Midfielder Kenny McLean believes the experience against high-calibre opposition will stand Scotland in good stead before this summer’s World Cup.
The Scots have been drawn in Group C with Haiti, Morocco and Brazil.
They take on Ivory Coast at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday in the second of their March friendlies.
“A disappointing result. It’s good to get these challenges, we’re trying to prepare as well as we can for a big summer ahead,” said Norwich City’s McLean.
“We’ll try to get better and that’s what we’ll try to do again on Tuesday. The shape was decent enough at times.
“The second half was a bit better out of possession, but I think we could have been a bit more threatening at the top end of the pitch.
“Japan are a really good team, they press you really well, but that’s what we’re going to come up against in the summer.
“There’s an expectation now and we want those expectations on us. We want to reach a new level.”
Despite the positive noises from Clarke, former Scotland striker Billy Dodds says Scotland have to improve on Tuesday and then again before they head across the Atlantic.
After the Ivory Coast fixture, Scotland will play Curacao on 30 May and one other unnamed opponent before the World Cup.
“The boys trying to push their way in will be most frustrated because they need a team to perform to their best,” Dodds said.
“We must get a win at some point to get momentum and maybe that’s why we’ve chosen Curacao as the last fixture at home. But I would like us to play better against Ivory Coast and solve a few problems.
“We’re down because there was nothing for the crowd to get up for. It was flat. There was industry and effort but no X-factor.”