TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Kaito Kozono went 3-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBIs, leading Japan to a 9-1 rout of the United States in their first game of the Premier12 baseball tournament's Super Round on Thursday.

Defending champion Japan extended its winning streak across all international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics, to 25.

Kozono tripled home two runs to give Japan the lead for good at 3-1 in the fifth inning and hit a three-run homer in the seventh before adding a two-run blast in the eighth.

"I wanted to get a hit and turn the tide of the game in the fifth," Kozono said. "I'm not a home run hitter, but I'm glad that I hit one in the seventh. It was a pleasant surprise today, since I hit only two home runs in the regular season."

The United States struck first on Colby Thomas' home run in the top of the fifth at Tokyo Dome.

Both starting pitchers threw four scoreless innings. Hiroto Takahashi struck out eight, while 44-year-old Rich Hill allowed just one hit.

Earlier Thursday, Venezuela shut out Taiwan 2-0. Carlos Perez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and eight Venezuelan pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts.

The top two finishers in the four-team round-robin Super Round will advance to Sunday's final.