Japan women’s soccer team roster: players, profiles, stars

The upcoming 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to be a groundbreaking event for women’s soccer. Australia and New Zealand have been chosen as co-hosts, making it the first time since its establishment by FIFA in 1991 that the tournament will be held in multiple countries.

In the last three decades the Women’s World Cup has grown to become the pinnacle of women’s soccer competitions. This year’s tournament brings together 32 nations to compete for the top prize, but only four nations - the United States, Germany, Japan, and Norway - have previously lifted the illustrious trophy.

As part of AS USA’s collaboration with the Guardian, we take a look at the squad of the Japanese women’s national team for the tournament.

Written by Mari Hibino and translated by Ben Mabley, these profiles include everything about these players, from their best positions to their career accomplishments.

Japan goalkeepers

Ayaka Yamashita

Date of birth: 1995.09.29

Club: INAC Kobe Leonessa

Position: Goalkeeper

The most likely candidate to start in goal for Japan and player of the year in the inaugural season of the WE League – the country’s first fully-professional women’s football league – last year. Yamashita originally played as a forward but switched to goalkeeping in her first year of high school.  Strong athletically and excellent with her feet, she cites Ederson of Manchester City as her inspiration – she is the same age as the Brazilian and similarly left-footed. Off the pitch, Yamashita exudes an effortless cool, on hand to help if ever her smaller teammates are struggling to reach high shelves or carry heavy bags.

Chika Hirao

Date of birth: 1996.12.31

Club: Albirex Niigata

Position: Goalkeeper

A goalkeeper blessed with particular confidence taking crosses thanks in part to the size of her hands – Hirao wears size 9 or 10 gloves, similar to her male counterparts. In the national team she takes it upon herself to create a strong sense of teamwork and good atmosphere among the three goalkeepers. A graduate of the JFA Academy Fukushima, an elite training school run by the national association, she was in Fukushima as a teenager when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011.

Momoko Tanaka

Date of birth: 2000.03.17

Club: Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Position: Goalkeeper

The youngest of the three goalkeepers at 23, and another graduate of the JFA Academy training schools, Tanaka offers good communication with her defenders and strong handling of crosses. She is expected to develop into the first-choice goalkeeper for Japan in future, but right now she says “I’m young so I want to use that, bring new inspiration and be a vibrant presence in the dressing room to help create a good team atmosphere”. Tanaka has been described as “very chatty” (in a good way).

Defenders

Saki Kumagai

Date of birth: 1990.10.17

Bayern Munich (Germany)

Position: Defender

Captain and a member of the winning Japan team from the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Her voice is the loudest in the entire squad and she is constantly vocal in leading her team from the back. Kumagai plays at centre-back for the national team, but is equally adept as a holding midfielder for her club. She sets harsh standards for herself and continually tries to improve. A quadrilingual capable of speaking English, German, and French in addition to Japanese after eight seasons at Lyon as well as three playing in Germany. This will be her fourth World Cup.

Hana Takahashi

19/02/2000

Defender

Urawa Reds

Takahashi only just managed to return to action for the final day of the WE League schedule this June after eight months sidelined with an ACL injury. Her place at the World Cup was a late surprise but she had been a squad regular before her layoff. She is a centre-back blessed with speed, excellent athletic ability and good footwork. Adept with both feet, she previously played as a forward. Takahashi was a member of the victorious Under-20 Women’s World Cup team in 2018, and is the comedian of the squad.

Risa Shimizu

Date of birth: 1996.06.15

Club: West Ham United (England)

Position: Defender

A player blessed with great stamina who will run up and down the flank all day and lay on goalscoring chances with her accurate crossing. Shimizu is certainly not the biggest by any means, but she makes up for this with her agility. Since Nadeshiko Japan switched to a back three she has been asked to play at right wing-back and the greater demands on her attacking ability have helped her develop into more of a goal threat herself. Shimizu’s motto is “however much effort you put in, that’s how many flowers will bloom”. She says her mother is like a close friend to her with whom she can talk about anything.

Moeka Minami

Date of birth: 1998.12.07

Club: Roma (Italy)

Position: Defender

The next-generation leader of the Japanese defence, Minami was a member of the winning Japan side at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2014 and captained her country to victory at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2018. She transferred to Roma last year to play in the Women’s Champions League and grow further individually as she adapted to the speed and physicality at the highest level. Minami says of this experience “my anticipation is faster now, I’m better at one-on-ones and there’s more variety to my play”. She is also confident building out from the back.

Shiori Miyake

Date of birth: 1995.10.13

Club: INAC Kobe Leonessa

Position: Defender

A defender known for her strong buildup and covering skills, Miyake made her Nadeshiko Japan debut a full decade ago as a 17-year-old and has absorbed a lot from her older teammates in that time. A member of the squads for both the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but she did not get onto the pitch at either and is extremely motivated to avenge that disappointment at this year’s World Cup. Another graduate of the elite JFA Academy, she is often the butt of the jokes in the national team dressing room.

Rion Ishikawa

Date of birth: 2003.07.04

Club: Urawa Reds

Position: Defender

A fast, powerful defender who will never shirk a physical challenge. Ishikawa is tough in 1v1 defending, tackling, and loose balls. Turning 20 just before the World Cup kicks off, she still lacks experience but is developing rapidly with time on the pitch. Lately she has been trying to improve her running and kicking technique so that she may succeed on the global stage. She says “I’m always happy – I think that in good times and bad, if you’re smiling, people will want to spend time with you and things will ultimately turn out well”. Her cheery personality is bound to rub off on her teammates.

Miyabi Moriya

Date of birth: 1996.08.22

Club: INAC Kobe Leonessa

Position: Defender

Moriya is now more of a wide attacking player known for her chance creation, but she is also strong defensively having previously played at centre-back. She combines speed with endurance, and will run tirelessly for the team over the full 90 minutes. Another graduate of the association’s elite JFA Academy, her dynamic play and frequent assists make her an exciting player to watch. Moriya loves to draw, and says drawing pictures on her tablet helps her unwind. She has a social media account just for her illustrations.

Kiko Seike

Date of birth: 1996.08.08

Club: Urawa Reds

Position: Defender

Seike is known for her speed, having trained as a sprinter by a specialist track and field coach. She says “I want to be a player who can break through defences on my own”, and certainly, her dribbling in from the flank, her crosses, and her shots all pack a punch. This will be her first ever global competition, after serious injury cost her the chance to play at underage level World Cups. Seike was talented academically as well as in sports – achieving the highest grades in her year at a prestigious university preparatory school. Her motto is “it’ll work out”.

Midfielders

Hina Sugita

Date of birth: 1997.01.31

Club: Portland Thorns (USA)

Position: Midfielder

Sugita’s potential is known to the world as player of the tournament both at the 2017 Under-17 Women’s World Cup, where Japan finished victorious, and at the 2016 Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Defensively she has a great sense for danger, while on the ball she is a clever player who can trick her opponents and doesn’t miss a chance to lay balls on for her teammates. She is also capable of shooting from range. Off the pitch Sugita is a fan of the late avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto.

Fuka Nagano

Date of birth: 1999.03.09

Club: Liverpool (England)

Position: Midfielder

Nagano uses her precise reading of the situation and the flow of the game to hold the ball up in midfield, launch attacks, and create goalscoring chances. She says she wants to be “the link player on the pitch”. A member of the victorious Japan sides at both the 2014 Under-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2018 Under-20 Women’s World Cup, and the player of the tournament at the 2016 Under-17 Women’s World Cup. Her future potential has been talked about since her youth days, but this World Cup will be her first global competition for Nadeshiko Japan. Nagano says she “feels real joy” at wearing the No 8 shirt for Liverpool.

Jun Endo

24/05/2000

Midfielder

Angel City FC (United States)

A left-footed midfielder known for her speed, physical strength and dynamic style of play, Endo is capable of offering something different in attack. She has grown into more of a proactive player since moving to the United States in 2022. Having come through the JFA Academy, set up by the association to develop elite talent, she was another member of the victorious Under-20 Women’s World Cup team in 2018. Endo’s trademark is her pink hair.

Hinata Miyazawa

Date of birth:

Club: MyNavi Sendai

Position: Midfielder

A member of the victorious Japan side at the 2018 Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Miyazawa is a midfielder with the ability to dribble in from the flank with the sort of speed that leaves even her teammates speechless. This speed, and her sense of timing to get behind the opponents’ defensive line is a significant source of goal threat; as she says, “scoring goals and getting assists is how I contribute to this team”. Miyazawa’s hairband has become her trademark, while she always expresses her gratitude to her mother, who raised her in a single parent home.

Aoba Fujino

Date of birth: 1999.11.28

Club: Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Position: Midfielder

At just 19, Fujino is already a vital player for her club side Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza. Making her debut for Nadeshiko Japan when she was 18, she showed her qualities on the pitch straight away to quickly earn a starting role and become a key attacking player for the team. Teammates speak in admiration of how “she can dribble, she can beat players, she can play in ways that opponents can only stop her by fouling her”. Fujino is quiet off the pitch, but very self-assured on it.

Yui Hasegawa

Date of birth: 1997.01.29

Club: Manchester City (England)

Position: Midfielder

Hasegawa is an exciting player blessed with technique, inventiveness, and the individual quality to beat defences on her own. Though most famous for her attacking abilities, she herself says “I am quite particular about my defending – it makes me happy when I win the ball exactly as I’d pictured. I like it too when my movements and off-the-ball runs make space for others and bring my teammates into attack”. This season, she was chosen as the fans’ player of the season at Manchester City.

Honoka Hayashi

Date of birth: 1998.05.19

Club: West Ham United (England)

Position: Midfielder

From back in her junior high school years, while Hayashi still played in Japan she used to commute two hours each way to get to training. Happily, she was good at both sports and studies, and says she always enjoyed using that time to do her school work. At university, she studied psychology, which she says she can use to understand her teammates more deeply. Since leaving to play overseas, she has developed faster decision-making in her role at the base of midfield. Now living in London, Hayashi enjoys going for walks and says this helps boost her motivation.

Hikaru Naomoto

Date of birth: 1994.03.03

Club: Urawa Reds

Position: Midfielder

A midfielder with a terrific eye for a pass and capable of scoring from range. As part of the WE League winning Urawa Reds team this season, Naomoto stood out for her ability to control games from midfield and her frequent assists, and she is currently one of the most popular players nationwide. At the 2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup, she cried tears of sorrow after Japan were forced to make do with third place and vowed then to avenge this disappointment on the world stage. Now, 10 years later, she finally gets her first chance to play in a World Cup with the senior national team. Dedicated from the start, as a child, Naomoto avoided sweets and crisps to snack on natto – fermented soybeans – because it was better for her.

Forwards

Mina Tanaka

Date of birth: 1994.04.28

Club: INAC Kobe Leonessa

Position: Forward

A striker with a wide variety of shots in her arsenal, Japan as a nation was shocked four years ago when she was left out of the World Cup squad despite finishing the domestic league as both top scorer and player of the season. This gives her particularly special motivation this year. “As a player I’m capable of doing more than I could four years ago. This is my dream, it’s a really special stage, and I want to achieve proper results that people will remember.” Tanaka was born in Thailand to a Thai mother and a Japanese father. The kanji used to write Mina (美南) mean “beautiful southern country”.

Riko Ueki

Date of birth: 1999.07.30

Club: Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Position: Forward

Ueki analyses her own playing style as follows: “My strengths are my determination as I bear down on goal, and my commitment when I’m in front of goal.” The way she moves into space, the quality of her runs, her timing, and her committed defensive work from the front all form part of her appeal. Ueki took up football when Japan were crowned world champions in 2011, and 12 years on she now plays as striker for her country. She is another player with particularly strong motivation going into this World Cup after being named in the squad for the last one only to pull out through injury. She is also a huge fan of manga.

Maika Hamano

Date of birth: 2004.05.09

Club: Hammarby (Sweden)

Position: Forward

The player of the tournament at the 2022 Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Hamano is currently on loan from Chelsea at the Swedish club Hammarby. She says “I want to develop here and become a player who can perform for Chelsea in future”. Has an infectious smile but hates losing and will often cry after defeats. Hamano always insists on tucking her shirt into her shorts. She loves hamburgers but has also taken to meatballs now that she lives in Sweden.

Remina Chiba

30/04/1999

Forward

JEF United Chiba

Chiba was sidelined for a significant period with an ACL injury but returned to the pitch this May and just about made the final squad. Observers praise her dynamism and physical strength, but the forward describes her own qualities as follows: “I know that I’m a different type of player to the others in this squad. I’m able to break behind defensive lines, take on opponents, and outpace anyone.” She claims that physiotherapy after her injury has made her faster than ever.