Japanese Sports Legends
The greatest Japanese sports people of all time — across 18 sports.
Japanese
Hidetoshi Nakata
Attacking Midfielder
Japanese midfielder who became the first Japanese player in Serie A and won the 2001 title with…
Japanese
Kaoru Mitoma
Winger
Japanese winger known for his pace, dribbling skills and breakthrough performances in the Premier…
Japanese
Keisuke Honda
Attacking Midfielder / Forward
Iconic Japanese attacking midfielder and global ambassador for the sport, whose career took him to…
Japanese
Shinji Kagawa
Attacking Midfielder
Japan's most naturally gifted modern midfielder, whose dribbling brilliance and technical mastery…
Japanese
Shinji Okazaki
Forward
Tireless and dependable Japanese striker who became a Premier League champion with Leicester City…
Japanese
Shunsuke Nakamura
Attacking Midfielder
Japanese footballer renowned for exceptional free-kick ability and technical skills, achieved…
Japanese
Takefusa Kubo
Winger / Midfielder
Supremely gifted young Japanese winger who became the first Japanese player to win La Liga and one…
Japanese
Homare Sawa
Midfielder
Japanese midfielder who captained Japan to the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup title, winning the…
🎾 Tennis
Japanese
Naomi Osaka
Professional Tennis Player
Japanese-American player who won 4 Grand Slam singles titles and became the first Asian player,…
Japanese
Kei Nishikori
Professional Tennis Player
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese former tennis player and the highest-ranked Japanese man in ATP…
Japanese
Shuzo Matsuoka
Professional Tennis Player
Shuzo Matsuoka is a Japanese former tennis player who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1995…
Japanese
Shintaro Mochizuki
Professional Tennis Player
Shintaro Mochizuki is a Japanese tennis player who became the first Japanese man in history to win…
Japanese
Junto Nakatani
Flyweight to Super Bantamweight
Junto Nakatani won world titles in three weight classes with a spectacular knockout streak before…
Japanese
Kazuto Ioka
Minimumweight to Bantamweight
Kazuto Ioka is a Japanese four-weight world champion who has held unified titles from…
Japanese
Naoya Inoue
Bantamweight, Super Bantamweight
Naoya Inoue is a four-division undisputed world champion known for exceptional knockout power…
Japanese
Fighting Harada
Flyweight/Bantamweight
Fighting Harada was a Japanese two-division world champion of the 1960s, long considered Japan's…
Japanese
Yoko Gushiken
Light-Flyweight
Yoko Gushiken was a Japanese former boxer who held the WBA light-flyweight world title for over…
Japanese
Jiro Watanabe
Super-Flyweight
Jiro Watanabe was a Japanese former boxer who became one of the first world super-flyweight…
Japanese
Ai Miyazato
Professional Golfer
Japanese professional golfer who became World No. 1 and won 9 LPGA Tour titles including the 2010…
Japanese
Hideki Matsuyama
Professional Golfer
Hideki Matsuyama is Japan's most successful PGA Tour golfer, breaking through with a historic 2021…
Japanese
Yuka Saso
Professional Golfer
Fil-Japanese golfer who made history winning majors representing two nations.
Japanese
Isao Aoki
Professional Golfer
Isao Aoki is a Japanese professional golfer who became the first Japanese winner on the PGA Tour…
Japanese
Ryo Ishikawa
Professional Golfer
Ryo Ishikawa, nicknamed 'The Bashful Prince', is a Japanese professional golfer who became the…
Japanese
Hinako Shibuno
Professional Golfer
Hinako Shibuno, nicknamed 'Smiling Cinderella', is a Japanese professional golfer who won the 2019…
🏎️ Formula 1
Japanese
Ichiro Suzuki
Right Field
Ichiro Suzuki was a Japanese-born outfielder whose MLB career combined elite contact hitting,…
Japanese
Shohei Ohtani
Pitcher/Designated Hitter
Shohei Ohtani is a generational two-way player who both pitches and hits at an elite level,…
Japanese
Yu Darvish
Pitcher
Yu Darvish is a Japanese-born right-hander known for an exceptional pitch arsenal, starring in both…
Japanese
Hideki Matsui
Left Field/Designated Hitter
Hideki Matsui, nicknamed Godzilla, was a power-hitting Japanese outfielder who starred for the…
Japanese
Sadaharu Oh
First Base
Sadaharu Oh is a Japanese baseball legend who holds the professional world record for career home…
Japanese
Hideo Nomo
Pitcher
Hideo Nomo, nicknamed the Tornado, was the first Japanese-born player to become a permanent MLB…
🥎 Softball
🤸 Gymnastics
Japanese
Shizuka Arakawa
Figure Skater
Japanese figure skater who became the first Asian woman to win Olympic singles gold, claiming…
Japanese
Yuzuru Hanyu
Figure Skater
Japanese figure skater, two-time Olympic champion and first to land quadruple loop in competition.…
Japanese
Midori Ito
Figure Skater
Japanese figure skater who became the first woman in history to land a triple Axel in competition,…
Japanese
Mao Asada
Figure Skater
Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion, the first woman to land three triple Axel…
Japanese
Miki Ando
Figure Skater
Japanese figure skater and the only woman in history to land a quadruple jump in competition, a…
Japanese
Shoma Uno
Men's Singles
Shoma Uno is a retired Japanese figure skater and three-time Olympic medallist, a two-time World…
Japanese
Kaori Sakamoto
Women's Singles
Kaori Sakamoto is a retired Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion who won an Olympic…
Japanese
Daisuke Takahashi
Men's Singles
Daisuke Takahashi is a Japanese figure skater who became the first Japanese man to win a World…
⛸️ Speed Skating
🏔️ Winter Sports
Japanese
Ai Fukuhara
Professional Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who became a household name in Japan, winning Olympic medals and…
Japanese
Hina Hayata
Professional Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who won Olympic mixed doubles silver in 2021 and reached a career-high…
Japanese
Kasumi Ishikawa
Professional Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who reached world No. 3 ranking and won Olympic bronze medal in team…
Japanese
Mima Ito
Professional Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who became Olympic champion and youngest ITTF World Tour winner,…
Japanese
Miu Hirano
Professional Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who became the youngest ITTF World Tour singles winner at age 15 and…
Japanese
Tomokazu Harimoto
Table Tennis Player
Japanese table tennis player who became the youngest ITTF World Tour winner at age 13 and reached a…
🏸 Badminton
Japanese
Akane Yamaguchi
Badminton Player (Singles)
Japanese badminton player and former world number one, known for her exceptional defensive skills…
Japanese
Kento Momota
Badminton Player
World number one and the most dominant men's badminton player since Lin Dan — Momota's career was…
Japanese
Kodai Naraoka
Singles
Japanese badminton player who became one of the youngest players to reach world top 10 rankings and…
Japanese
Nozomi Okuhara
Badminton Player (Singles)
Japanese badminton player who became World Champion in 2017 and reached world No. 1 ranking, known…