There were no huge surprises in Johnson's team selection with flanker Kelly Brown back as captain after recovering from a leg injury.
Johnson, who is aware of his team's reputation as being slow starters in campaigns, said his picks for the Murrayfield game (1430 GMT) were all about the longer term.
"We are looking to the future and we're also looking at people's futures too," he told www.scottishrugby.org.
"This selection is a first chance for some to put their hand up. We have a 22-months campaign pre-World Cup and one of the mantras is 'this could be your last test match'.
Saturday's game against Japan, who were thumped 54-6 by world champions New Zealand last weekend, is the first of three home internationals this month before the more challenging visits of South Africa and Australia.
Scotland: 15-Sean Maitland, 14-Tommy Seymour, 13-Nick De Luca, 12-Matt Scott, 11-Sean Lamont, 10-Ruaridh Jackson, 9-Greig Laidlaw; 8-David Denton, 7-Kelly Brown, 6-Alasdair Strokosch, 5-Alastair Kellock, 4-Tim Swinson, 3-Euan Murray, 2-Ross Ford, 1-Ryan Grant
Replacements: 16-Pat MacArthur, 17-Alasdair Dickinson, 18-Geoff Cross, 19-Richie Gray, 20-John Barclay, 21-Henry Pyrgos, 22-Duncan Weir, 23-Duncan Taylor
(Reporting by Sonia Oxley; Editing by Justin Palmer)
Share
