Japan U23 represents Japan’s elite under-23 pathway on the international stage. The selection brings together emerging talent for demanding fixtures in Asia and beyond, linking age-group development with the standards of senior football. Its page profile covers the representative side’s identity, competitive setting and place in Japan’s wider football structure. The team’s story is shaped by Olympic ambition, continental rivalries and the progression of players toward senior responsibility, offering a concise portrait of a national selection that sits between youth football and the country’s top international side.
Japan U23 Upcoming matches by league
Japan U23 Last matches by league
AFC U23 Asian Cup
Friendlies
Olympics Men
Asian Games
Japan U23 Team Roster
The recorded squad contains 18 players: three goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven midfielders and one attacker. That distribution gives Japan U23 a broad defensive and midfield base, with Y. Michiwaki the listed attacking option. Goalkeeping cover comes from M. Kobayashi, R. Araki and T. Hamasaki, while the defensive group includes Hayato Okabe, K. Tsuchiya and R. Ichihara. Midfield names include R. Sato, K. Ogura, N. Ishiwatari and T. Kawai. Shirt numbers run from 1 to 23, and the roster mixes abbreviated and full player names in the recorded listing.
position Goalkeeper
position Defender
Rei Umeki
Kaito Tsuchiya
Shuto Nagano
Rion Ichihara
Soichiro Mori
Sekitomi Kanta
Hayato Okabe
position Midfielder
K. Ogura
Nelson Ishiwatari
Yuto Ozeki
Ryunosuke Sato
Yumeki Yokoyama
Tokumo Kawai
Yudai Shimamoto
position Attacker
Yutaka Michiwaki
Last Japan U23 Coachs
Go Oiwa is the current Japan U23 coach in the latest dated record, with his appointment beginning on 1 March 2022 and continuing. Earlier entries place Akinobu Yokouchi in September 2019, Hajime Moriyasu from October 2017 to August 2021, Makoto Teguramori from January 2014 to August 2016, and Yasuharu Sorimachi from February 2006 to September 2009. The recorded timeline therefore shows a predominantly Japanese coaching history across the national-team programme.
Go Oiwa
History
| Coach | Coach country | Coach since | Coach until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Oiwa | Japan | 1 March 2022 | |
| Akinobu Yokouchi | Japan | 1 September 2019 | 1 September 2019 |
| Hajime Moriyasu | Japan | 1 October 2017 | 1 August 2021 |
| Makoto Teguramori | Japan | 1 January 2014 | 1 August 2016 |
| Yasuharu Sorimachi | Japan | 1 February 2006 | 1 September 2009 |
Japan U23 Transfers
Japan U23 does not operate in the club transfer market, so player additions come through national-team call-ups, eligibility and returns to selection rather than permanent transfers, loans or free-agent signings. The latest 18-player squad is available, but no named incoming selection change is listed. Players remain registered with their clubs outside international duty, and selection can be refreshed for qualification, tournament or friendly commitments. The available picture therefore supports a call-up-based account, not an arrivals list or a transfer total.
Japan U23 does not sell, loan or release players in the club-market sense, because it is a national selection rather than a club. No named omission or withdrawal is listed in the latest 18-player squad context. Players may leave a national-team group through non-selection, withdrawal or a return to club football, but those are selection events rather than sales or loans. The available information therefore supports a departures explanation based on squad changes, not a list of permanent exits or a market total.
Transfers Synthesis
For Japan U23, squad movement follows the calendar and rules of international selection rather than a transfer-market cycle. Additions are made through call-ups, eligibility decisions and returns to the national-team group, with players remaining attached to their clubs outside international duty. Departures likewise reflect non-selection, withdrawals, the end of a camp or a return to club football, not a sale or loan. The squad context available identifies an 18-player group but does not provide named incoming or outgoing selection changes. That limits the movement narrative to the operating model rather than a player-by-player ledger. The national team’s pool can change between qualification windows, tournaments and preparation matches as staff assess age eligibility, availability and sporting needs. The emphasis in this cycle is therefore on selection continuity around Japan U23’s competitive programme, with no supported basis for market-style totals or financial comparisons.
Leagues Japan U23 has participated in
Japan U23’s recorded programme includes AFC U23 Asian Cup qualification through 2026, making it the recent strand of the listed schedule. The AFC U23 Asian Cup itself is recorded from 2020 through 2024, while Olympic Men participation runs from 2012 through 2024. Friendlies appear for 2024, and Asian Games participation is recorded from 2010 through 2022. The Olympic and Asian Games entries are historical in this context, while qualification remains the latest active pathway. Together, these competitions place the team within Asia’s main under-23 and Olympic development ecosystem.
More about Japan U23
Japan U23 is Japan’s official under-23 national football team, commonly identified as the U-23 Japan National Team. It operates under the Japan Football Association and within the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA framework, representing the country in the age-group competitions that connect elite development with senior international football. Its listed founding year is 1921, while the modern under-23 structure reflects the Olympic age-limit system that replaced older amateur and developmental models.
The side’s central purpose is progression. It gives leading young Japanese players experience of international tournament pressure, tactical continuity and the standards expected around the senior national team. The AFC U23 Asian Cup is the key continental stage and also forms part of the route towards Olympic qualification. Japan’s under-23 programme has been a regular presence in that ecosystem, with notable Olympic milestones including the semi-final run at London 2012 and participation at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. Its recorded competitions also include the Olympic tournament, Asian Games and international friendlies.
Unlike a club, Japan U23 has no permanent home ground or transfer-market operation; it is a representative selection administered through the JFA. Matches rotate among major stadiums across Japan, including large national and regional venues such as Saitama Stadium 2002 and Tokyo’s National Stadium. This travelling identity allows the selection to appear before different local audiences while retaining the visual language of Japan’s national programme, blue and white colours and the JFA badge featuring the three-legged Yatagarasu holding a red ball.
Support follows the wider national-team culture, combining organised chanting, coordinated displays and strong domestic and travelling backing. Continental fixtures against South Korea carry particular weight, often linking sporting rivalry with qualification significance. In this role, Japan U23 is more than an isolated age-group side; it is a bridge between Japan’s youth pathway, Olympic ambitions and the senior team’s established football identity.
Last matches statistics for Japan U23
| match | shots | Poss. | Pass % | Fouls | Cards | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Japan U23
1 - 0
Mali U23
|
3 / 10 |
|
85 | 18 | 2 | 3 |
|
Israel U23
0 - 1
Japan U23
|
4 / 12 |
|
86 | 11 | - | 5 |
|
Japan U23
0 - 3
Spain U23
|
2 / 9 |
|
81 | 15 | 1 | 3 |
|
Jordan U23
1 - 1
Japan U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Japan U23
5 - 0
Syria U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
UAE U23
0 - 3
Japan U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Japan U23
2 - 0
Qatar U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Japan U23
1 - 1
Jordan U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Japan U23
1 - 0
Korea Republic U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
China PR U23
0 - 4
Japan U23
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
Detailed statistics Japan U23
Xtra rating history
Last rating points (most recent matches).