Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is among the most popular sports in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, together with

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

. Its nationwide organization, the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

, administers the professional football leagues, including J.League, which is considered by many the most successful football league in Asia.

Football

Although the official English name of the

uses the term "football", the term ''sakkā'' (サッカー), derived from "soccer", is much more commonly used than ''futtobōru'' (フットボール). The JFA's Japanese name is ''Nippon Sakkā Kyōkai''. Before World War II the term in general use was ''shūkyū'' (蹴球, ''kick-ball''), a Sino-Japanese term. With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war, ''sakkā'' became more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples being

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

and

Kyoto Sanga FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist templ ...

History

The introduction of football in Japan is officially credited by the Japan Football Association, and numerous academic papers and books on the history of association football in Japan, to then Lieutenant-Commander

Archibald Lucius Douglas Admiral Sir Archibald Lucius Douglas, (8 February 1842 – 12 March 1913) was a Royal Navy officer of the 19th century. Naval career Douglas was born in Quebec City in pre-Confederation Canada in 1842. Educated at the Quebec High School, he joi ...

of the Royal Navy and his subordinates, who from 1873 taught the game and its rules to Japanese navy cadets while acting as instructors at the

Imperial Japanese Navy Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stud ...

in Tsukiji, Tokyo. The first official football match in Japan is widely believed to have been held on February 18, 1888, between the

Yokohama Country & Athletic Club The Yokohama Country & Athletic Club is a sport and recreational club located in Yamate, Yokohama Kanagawa Prefecture. First founded in 1868 by Scottish cricketer James Pender Mollison (21 July 1844 – 22 November 1931) as the Yokohama Cricket C ...

and

Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club The Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club is Japan's oldest sports club, founded September 23, 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim. The Club moved to a newly manufactured building at the end of 1870 and held its first-ever regatta on December 24, of that same y ...

. YC&AC is the oldest running association football club in Japan as Association Football was introduced into the club on December 25, 1886, for training sessions starting from January 1887. The first Japanese association football club, founded as a football club, is considered to be

Tokyo Shukyu-dan is a Japanese football club based in Tokyo. It is the oldest Japanese football club, founded in 1917, and it was the first to win the Emperor's Cup, the top national cup in Japan. Very much like Sheffield F.C. in England or Queen's Park F.C. i ...

, founded in 1917, which is now competing in the Tokyo Prefectural amateur league. In the 1920s, football associations were organised and regional tournaments began in universities and high schools especially in Tokyo. In 1930, the

Japan national association football team The , nicknamed the , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Japan was not a major football force until the e ...

was organised and had a 3–3 tie with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for their first title at the

Far Eastern Championship Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...

. The Japan national team also participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, the team had the first victory in an Olympic game with a 3–2 win over powerful

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Aside from the national cup, the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

established in 1921, there had been several attempts at creating a senior-level national championship. The first was the All Japan Works Football Championship (AJWFC), established in 1948 and open only to company teams. The second was the All Japan Inter-City Football Championship (AJICFC), established in 1955 and separating clubs by cities (any club, works, university or autonomous, could represent their home city and qualify) but the Emperor's Cup remained dominated by universities until the late 1950s. All these tournaments were cups following

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

formulas, similar to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

in Italy before 1929. The first organized national league, the

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

, was organized in 1965 with eight amateur company clubs and replaced the AJWFC and AJICFC. At the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, the Japan national team, filled with the top JSL stars of the era, had its first big success winning third place and a bronze medal. Olympic success spurred the creation of a Second Division for the JSL and openings for the first few professional players, in the beginning, foreigners (mainly Brazilians), and a few from other countries, which also led to the country hosting its first international competition, the

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, the second staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Japan from 26 August to 7 September 1979. It was the first FIFA tournament played in Asia. The tournament took place in four cities — K ...

. Japanese players, however, remained an amateur, having to work day jobs for the companies owning the clubs (or other companies if their clubs were autonomous). This limited the growth of the Japanese game, and many better Japanese players had to move abroad to make a living off the game, such as

Yasuhiko Okudera is a Japanese former football player and manager. He is the president of J2 League club Yokohama FC and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as we ...

, the first Japanese player to play in a professional European club, ( 1. FC Köln of Germany).

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

and

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...

aided the Japanese awareness of football by having the Intercontinental Cup played in Tokyo as a neutral venue. Japan fans Russia 2018

In 1993, the

Japan Professional Football League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

(commonly known as the ''J.League'') was formed replacing the semi-professional Japan Soccer League as the new top-level club competition in Japan. It consisted of some of the top clubs from the old JSL, fully professionalized, renamed to fit communities and with the corporate identity reduced to a minimum. The new higher-standard league attracted many more spectators and helped the sport to hugely increase in popularity. The professionalized league also offered, and offers, incentives for amateur non-company clubs to become part of their ranks with no major backing from a company; major examples of community, non-company-affiliated clubs who rose through the prefectural and regional ranks into the major leagues are

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the fir ...

and

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

. Japan participated in its first-ever World Cup tournament at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

held in France. In 2002, Japan co-hosted the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

with

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

. After this, the association football communities of both countries received the

FIFA Fair Play Award The FIFA Fair Play Award is a FIFA recognition of exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and compassion in :association football around the world. First awarded in 1987, it has been presented to individuals (including posthu ...

. The Japanese national team has reached the round of 16 on four occasions – as hosts in 2002, where they were knocked out by Turkey 1–0, in 2010, where they lost to Paraguay in penalties, in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

where they fell 2–3 to Belgium, and in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. Japan also qualified for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

in Germany, the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa and the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Brazil.

Football in fiction

The first worldwide popular association football-oriented Japanese animation (

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

) series, ''

Captain Tsubasa is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōichi Takahashi. The series mainly revolves around the sport of association football focusing on Tsubasa Oozora and his relationship with his friends, rivalries with h ...

'', was started in 1981. ''Captain Tsubasa'' was extremely popular among children of both genders in Japan. Its success led to much more association football manga being written, and it played a great role in association football history in Japan. Playing football became more popular than playing baseball in many schools throughout Japan from the 1980s due to the series. ''Captain Tsubasa'' has also inspired the likes of prominent footballers such as

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Asian players of all time. Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player ...

Seigo Narazaki is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Japan national team. Club career After graduating from Nara Ikuei High School in 1995, Narazaki joined J1 League side Yokohama Flügels. In August 1995, reg ...

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his ...

Giuseppe Sculli Giuseppe Sculli (born 23 March 1981) is a retired Italian footballer who played in several positions; primarily a striker, he could play anywhere along the front-line, and also played as a winger, as a second striker, and even as a right-sid ...

James Rodríguez James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Colombia national team. He has been praised in the past ...

Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Chile national team. He is often lauded as the g ...

and

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...

to play association football and choose it as a career. The inspiration for the character of

Tsubasa Oozora , also known as Oliver Atom in multiple dubs, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series ''Captain Tsubasa'' written by Yōichi Takahashi. Tsubasa is a prodigious association football player who dreams of winning the F ...

came from a number of players, including most prominently

Musashi Mizushima is a former Japanese Association football, football player and manager. Playing career Mizushima was born in Tokyo on 10 September 1964. In 1975, when he was 10 years old, he moved to Brazil and he joined São Paulo FC, São Paulo youth team. I ...

, arguably the first Japanese footballer to play abroad, and whose move to

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube (), commonly referred to as São Paulo, is a professional football club in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1930. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista (the State of São Paulo's premier state leag ...

as a ten-year-old boy was partly mimicked in the manga. The anime ''

Giant Killing ''Giant Killing'' (stylized as ''GIANT KILLING'') is Japanese manga series written by Masaya Tsunamoto and illustrated by Tsujitomo. It has been serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Morning'' since January 2007. A 26-episod ...

'' revolves around a team's efforts to go from one of the worst professional teams in Japan to the best. Other works focusing on football include '' Hungry Heart: Wild Striker'' (from the same author of ''Captain Tsubasa''), ''

The Knight in the Area is a Japanese manga series written by Hiroaki Igano and illustrated by Kaya Tsukiyama. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from April 2006 to March 2017, with its chapters collected in ...

'', ''

Days A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two solar ...

'', ''

Inazuma Eleven is an association football-themed media franchise created by Level-5 (company), Level-5. The franchise began with the release of ''Inazuma Eleven (video game), Inazuma Eleven'' in 2008, with the game series selling over 8 million copies worldwide b ...

'' and ''

Blue Lock is a Japanese manga series written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura. It has been serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' since August 2018, with its chapters collected in 22 ''tankōbon'' volumes as of Dece ...

''.

Women's football

As in Europe's advanced countries, Japanese women's football is organized on a promotion and relegation basis. The top flight of women's association football is the semi-professional

L. League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women o ...

(currently billed as the ''Nadeshiko League''). Most clubs are independent clubs, although the recent trend is to have women's sections of established J.League clubs. The

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

has enjoyed major success at the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

, having achieved its greatest triumph ever by winning the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...

in Germany and finishing as runner-up in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

in Canada.

Small-sided football

Championships and tournaments

Domestic tournaments

* J.League (Japan Professional Football League) is the top national league in Japan with a J1, J2 and J3 League. *

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

(JFL) is the national amateur league. *

(since 1921) the national open cup. *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

is the cup restricted to J.League members (usually J1 alone). * All Japan Adults Football Tournament, cup for clubs in regional leagues below JFL. * Japan Regional Football Champions League, round-robin elimination tournament for the promotion of regional-league clubs into JFL.

Other international tournaments held in Japan

* 1958 3rd Asian Games, Tokyo * 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games *

* 1992 AFC Asian Cup,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were allo ...

* 1994 12th Asian Games,

* 1998 Dynasty Cup, Tokyo &

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

br>Dynasty Cup
*

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organised by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the nation who founded the tournament, pr ...

(joint with South Korea) *

(joint with South Korea) * Intercontinental Cup / Toyota European/South American Cup (1981–2004) * 2005–2008, 2011–2012, 2015–2016

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Japanese footballers

Kunishige Kamamoto is a former Japanese football player, manager and politician. He won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and is the all-time leading ...

(1944– ), Top scorer in

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

. *

(1952– ), first Japanese player in the European League (

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

). *

Kazuyoshi Miura , often known simply as Kazu (nicknamed "King Kazu"), is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters on loan from Yokohama FC. He played for the Japan national team from 1990 t ...

(1967– ),

Asian Footballer of the Year The Asian Footballer of the Year is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year, organized by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). History The origin of ...

in 1993 and also currently the oldest person still playing professional football, at the age of . *

Masami Ihara is a Japanese former professional football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. A defender, Ihara was captain of the Japan national team for more than a decade in the 1990s, together with striker Kazuyoshi Miura and Brazili ...

(1967– ), Asian Footballer of the Year in 1995 *

Masashi Nakayama is a Japanese football manager and former player who is the manager of Azul Claro Numazu from 2023. He played as a forward in his playing career. Club career Playing as a forward, Nakayama made his J1 League debut on 11 March 1994. From then ...

(1967– ), first Japanese player to score a goal in a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

(1977– ), Asian Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998 *

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

(1978–), Scottish Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year in 2007 *

Homare Sawa is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or a midfielder. Regarded by many as one of the greatest female footballers of all time and the greatest Asian female footballer of all time, Sawa had a professional club care ...

(1978–), FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2011 and one of only two players of either sex to participate in six World Cup final tournaments *

Shinji Ono is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Career Urawa Reds Ono grew up in the Shizuoka Prefecture and began his professional career with Urawa Reds in the J1 League in 1998. ...

(1979– ), Asian Footballer of the Year in 2002 *

Yasuhito Endō is a Japanese footballer who plays for J1 League club Júbilo Iwata. His brother Akihiro Endō is a former footballer. He made his senior international debut in 2002, representing Japan in three World Cups and three Confederations Cups. In t ...

(1980– ), Most capped (152) player ''See also :Japanese footballers.''

Men's national team achievements

* 1968 Mexico Olympic Games – Bronze Medal * 1992 2nd Dynasty Cup 1992 – Champions * 1992 10th Asian Cup – Champions * 1993 5th Afro-Asian Nations Cup – Champions * 1995 3rd Dynasty Cup – Champions * 1998 4th Dynasty Cup – Champions *

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams that ...

– Silver Medal * 2000 12th Asian Cup – Champions *

– Silver Medal *

– Round of 16 * 2004 13th Asian Cup – Champions *

– Group Stage * 2007 14th Asian Cup – Semi-final *

– Round of 16 * 2011 15th Asian Cup – Champions *

– Group Stage * 2015 16th Asian Cup – Quarter Final *

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

– Round of 16 * 2019 17th Asian Cup – Runners-up *

– Round of 16

Women's national team achievements

* 1986 AFC Women's Championship – Runners-up * 1989 AFC Women's Championship – Third place *

1990 Asian Games The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...

– Silver Medal * 1991 AFC Women's Championship – Runners-up * 1993 AFC Women's Championship – Third place * Football at the 1994 Asian Games, 1994 Asian Games – Silver Medal * 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup – Quarter-finals * 1995 AFC Women's Championship – Runners-up * 1997 AFC Women's Championship – Third place * Football at the 1998 Asian Games, 1998 Asian Games – Bronze Medal * 2001 AFC Women's Championship – Runners-up * Football at the 2002 Asian Games, 2002 Asian Games – Bronze Medal * Football at the 2006 Asian Games, 2006 Asian Games – Silver Medal * 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup – Third place * 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup – Third place * Football at the 2010 Asian Games, 2010 Asian Games – Gold Medal *

– Champions * Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament, 2012 London Olympic Games – Silver Medal * 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup – Champions * 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup – Runners-up * 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup – Champions * 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup – Round 16 * Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament, 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games – Quarter Final * 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup – Semi-final

Seasons in Japanese association football

References

External links

Japan Football Association (JFA)
– official website
Competitions
- JFA official website
FOOTBALL-1 International Football Business Exhibition
* Hongo, Jun,

, ''Japan Times'', February 9, 2010, p. 3. {{Japanese football seasons Football in Japan,