Japan were the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji in the 2011 competition at Churchill Park, Lautoka. The tournament ran from 5 to 23 June 2012 with most of the matches hosted by Japan. Only the match between Tonga and Fiji was played at Churchill Park in Fiji.
The tournament was a round-robin where each team plays all of the other teams once. There were four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. There were also bonus points offered with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one bonus point for losing by 7 points or less.
Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match