Gamba to the domestic treble last season.

Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Makoto Hasebe will make the trip from Europe, along with defenders Yuto Nagatomo and Atsuto Uchida, despite the latter pair being doubtful due to injury.

"I expect competition in all positions," said Halilhodzic after naming a 31-player squad with 12 more as back-up. "Players will be picked on form. This is my first squad and it wasn't easy as I have had little time since arriving.

Endo's absence signals the end of an era for the Japanese, who flopped at the Asian Cup under Mexican Aguirre following their meek exit from the 2014 World Cup on Italian Alberto Zaccheroni's watch.

Aguirre, forced to eat humble pie by recalling Endo after he too had initially snubbed Japan's record caps holder, was fired after the Asian Cup amid allegations of match-fixing dating back to a previous tenure in Spain.

Endo tied German superstar Lothar Matthaeus by winning his 150th cap at the Asian Cup before playing two more games, culminating in Japan's quarter-final upset by the United Arab Emirates on penalties.

Japan squad:

Goalkeepers - Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo). Back-up: Akihiro Hayashi (Sagan Tosu)

Defenders - Gotoku Sakai (VfB Stuttgart), Hiroki Sakai (Hanover), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Mizumoto (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Gen Shoji (Kashima Antlers), Masato Morishige (Tokyo), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa), Kosuke Ota (Tokyo), Hiroki Fujiharu (Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan). Back-up: Tsukasa Shiotani (Hiroshima), Daisuke Suzuki (Kashiwa Reysol), Kazuhiko Chiba (Hiroshima), Shintaro Kurumaya (Kawasaki Frontale)

Midfielders - Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Gaku Shibasaki (Kashima), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba), Toshihiro Aoyama (Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Hanover). Back-up: Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki), Takuji Yonemoto (Tokyo), Kotaro Omori (Gamba), Yojiro Takahagi (Western Sydney Wanderers)

Forwards - Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Kensuke Nagai (Nagoya Grampus), Yu Kobayashi (Kawasaki), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz 05), Yuya Osako (Cologne), Shinzo Koroki (Urawa), Takashi Inui (Eintracht Frankfurt), Yoshinori Muto (Tokyo), Takashi Usami (Gamba). Back-up: Yoichiro Kakitani (Basel), Kengo Kawamata (Nagoya), Yohei Toyoda (Sagan)