Japan thrashed Chinese Taipei 12-2, while Australia overcame Hong Kong 11-6 in a high-scoring affair at the Erina Ice Arena.

South Korea, hoping to make an impression at the tournament as the country prepares to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, beat Kazakhstan 9-2 and China eased past New Zealand 8-3 in the other two matches to take place today.

Japan needed just seven ends to defeat their opponents from Chinese Taipei as they laid down a marker for the rest of the event with a comfortable win.

A three-point steal in the fourth end gave them a 5-0 lead, which set the platform for a resounding victory.

"We feel really good, because we had some not good situations in the game," Japanese lead Kosuke Morozumi said.

"We like to play on this good arena ice. 

"[With the Olympic Winter Games coming up] we have played a lot of events this year – we have had seven weeks in Canada already and we’re now here, so this is all really helpful."

The women's tournament, featuring Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and defending champions South Korea, begins tomorrow.

The top four teams in both the men’s and women’s events will progress to the knock-out stage of the tournament.

Semi-finals are due to take place next Wednesday (November 8), with the medal matches scheduled to be held the following day.

The medal-winning teams will all qualify for the 2018 World Curling Championships, whereas in the past only the top two advanced.

The Women’s Curling Championship are take place in North Bay in the Canadian province Ontario from March 17 to 25 and the men’s is scheduled to to held from March 31 to April 8 in Las Vegas.