Japan Football Association (JFA) technical director Hiromi Hara, who has been tasked with finding a replacement for Takeshi Okada as national coach, said Monday he would fill in for the two internationals to be played at home.
Okada's contract expires at the end of this month.
The Samurai Blue are scheduled to play Paraguay, who beat them on penalties in the World Cup last-16 round in South Africa, on September 4 in Yokohama and Guatemala three days later in Osaka.
The squad for the games will be announced on Friday.
Hara, 51, who coached J-League sides Urawa Reds and FC Tokyo before joining the association, returned home Monday after travelling abroad for talks with potential foreign candidates for the coaching job.
He said he had failed to sign Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, who was sacked as Real Madrid manager last May, and Spaniard Ernesto Valverde, who returned to Greek side Olympiacos this month.
"We aim to move one rank higher with the help of a new manager who has a track record in football at higher levels," Hara said. "We want a person who respects Japan and knows how to make the most of Japan's strong points."
Hara said talks were still under way with a few other "great" candidates and his association was waiting for an answer from one of them.
He declined to give any name or confirm press reports that Japan had offered the post to Spaniard Victor Fernandez, 49, who guided FC Porto to the Intercontinental Cup in 2004.
Japan are also booked to play Argentina on October 8 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, and travel to Seoul to play South Korea on October 12.
The new coach's first major assignment will be the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ in January in which three-time champions Japan hope to regain the title they lost in 2007.
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