Tadhg Furlong says Ireland seek to scrum "to the letter of the law" ahead of the second pool game against Japan in Fukuroi on Saturday.
Japan's tighthead prop Yusuke Kuzi accused Ireland - and specifically Cian Healy - of illegal scrummaging, contending that the Irish loosehead "steps out" and scrums at an illegal angle.
Kuzi's message was basically endorsed, albeit in rather more diplomatic language, by Japan's head coach Jamie Joseph on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport two days out from the encounter, a relaxed Furlong was not inclined to get too het up in response to Japanese claims.
The Wexford-born prop pointed to the spider-cam which hovers among scrums at the World Cup and said people could make their own minds up.
"I actually heard about it. All these scrums nowadays, they have the spider cam in the World Cup. People can look at that make their own judgements on it.
"For me, we try to scrum to the letter of the law. I probably don't see the angle they're coming from but each to their own."
Japan, who under the leadership of Eddie Jones stunned South Africa in the 2015 World Cup, did not overly impress in their opening game against Russia on Friday but Furlong cited the hosts' 'freshness' as a reason to be wary heading into the weekend.
"They've had a good turnaround. We're on the back of a six-day turnaround, not to use that as an excuse. They've had their time to look at us in a load of detail. Everyone has seen the threats they have and the scores they got last weekend.
"They play a really good tempo, they're not afraid to push the pass but at the same time, they're very good at the basics. Everybody's got to be on their toes and expect the unexpected."
Furlong was a key figure in a formidable pack effort as Ireland routed the Scots in the rain of Yokohama on Sunday. The front five opted not to delegate the scoring duties to the backs and Furlong himself powered over the third try, gleefully sticking his tongue out in celebration - a moment captured on camera.
"I certainly don't remember sticking my tongue out! I'm after copping a lot of grief over it in the last few days. The lads in the whatsapp group have given you woeful stick over it. It doesn't happen too often so it's nice when they come around.
"It wasn't perfect by any means but it was good to get the win. I think the lineout functioned well. You're happy but not overly content with the scrum either. There's a few bits we can definitely fix up there as well. I think it's a decent sounding board for us to go forward with."
Unsurprisingly, the refereeing is a topic of heavy discussion but Furlong insists Ireland have been well briefed, with a certain former World Cup final referee from Dublin having given them the lowdown during pre-season.
"We had Alain Rolland in with us in pre-season and he presented out to us what the referees were looking at for the World Cup. So it's probably no real shock to us what they're targeting and some of the sanctions around it."
