The J.League has become a solid and relatively affordable market for quality transfers. After a decade of growth following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Japanese football movement has gained significant traction since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup further confirming this trend. A tendency that has seen some hubs thriving – and we’re studying those in columns like “Hello, Nihon”, where we analyse some of the main landing spots for J.League players in recent years.
But there’s also something we haven’t mentioned, and it feels appropriate to talk about it now that we’re entering a new transfer market window in a few weeks. We’re going to see more talents leaving the J.League – for example, Sota Kitano is most certainly on his way to Europe, where he’s gonna join an Austrian side from Cerezo Osaka, following the footsteps of Takumi Minamino (who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the mid-2010s from Cerezo).
Nonetheless, there’s another interesting phenomenon that we haven’t analysed yet on these pages – and I’ve not seen too much written about: what about the players coming back? The ones who either failed in Europe or just decided to come back after a few years in the Old Continent? Especially the second type looks interesting, because they’re bringing back some experience, while the major talented ones are thriving in Europe.
And so we decided to put together a “Top XI” of those players. We won’t pick the likes of Shion Homma – who’s been to Europe three years, but barely played. We went for three simple rules, plus a romantic option:
- They must have stayed in Europe for at least two seasons, possibly with success – but no longer than five. It’s a mid-term stint.
- They must have played or having been in contention for a national team called.
- The European transfer must have happened after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- Furthermore, if possible, they’re coming back to the same club they left.
All of these criteria will set up a “coefficient”, which we’ll rate from 1 to 10 and we’ll call it “Homecoming Rating”. We’re going to setup this line-up with a very aggressive 3-4-3.
Daniel Schmidt (Goalkeeper, 1992)
Homecoming Rating: 8 out of 10
Caps with Japan: 14
Leaving (When): Vegalta Sendai (2019)
Stops in Europe: Sint-Truiden, Genk (BEL)
Coming Back to (When): Nagoya Grampus (2025)
Schmidt has always been a solid keeper, but I’ve never seen him as a starter for the national team, despite his 14 caps with the Samurai Blue. He had a decent career in Europe, staying there five years and being relevant in a good championship. Now he’s back, and there are not so many Japanese keepers who were in Europe for such a long time. Last but not least, Grampus desperately needed an heir to Mitchell Langerak, so that’s a good move for everyone involved.
Naomichi Ueda (Centre-back, 1994)
Homecoming Rating: 8.5
Caps with Japan: 16
Leaving (When): Kashima Antlers (2018)
Stops in Europe: Cercle Bruges (BEL), Nimes (FRA)
Coming Back to (When): Kashima Antlers (2023)
Ueda represents the forged dynasty of Kashima Antlers. He left just after Russia 2018, where he was called up, but he didn’t play. He had a solid stint with Cercle Bruges, triggering a leap towards France. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in Nimes, and with a Ligue 2 resumé, he decided to go back to Ibaraki. At age 30, he’s now one of the senators at Antlers, and he’s been a guide to younger guys like Ikuma Sekigawa. Probably that was his path from the start.
Gen Shoji (Centre-back, 1993)
Homecoming Rating: 8.0
Caps with Japan: 20
Leaving (When): Kashima Antlers (2019)
Stops in Europe: Toulouse (FRA)
Coming Back to (When): Gamba Osaka (2020)
Speaking of Antlers, centre-backs with national experience, and returns… Gen Shoji has probably been – at least for me – the biggest disappointment in recent history in terms of Japanese exports. He was at the heart of the Japanese defence alongside Maya Yoshida in 2018, played a wonderful World Cup, and then moved to France, joining Toulouse. Mysteriously, his stint lasted just one year. And when he was back in Japan – signing for Gamba Osaka – he wasn’t himself anymore.
A year spent in Ibaraki in 2023 helped him get back on his feet, and then Shoji signed newly-promoted Machida Zelvia, being the captain and the core of a squad that almost won it all. I’d love to see him back on the national team just for a second chance (last time he was called up was in June 2021), although he wouldn’t stand a chance to be a starter.
Koki Anzai (Right-back, 1995)
Homecoming Rating: 6.5
Caps with Japan: 5
Leaving (When): Kashima Antlers (2019)
Stops in Europe: Portimonense (POR)
Coming Back to (When): Kashima Antlers (2021)
Anzai doesn’t really stand out in this line-up, but he was the only side back we could find, plus he’s another Antlers player who made the leap to Europe. He was briefly involved by Moriyasu in the national team, but Anzai tried his luck in Portugal with Portimonense, often tied to Japanese acquisitions. He actually had a decent stint there, but then he decided to come back to Antlers, and he’s played basically in any possible position since then.
Hayao Kawabe (Midfielder, 1995)
Homecoming Rating: 7.5
Caps with Japan: 6
Leaving (When): Sanfrecce Hiroshima (2021)
Stops in Europe: Grasshoppers Zurich (SWI), Standard Liege (BEL)
Coming Back to (When): Sanfrecce Hiroshima (2024)
Kawabe is still, to this day, the most valuable player for Transfermarkt in the J.League. I don’t agree, but he definitely had a point – Kawabe shone with Jubilo Iwata, only to move back to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, from where he was loaned for three whole seasons. He had an excellent return and then moved to Europe, hoping to have a breakthrough with Grasshoppers in Switzerland. And honestly, he kinda did.
Somehow, Kawabe got picked up by Wolverhampton just six months into his Swiss adventure. In the end, though, he’ll never play for the Wolves, being loaned again to Zurich and then moving to Liege to play for Standard. After just one year, he came back to Hiroshima and inherited the no. 6 from Toshihiro Aoyama. And that’s surprising, because his three years in Europe were actually pretty good, but not good enough to gain some space with the Samurai Blue (he featured just six times).
Kento Misao (Defensive Midfielder, 1996)
Homecoming Rating: 7.0
Caps with Japan: 6
Leaving (When): Kashima Antlers (2023)
Stops in Europe: Santa Clara (POR), OH Leuven (BEL)
Coming Back to (When): Kashima Antlers (2024)
Just like Shoji, that’s one that let me down. Misao was the heart of the Antlers, and took over from Shoji in captaincy duties. Just like Anzai, he moved to Kashima after coming out from the Tokyo Verdy academy and then signed to Santa Clara in 2023. He lasted in Europe just 18 months, moving first to Belgium and then re-joining Antlers last Summer. In my mind, even now, he could be the fifth or sixth midfielder under Moriyasu, although he played just six times with Japan and not once since 2018.
Kento Hashimoto (Midfielder, 1993)
Homecoming Rating: 7.5
Caps with Japan: 15
Leaving (When): FC Tokyo (2020)
Stops in Europe: Rostov (RUS), SD Huesca (SPA), Eibar (SPA)
Coming Back to (When): FC Tokyo (2025)
Honestly, his whole career is far-fetched. In 2019, Hashimoto was one of the engines of the wonderful run of FC Tokyo to an almost title, even being included in the Best XI of that season. He capitalised on that by signing for FC Rostov in Russia, a club which often played in Europe in the prior years. He suddenly re-joined Vissel after the start of the conflict with Ukraine, only to be on the move again, this time to Spain.
The problem is he didn’t get to play in LaLiga. In fact, Hashimoto joined Huesca first on loan, then he signed for them permanently only to leave Russia. One year at Huesca, and then the move to Eibar. All of this between the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup – meaning that Hashimoto played 15 games for Japan, but none of them were basically relevant. His role is now to be a guide for the younger kids at FC Tokyo.
Keita Endo (Winger, 1997)
Homecoming Return: 6.5
Caps with Japan: 2
Leaving (When): Yokohama F. Marinos (2020)
Stops in Europe: Union Berlin, Eintracht Braunschweig (GER)
Coming Back to (When): FC Tokyo (2024)
He’s probably the youngest pick in this special line-up. He played just twice for the national team, and the first image that comes to my mind thinking of him is the wonderful performance in the 3-0 home win against FC Tokyo that granted Marinos the title in 2019. He wore the Samurai Blue twice after that performance, only to end up failing to impress in Germany with several clubs. He’s now back in Japan, this time with FC Tokyo.
Musashi Suzuki (Winger/Striker, 1994)
Homecoming Return: 6.0
Caps with Japan: 9
Leaving (When): Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (2020)
Stops in Europe: Beerschot VA (BEL)
Coming Back to (When): Gamba Osaka (2022)
An eternal incomplete – from possible prodigy in Niigata to goalscorer in Nagasaki and Sapporo, via obscure object status with Mito and Matsumoto. Suzuki tried his luck in Belgium, joining Beerschot from Consadole. Two years and seven goals in 51 league games were not enough to stick around, but Suzuki never reached the same levels since he came back (10 goals in 77 J1 matches). In hindsight, it’s hard to understand how such a glitch manifested itself.
Takuma Nishimura (Winger/Striker, 1996)
Homecoming Return: 7.0
Caps with Japan: 5
Leaving (When): Vegalta Sendai (2018) | Yokohama F. Marinos (2024)
Stops in Europe: CSKA Moscow (RUS), Portimonense (POR) | Servette FC (SWI)
Coming Back to (When): Vegalta Sendai (2020) | Yokohama F. Marinos (2024)
To think that we have written about him just a couple of years ago, when he seemed to be on the verge of getting more consideration for the national team. Nishimura’s trajectory is very strange. He tried Europe twice in six years, and he’s probably the only one from this list to have featured in the UEFA Champions League.
The first time, leaving Sendai for Russia, was a bit unfortunate. The second one – after impressing with Marinos and finally debuting with Japan – was strange, lasting just six months in Switzerland before coming back to Yokohama and then joining Machida Zelvia for this season. From the Bernabeu and the Olimpico to the wards of Tokyo.
Yuma Suzuki (Striker, 1996)
Homecoming Return: 10.0
Caps with Japan: 0
Leaving (When): Kashima Antlers (2019)
Stops in Europe: Sint-Truiden (BEL)
Coming Back to (When): Kashima Antlers (2022)
We already praised in an article seven years ago, describing him as a unique character, one that J.League AND the national team would actually benefit from. This Roy Keane mentality applied to a striker was something I rarely saw, but it’s still working for him. Suzuki came through the Kashima Antlers system and then leapt in form, winning the AFC Champions League in 2018. According to our rules, he shouldn’t be here – because he never played for Japan – but it’s very hard to understand why.
Suzuki joined Sint-Truiden in 2019 and stayed there for 2.5 seasons. After the second one – in which he scored 17 goals in 34 games of the Jupiler Pro League –, he was expected to move somewhere better, but transfers never got through, and he got stuck in Belgium. Instead of waiting for a new chance, he opted to rejoin Antlers, and he has had a massive impact since then. He’s not the captain, but he’s the soul of the team.
Moriyasu, please bring him to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. We need him.
