is a Japanese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played for the Japan national team.

Club career

He was born on the island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

and began his footballing career with

JEF United Ichihara , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

in 1994. He quickly established himself, scoring twelve goals in his first season; he scored his first goal on his debut against

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

on 12 March. After three seasons with JEF United Ichihara, Jo moved to the

Yokohama Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times and ...

(later ''Yokohama F. Marinos'') in 1997. His performances in the 1998–99 season led to a loan move to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Primera División team

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. He failed to make an impact with the club, making just 15 appearances and scoring two goals before sustaining a knee injury. After his return to Japan, Jo struggled to reestablish himself as a regular goal scorer with the Marinos and

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

, with whom he joined in 2002. He joined

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was formed by fans of Yokoh ...

in 2003, where he scored 12 goals in his first season with them. He helped his club to become J2 Champions in 2006 gained and promotion to J1, but he retired from playing after that season.

International career

On 20 September 1995, Jo debuted for the Japan national team against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. He made his first appearance in an international competition with the Japan U-23 national team in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In October 1996, he played for the Japan senior team for the first time in a year. He also played at the

1996 Asian Cup The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 Decem ...

in December. After the 1998 World Cup qualification in 1997 Japan qualified for the 1998 World Cup for the first time in their history. He played at the 1998 World Cup and the

1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited to ...

. He played all matches in both competitions. He played 35 games and scored 7 goals for Japan until 2001.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jo goal.''

References

External links

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Retrieved 11 October 2005
FootballDatabase
Retrieved 11 October 2005 1975 births Living people People from Muroran, Hokkaido Association football people from Hokkaido Japanese footballers Association football forwards Japan international footballers Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players J1 League players J2 League players La Liga players JEF United Chiba players Yokohama F. Marinos players Real Valladolid players Vissel Kobe players Yokohama FC players Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain {{Japan-footy-forward-1970s-stub