Japanese Sports Legends
The greatest japanese sports people of all time — across 18 sports.
⚽ Football
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…
🥊 Boxing
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…
⛳ Golf
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.
🏎️ Formula 1
⚾ Baseball
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…
🥎 Softball
🤸 Gymnastics
⛸️ Figure Skating
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…
⛸️ Speed Skating
🏔️ Winter Sports
🏓 Table Tennis
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…