Japan and 10-man Greece played out a stalemate that keeps alive both teams' chances of progressing from Group C.
Greece captain Konstantinos Katsouranis was sent off for two bookable offences before the break in Natal.
The Greeks went close with a second-half header from Theofanis Gekas, which was saved by Eiji Kawashima.
Yoshito Okubo missed from just a couple of yards and Atsuto Uchida also prodded wide from a good position as Japan were left frustrated.
The draw leaves both teams on one point heading into the final round of group matches.