Japanese Players in English Football
History of Japanese Footballers Playing in the English Leagues
Aug 28, 2009
Japanese players first appeared in English football in 2001 when Junichi Inamoto famously joined Arsenal in the Premier League.
Junichi Inamoto at Fulham
The central midfielder made his name in Japan playing for Gamba Osaka in the J-League, scoring 16 goals in 118 appearances.
Inamoto went on loan to Arsenal in the summer of 2001, a transfer that caused a sensation in his home country. However, he failed to break into the first team and only managed 4 appearances, 2 in the League Cup and 2 in the Champions League.
The midfielder left Arsenal before starring for Japan in the 2002 World Cup, scoring the equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Belgium and the winner in the 1-0 victory against Russia, both in the group stage.
Inamoto then joined Fulham in the Premier League in another loan deal, where the midfielder finally proved himself able to compete at the very top level. He scored 9 goals in 58 appearances for Fulham over 2 seasons, including a memorable goal in Fulham's 3-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003.
At the end of the 2003-04 season Junichi Inamoto signed for West Bromich Albion for a fee of £0.2m, and played 32 games for the Baggies in both the Premier League and the Championship, scoring 1 goal. During his time at West Brom Inamoto also briefly went out on loan to Cardiff City, making 16 appearances at the Welsh capital.
In the summer of 2007 Inamoto signed for Turkish side Galatasary and concluded his 6 years in England.
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi at Portsmouth
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, a goalkeeper, spent 7 seasons playing for the J-League club Yokohama F. Marinos before signing for the English First Division side Portsmouth in the summer of 2001, the same year that Inamoto moved to Arsenal.
Breaking Portsmouth's club transfer record with his £1.8m deal, Kawaguchi turned out more slightly more successful at Pompey than his compatriot did for the Gunners, making 12 appearances over 2 seasons.
Kawaguchi's taste of English football exposed his inability to cope with the physical aspect of the English game as the goalkeeper was blamed for a number of heavy defeats for Portsmouth, relegating him to reserves appearances despite popularity among fans.
In the summer of 2003 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi finally moved on, leaving Portsmouth for a brief spell in the Danish league before returning to Japan in 2005 to play for J-League side Jubilo Iwata.
Alex Santos Denied the Chance to Play for Charlton
Alessandro dos Santos was born in Brazil but obtained Japanese citizenship in 2001 after playing for J-League side Shimizu S-Pulse since 1997.
Since switching nationality the attacking midfielder has been a regular feature for the Japan national team, scoring 7 goals in 82 appearances. He was a member of the Japan squad for both their 2002 and 2006 World Cup campaigns.
In August 2002 Alex Santos signed for Charlton Athletic in the Premier League. However, the move fell through as Alex was denied a work permit by the British Home Office on the grounds of insufficient international appearances as he was a player from outside the EU.
Failing to play in the Premier League Alex returned to Japan, joining J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds.
Hidetoshi Nakata at Bolton Wanderers
In August 2005 Premier League side Bolton Wanderers signed Fiorentina's Japan international midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata on loan.
Sam Allardyce, manager of Bolton at the time, had developed a reputation for bringing the best out of veteran players and his move for the 28-year-old Nakata, who won the Italian Serie A with AS Roma in 2001 and was very much a football icon in Japan, was enthusiastically received by Bolton fans.
Nakata spent only one season at Bolton but was widely considered a success story of Asian footballers playing in the Premier League, scoring once in 32 appearances for the club.
Bolton was to be the last team Nakata played for, as the midfielder retired from professional football at the end of the 2005-06 season at the age of 29.
Mitsuo Ogasawara on Trial at West Ham
Kashima Antlers and Japan midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara was taken on trial at West Ham in January 2006.
However, the trial failed to produce a permanent contract for Ogasawara in a deal that was widely perceived as driven by West Ham manager Alan Pardew's motivation to break into the Japanese market rather than signing genuine Premier League quality.
Ogasawara was back in Japan after only a week at the Hammers.
