Guangzhou Evergrande came up short in attempting to improve their results at the Club World Cup.
Paulinho's early goal in the fourth minute came to nothing when Douglas' double headers in the second half put Sanfrecce Hiroshima ahead 2-1.
Double champions Evergrande now have to settle for the same place again following their fourth-place finish two years ago.
Their year of 2015 ended on a sour note with two back-to-back losses at the tournament after going undefeated under manager Luis Felipe Scolari since May.