Elfyn Evans won Rally Japan, claiming his third victory in the event in four years and extending his lead in the World Rally Championship to 20 points over Takamoto Katsuta at the halfway point of the 14-race season. Evans finished 12.8 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier, with Sami Pajari third and Katsuta fourth, completing a Toyota 1-2-3-4.

Evans seized control of the rally on Friday by winning stage two through Isegami's Tunnel by 7.5 seconds and posting the fastest time on stage three. He led by 15.7 seconds at the end of day one and remained in front through the remaining 18 stages. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin won five of the 20 special stages and completed the rally in a total time of 3 hours 17 minutes 08.0 seconds.

Oliver Solberg briefly challenged Evans on Saturday morning, cutting the overnight lead from 15.7 seconds to 10.6 seconds with stage wins on Obara and Mt. Kasagi. Solberg later crashed out of contention on stage 12 but rejoined under rally2 rules to claim the maximum 10 Sunday bonus points. Solberg now sits third in the championship, 49 points behind Evans.

"What a great weekend, amazing car again on tarmac," said Elfyn Evans. "Not sure, a long way to go and too early to talk about that." When asked about the championship, he added, "We have to just enjoy this one."

Evans acknowledged past weaknesses on dry gravel surfaces, calling them "what we identified as perhaps the weakest point of our championships in the past." The next round, the Acropolis Rally in Greece from 25–28 June, will be run entirely on gravel. Running first on gravel can be a disadvantage because the leading car clears loose material from the road, potentially benefiting followers.

Sébastien Ogier, who finished second, said, "Unfortunately it's not really a surprise, but it's a shame." He noted, "More importantly the gap to Elfyn got bigger so it is not going the way we would like, but at the moment we are not able to find more speed."