Entering the final day's reverse singles in Tokyo with an unassailable 3-0 lead, the nine-time champions chose to rest Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon and split the two dead rubbers.
France captain Yannick Noah said his team could go on to lift the Davis Cup after wrapping up a 4-1 first-round victory over Japan on Sunday.
Entering the final day's reverse singles in Tokyo with an unassailable 3-0 lead, the nine-time champions chose to rest Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon and split the two dead rubbers.
Doubles specialist Nicolas Mahut replaced Gasquet and took the first set off Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 before a wrist injury ended the Japanese player's hopes of a comeback.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the other half of the world's top-ranked doubles pair who clinched France's third point on Saturday, took Simon's place in the abbreviated singles.
However, he was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Yasutaka Uchiyama as Japan avoided a whitewash in the absence of world number five Kei Nishikori, who dropped out the World Group clash citing a busy schedule.
"If all my players are ready then we have the possibility to go all the way," said Noah, a Davis Cup runner-up in 1982.
"That's what we should aim for -- the win the whole thing," added the former French Open champion. "But to do that we have to be at 100 percent in the next three ties."
Noah could have a selection headache for the quarter-finals in April, where France will face either Great Britain or Canada.
With their two highest-ranked singles players, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, also available, Noah could be tempted to tinker with his line-up as France look to capture the Davis Cup for a first time since 2001.
"I would take them right away, but I would only pick them for the right reasons," said Noah, pointing to the camaraderie in a French team who spent three weeks preparing for the Japan tie.
"In the next two months some players will play five, six or seven tournaments and a lot can happen -- guys who show up, guys who play well, others who get hurt. We have to wait and see."
France faced little resistance against Japan, who will now face a battle to retain their World Group status.
Gasquet thrashed Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 and Simon beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday before Wimbledon champions Herbert and Mahut overpowered Uchiyama and Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday's doubles.
Japan captain Minoru Ueda knows talisman Nishikori's involvement will be crucial in September to keep his team among the Davis Cup elite.
"We must win the playoff and stay in the World Group so it's important we have Nishikori available," he said.
"We need Japanese players to perform better at grand slam events in order to be able to compete at this level."
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