Building international reputations

Japan has long produced world-class talent, but its clubs are still only scratching the surface of what is possible in the global transfer market.

As leagues like Major League Soccer, Liga MX, Brazil’s Série A and the Saudi Pro League rapidly expand their reputation in the transfer market and increase the fees for players in and out of the competition, many Japanese clubs risk falling behind. That’s not because of a lack of talent, but because they lack direct access to decision-makers abroad.

Historically, a number of factors have limited the export of Japanese players to leagues abroad. The strength of the university system and the cultural importance of experience and age, among other reasons, used to limit the minutes played by young players. Culturally, J.League clubs were not structured to sell to international markets.

But this is changing, and TransferRoom is helping to drive this change.

One of the clubs at the forefront of Japan's presence on TransferRoom, world football's transfer marketplace, is Kawasaki Frontale (pictured at the top of the page).

In 2023 they joined the platform, where they can connect with the decision-makers at over 800 clubs and 550 Trusted Agencies worldwide, and gain real access to real-time market intelligence and data insights. They won the Japanese Super Cup in 2024 and reached the AFC Champions League final in 2025.

In the summer of 2025, Kawasaki Frontale and the agency HEROE broke the record of the international transfer of a Japanese player from J.League, with the transfer of centre-back Kota Takai to Tottenham Hotspur for €5.8million.

As we have seen with the European success of players like Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hobe Albion), Wataru Endo (Liverpool FC), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Ko Itakura (Ajax) and Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Japanese players are now candidates for the biggest clubs in the best leagues in the world, and there is more potential to grow direct player sales from Japan.

More recently, former Shonan Bellmare left-back Keita Kosugi was transferred from Djurgarden in Sweden's Allsvenskan to German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt for €6.5 million.

In the last Japan national team squad of 2025, only three out of the 26 players were not playing in Europe: centre-back Tomoya Ando (Avispa Fukuoka have since transferred him to FC St. Pauli), midfielder Ryunosuke Sato (FC Tokyo) and goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers).

J.League clubs are also increasingly recruiting players from the international markets, helped by the added global market visibility, and the ability to see player availability and club requirements on TransferRoom.

Since 2018, over 252 foreigners have been transferred to J1 clubs, including 64 paid transfers and over 100 Brazilian players signed. Clubs are now working to open more doors in new markets like Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and South America.

Why Japanese clubs are on TransferRoom

One of the clubs to join the likes of Kawasaki Frontale, Rakuten Vissel Kobe and Urawa Red Diamonds on the TransferRoom platform most recently is Avispa Fukuoka.

Nobuaki Yanagida, the Sporting Director of Avispa Fukuoka, has explained the reason why they have joined TransferRoom.

Yanagida said:  "The ability to accelerate our recruitment processes is why we chose to partner with TransferRoom, and elevating our club’s international profile and connections is what we aim to build together."

For Rakuten Vissel Kobe, direct access to global decision-makers represents a major shift in strategy. 

“Up until now, we often had to rely on agents for player acquisition, loans, and transfers, including player development,” said Director of International Football Akihiro Miyamoto.

“It is great that we can directly connect with clubs and expand our network through platforms and events like this. I thought there would be major changes to the player acquisition and development policies in the future. I think it was an event that gave me that expectation.”

The sentiment is shared by Kawasaki Frontale. Assistant Technical Director Mizuki Moriwaki highlights how rare direct communication used to be.

“When we communicated with each other, it was often through an agent,” Moriwaki. “We were in a situation where we weren't able to communicate directly with clubs in Europe. Through TransferRoom, I hope our network will continue to spread in the future.”

Urawa Red Diamonds have been on TransferRoom since 2021 and are trailblazers in the J.League when it comes to data-led recruitment. They also benefit from TransferRoom's Advanced API, which provides clubs with a wealth of real-time transfer market data intelligence, through a comprehensive range of datasets in one dashboard that can be easily integrated into a club’s in-house systems.

Satoshi Horinouchi, Urawa's Sporting Director, said: “This platform visualises players' information, and the club can minimise mismatches. The ability to grasp market trends in real time is also a significant advantage for making swift and accurate decisions. We currently use it as the first step when searching for and evaluating players.”

At FC Tokyo, General Manager Obara Mitsushiro highlighted the impact of TransferRoom events, and attended with a clear objective: “I wanted to strengthen communication with clubs around the world. I also participated because I wanted to expand the market for players. As a result, I believe the participation in the Summit was very productive.”

As global markets accelerate, Japanese clubs now have the tools to build lasting relationships, secure better deals, and increase international pathways for their players.

And with more J.League teams engaging directly with the world, the opportunity for growth has never been greater.

There are over 800 clubs worldwide using TransferRoom. You can find out how to join them here.

Agents, get access to the decision-makers at top clubs in over 130 leagues worldwide as a TransferRoom Trusted Agent. Find out more here.

Track every player transfer and salary payment and plan every window with confidence through TransferRoom's contract management tool, Contingency AI.