TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan advanced to the eight-team finals of the Billie Jean King Cup women's team tennis tournament by pulling out a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Canada on Sunday.

Without an injured Naomi Osaka, Japan managed to top Group A of the qualifiers by winning both ties in the three-day round-robin event at Tokyo's Ariake Colosseum.

Captain Ai Sugiyama's team and five other group winners will join defending champion Italy and host China in September's finals in Shenzhen.

Japan and 2023 champion Canada entered the winner-take-all clash having both defeated Romania 3-0 in the previous two days.

Canada's 18-year-old rising star Victoria Mboko won the opening singles match, outlasting Ena Shibahara 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-5 in a 2-hour, 45-minute marathon on the indoor hard court.

But Moyuka Uchijima, currently the highest-ranked Japanese woman at 51st in the world, evened the tie with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Marina Stakusic.

Uchijima clinched the match when her 128th-ranked opponent hit a forehand long.

"I'm happy with my performance as I managed to play my style of tennis from start to finish today," Uchijima said.

"I knew she contributed to Canada's title-clinching victory (over Italy in 2023). She is a player who does well in this team event, so I tried to keep the momentum going against her."

Shibahara then returned to the court for a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 doubles victory with veteran Shuko Aoyama over Rebecca Marino and Kayla Cross.

Shibahara and Aoyama took the first three games of the third set and never looked back.

"I was so fortunate to get my second chance after the singles loss," Shibahara said in an on-court interview after her doubles match. "I'm happy that we are going to the finals. I got to play last year and had a great experience, so I look forward to playing again."

Canada's captain Heidi El Tabakh told a press conference that she was proud of the way her players competed against Japan.

"I'm very, very, very proud of Rebecca and Kayla for showing up and playing the way they did this evening, playing against a very experienced Japanese team," she said.

"I'm sure we're all disappointed we lost, but I'm very, very proud of every single girl on the team and the effort they put today. We fought till the end, and it just didn't go our way today."

Japan will make its second appearance in the finals after losing to Italy in the quarterfinals last year.

Sugiyama said she plans to speak to Osaka at some point if she can play for Japan in the finals. The former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion missed the qualifiers due to an abdominal injury.