“Sayonara” has been a fairly consistent format we’ve used throughout the years here on J. League Regista – it’s a celebration for those who made Japanese football great and enjoyable. For the first time, though, we’ve found ourselves with something new on our plate.
We would typically select eleven figures – with the usual “10+1 format” we chose back in 2020 –and review the retirements from this year, then pitch this list. For the first time, we had to do something different: we’ll have 11 retirements to celebrate right away… and you might wonder why.
Well, unfortunately, we couldn’t find one retirement that we felt was worthy of a single article, but we might always change our minds if something happens. If it helps, we’re even given that, in 2024, we talked about both Toshihiro Aoyama and Yohei Toyoda, celebrating their careers.
- Kenji Dai (代 健司)
27/03/1989, 2011-2025 | Mito HollyHock, Ehime FC, Renofa Yamaguchi, Kataller Toyama, Tegevajaro Miyazaki, Fukuyama City
A lower leagues folk hero, Kenji Dai has been the expert player basically everywhere he went. He started at Mito HollyHock back in 2011, when HollyHock were a constant J2 team and relegations from the second tier didn’t even exist. He found his way in Ehime, then the loan to Renofa Yamaguchi changed everything – he featured in one of the most incredible J3 teams ever.
Dai then joined Kataller Toyama in the bleak years after the drop from J2 to J3, when Toyama were not even that good. In 2020, he moved to Miyazaki in order to bring Tegevajaro to the pro world, which happened in just one season, and he became the captain. He hoped to make the same move for Fukuyama City FC towards JFL, but it didn’t happen. He opted for retirement just a few weeks ago.
- Yamato Machida (町田 也真人)
19/12/1989, 2012-2025 | JEF United Chiba, Matsumoto Yamaga, Oita Trinita, Giravanz Kitakyushu
Same age as Dai, but Yamato Machida’s career was very different. Actually, until 2018, when he left JEF United Chiba after seven seasons in J2 to join newly-promoted Matsumoto Yamaga in J1, it seemed his career could have taken off. He was 28, he was ready for the next steps, and he showed some promising signs in Chiba. Instead, it hit the ceiling pretty quickly. Injuries didn’t help, but he had another shot at the top flight.
Machida joined Oita Trinita in 2020, and Trinita were coming from an incredible season in the year before. Unfortunately, even there, the offensive midfielder – at this point, he was 30 – encountered a strange phenomenon: Oita were getting worse while he was getting better. In 2021, he scored eight goals in 32 matches, but Trinita got relegated. He stayed there, but pitch time decreased.
He then left Trinita to join Giravanz Kitakyushu in 2025, but Machida featured in just six league matches, announcing his retirement in the last home match. In the end, he had a remarkable career, considering he admitted a few years ago that he couldn’t hear properly from his right ear.
- Ryota Iwabuchi (岩渕 良太)
26/04/1990, 2013-2025 | Matsumoto Yamaga, Renofa Yamaguchi, FC Ryukyu, SC Sagamihara, Grulla Morioka
Another folk hero from J3, who closed his career with 229 games and 35 goals in the third tier, even featuring in the JFL back in 2014 (when Renofa Yamaguchi were not a pro-team). Growing up in the youth ranks of FC Tokyo and coming from the prestigious Meiji University, Ryota Iwabuchi joined Yamaga back in 2013, but he couldn’t find much time on the pitch. So he started bouncing around J3 teams, in the hope of finding a proper home.
Okinawa, Sagamihara, Morioka – despite all the accolades Iwabuchi racked up when he was a young prodigy, he couldn’t emerge. Then he moved to Fujieda MYFC, where he stayed for six years and finally encountered his destiny. Goals, assists, and a lot of good plays to bring Fujieda into the pro world. In 2024, he rejoined Ryukyu Okinawa and announced his retirement a few weeks ago.
- Tomohiko Miyazaki (宮崎 智彦)
21/11/1986, 2009-2025 | Kashima Antlers, Yokohama FC, Júbilo Iwata, Fukushima United FC
It’s incredible to think of him as one of the last players symbol of the old wave of Japanese football. Tomohiko Miyazaki started at Ryutsu Keizai University, which was playing in the JFL at the time, only to join Kashima Antlers in 2009 (making him one of the few players in this year’s list actually to have won the J1 title). And not just any version of Antlers, but the only club which was able to win three consecutive titles in J1.
After a small loan to Yokohama FC in the second division, Miyazaki faced his destiny in 2012. The midfielder joined Júbilo Iwata and stayed there for almost a decade. It was no longer the glorious version of the club, but still Miyazaki racked up 241 games with the Shizuoka-based outfit. When he left, he then joined Fagiano Okayama and finally ended his career with Fukushima United FC. He was even too honest in his goodbye: “My career might have been mediocre, but everyone supported me, and I want to thank you for this”.
- Ryutaro Iio (飯尾竜太朗)
30/01/1991, 2013-2025 | Matsumoto Yamaga, V-Varen Nagasaki (x2), Vegalta Sendai, Blaublitz Akita
Ryutaro Iio has been a folk hero for J2, playing most of his career there. It’s so strange – he has indeed featured in J1, but he’s always been either a spark or the starter in a relegation team. When he joined Matsumoto Yamaga, he gathered six caps in J1; then he conquered his first promotion with V-Varen Nagasaki, starting most of the season and then joining Vegalta Sendai. Unfortunately, Vegalta were on a downward trajectory at that time.
He then dropped back to J2, becoming the captain at Blaublitz Akita, before coming back to Kyushu and finishing his career with V-Varen. His goodbye in Nagasaki was very touching; you can see there’s true affection for that place from Iio. Given his youth career with Hannan University, you could even wonder if he could have been a fixed J1 player.
- Luiz Eduardo dos Santos Gonzaga, alias Dudu (ドゥドゥ)
21/04/1990, 2011-2025 | Batatais, Ferroviária, Barretos, Mogi Mirim, Linense, Bragantino, Figuereinse, Kashiwa Reysol, Ventforet Kofu, Avispa Fukuoka, Machida Zelvia, FC Imabari, JEF United Chiba, FC Gifu
We often complained how Brazilians tend to be a disappointment when added to a team (e.g. look how bleak the Brazilian transfer market was for Kyoto Sanga last season…), but there are some exceptions. And they’re even better if they’re able to fit within the Japanese environment, playing for different teams (e.g. a good example is Wellington, the striker who’s now at Avispa Fukuoka). And Dudu could be exactly part of that category.
Since 2014, when he first had a first touch with the J.League in a loan to Kashiwa Reysol, the Brazilian forward jumped around Japan to find new experiences. He stayed mostly at Ventforet Kofu (five years), but he had a loan to Avispa Fukuoka, a couple of years to Machida Zelvia, a six-month stay with Imabari FC, a new life at JEF United Chiba, and closed his Japanese erasmus with a year at FC Gifu.
He scored more than 80 goals in Japan, mostly in J2, but he’s a character who won’t be forgotten. He said it himself: “I enjoyed 11 of my 16 years as a player in Japan. Deciding to retire was one of the hardest choices of my life, but I felt it was time. Japan has become my second home, and I want to thank every supporter for these years”.
- Kohei Kiyama (喜山 康平)
22/02/1988, 2006-2025 | Tokyo Verdy (x2), Fagiano Okayama (x2), Kamatamare Sanuki, Matsumoto Yamaga (x2), Giravanz Kitakyushu
Just like Iwabuchi, Kohei Kiyama has been a reference for J2 neutral fans. He played his first game in the division back in 2006 (!) and the last one in 2022, before dropping to J3. He’s also been pretty loyal to some clubs – Verdy, Fagiano Okayama, and Matsumoto Yamaga saw him featuring in two different stints. He’s played in all categories of the Japanese ladder, from the top flight to the Chugoku Soccer League. A true symbol, and a very hard Arsenal fan apparently.
In his 20-year career, Kiyama played almost 400 games in J2, which is… a lot. If you look at the numbers, some things pop up: for example, he scored 27 of his 64 career goals in just one year, in the Chugoku Soccer League, back when Fagiano Okayama were far away from being a pro-team. He won the 2004 AFC U-17 Championship with Japan, and he was a very good prospect. Who knows if he could have played more games in J1?
A very healthy player, he kept featuring for more than 15 games per season even past the age of 35, including the 19 from last season for Giravanz Kitakyushu. Kiyama said goodbye a few weeks ago: “When I was a child, I was obsessed with chasing the ball, and this led me here. It was a wonderful experience”. He hopes now to pass on his experience as a coach.
- Mizuki Hamada (濱田 水輝)
18/05/1990, 2009-2025 | Urawa Red Diamonds, Albirex Niigata, Avispa Fukuoka, Fagiano Okayama, RB Omiya Ardija
A very peculiar case in Japanese football. First of all, Yamada was born in New Jersey, USA. Secondly, he joined Urawa Red Diamonds at the time when they were “THE” team in Japan alongside Kashima Antlers. He seemed destined to be a future national team member, especially with the struggles that Japan had in producing good centre-backs. Instead, his career took a completely different turn, and his last season in the top flight was dated 2016.
Hamada was even a testimonial for Nike in Japan, so much so that his profile was highly considered. He even featured in the U-15 of the United States at one point, but then decided to represent Japan. In the end, he featured just 52 times in J2, gathering most of his league games in the second division with Avispa, Fagiano and Omiya. He retired this year, aware that he could have achieved more, but looking forward to passing his experience on to the future.
- Kazuki Fukai (深井 一希)
11/03/1995, 2013-2025 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Sapporo is definitely a particular place. Not only because it’s the main centre in Hokkaido, but also because Consadole had a lot of players coming through the youth ranks and being rooted in Sapporo while also climbing the Japanese football ladder towards a steady stint in J1. Among them, Kazuki Fukai wasn’t maybe the most celebrated or the strongest of them, but definitely the most faithful.
Fukai spent 22 years within the club, 13 as a pro and nine in their youth ranks. He stayed faithful even when, as a youngster, he seemed a valuable prospect, ready to thrive somewhere else. Fukai made it to the U-17 Japan national team and featured in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup; unfortunately, injuries will become a part of his career, starting with his rookie year (when he ruptured his ACL and stayed out for eight months). His whole injury history is a cry for help.
He had four (!) ACL ruptures, he was injured so much that his last game – starting at home against Ehime FC – was the first starting spot in three years. Besides the stretch between 2018 and 2019, when Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo almost reached the ACL and reached the J.League Cup final, Fukai was never fully fit due to injuries. He was cursed. In the end, he featured in just 230 matches in all competitions over 13 seasons (that’s less than 20 per season).
He’s retiring at the young age of 30, but it’s understandable. It was even a fight just to play that last game, given his conditions, but he made it in the end, and there was massive support from the stands.
- Yoshifumi Kashiwa (柏好文)
28/07/1987, 2010-2025 | Ventforet Kofu (x2), Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Talking about loyalty, Yoshifumi Kashiwa can easily enter this category as well. The oldest in this list to retire, Kashiwa wrote some pages of history in his career. He joined Ventforet Kofu back in 2010, when the club was still yo-yoing between J1 and J2 (and it was an honour for Kashiwa, born in the Yamanashi Prefecture). When Kofu rejoined the top flight, Kashiwa had a wonderful season and earned a move to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who were already bi-champions by that time.
Kashiwa did so well under head coach Hiroshi Jofuku in Kofu that six clubs (!) were in the run to sign him, only for Sanfrecce to emerge as the chosen ones. In the 3-4-2-1 by Hajime Moriyasu, Kashiwa revealed himself to be a key player, and he did well for several coaches, even winning a monthly MVP award in August 2019 (when he was already 32 years old). He left Hiroshima last year, as a legend, alongside Toshihiro Aoyama.
He rejoined Kofu last Winter, and it was a goodbye tour from the start. Not only were Ventforet terrible last season, but Kashiwa himself played just once – in the last home match of the season, to say goodbye to his land, and the place which made him a pro player. He featured in more than 300 games in J1, he had the chance to play in several different competitions, and he’s been mostly fit in his career. A true testament to dedication to football.
- Shintaro Kurumaya (車屋紳太郎)
05/04/1992, 2014-2025 | Kawasaki Frontale
Just like Kento Tachibanada and Ryota Oshima (for different reasons), Shintaro Kurumaya is an outlier at Kawasaki Frontale. He could have been an European prospect, he did play for Japan a few times, and he was at the club for more than a decade, dedicating his whole career to blue and black. Nonetheless, you feel something is missing from his trajectory – despite all the trophies he won and the accolades he accumulated with Frontale.
He’s been twice in the “Best XI” of the J.League, he featured four times for Japan, and he was a ductile player who almost suffered from Toru Oniki’s schizophrenia over his profile (first a left-back, then suddenly a centre-back who never played). Injuries massively hampered his career, and at age 30, he was basically done because he couldn’t stay properly fit. So much so that Kurumaya played just six league games in the last two seasons.
Funnily enough, Kurumaya has been a childhood friend of Shogo Taniguchi, the former captain at Frontale, with whom he shared a lot in his career (including Frontale and Japan). Kurumaya was visibly moved when he had to say goodbye, and by retiring at just 33 years old, we’ll always wonder where he could have gone if he had been properly running and not hampered by injuries.
