A second victory in four games also secured the European nation's place in the division, while a fourth loss in as many outings for Japan has confirmed their relegation. 

Japan were relying on Poland losing against Austria in regulation time today, and then beating Poland themselves in regulation time on Friday (April 29), to avoid finishing in last place and being relegated to Division I Group B. 

But Poland's 1-0 victory against Austria means this season will go down as the worst for the Japanese men’s national team since being ranked 22nd overall in 2007.

Japan started brightly against Italy and went in front for the first time in the tournament when Shuhei Kuji latched onto Daisuke Obara’s diagonal pass from behind the net to fire home inside nine minutes. 

Their joy proved to be short-lived though as less than five minutes later, Simon Kostner replied for Italy by scoring on a rebound after a blocked Luca Frigo shot.

Midway through the second period, Italy captain Anton Bernard put his country into the lead after beating Takuto Onoda with a shot into the top-right corner.

Joachim Ramoser then added a third following some good work from Giulio Scandella, who escaped on the right side and fed his team-mate to score.

Italy's final match sees them play South Korea on Friday in a game between two teams that were originally bottom seeds after last year’s results.

Today's other game saw South Korea suffer a 5-1 loss at the hands of Slovenia, who meet Austria on Friday in a battle for top spot and promotion to the top division for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne and Paris.