Flashback to 2016: MLS signed a broadcasting deal with Japan’s Fuji TV with three Japanese players in the MLS. They were Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s forward Masato Kudo, Toronto FC’s MLS SuperDraft pick Tsubasa Endoh, and the New England Revolution’s midfielder Daigo Kobayashi.
Now, fast forward to the 2022 season, where FC Cincinnati’s Yuya Kubo was the only Japanese player in MLS. Japanese footballers in MLS were a dying breed until Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Yokohama F. Marinos of the J League agreed on a transfer that sent J1 Best XI Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka across the Pacific.
In 2016, Yuya Kubo was a star for the Japanese U23 team as they prepped for that year’s U23 World Cup. 49 hours before the start of the tournament, his club, Young Boys of Switzerland, denied his dispatch to the competition.
Young Boys had played a UEFA Champions League qualifying match the day prior and had lost one of their attacking players in Alexander Gerndt – so they kept Kubo from representing his country in Rio.
Then in 2018, as a young star on the rise for the Samurai Blue, he was a regular under manager Vahid Halilhodžić. He scored great goals for the national team in World Cup Qualification, both against Thailand and the UAE in the third round.
In a surprising move, the Japan Football Association (JFA) sacked Halilhodžić on April 9, 2018 and in his place appointed Akira Nishino – just ten weeks before the first match of the 2018 World Cup.
The JFA cited poor results in friendlies and fractured relationships between players and coaches for the sacking, but Nishino’s arrival to the Japanese National Team saw Kubo fall out of favor. He was left out of the 2018 World Cup roster.
A man who looked poised to make his mark on the world stage was once again denied of that opportunity. In July 2018, Hajime Moriyasu was appointed as the manager for the national team after Akira Nishino stepped down – and Kubo had one more chance to prove himself to make the national team.
Then came Kubo’s move to MLS side FC Cincinnati in 2020 after struggling with play time with KAA Gent. MLS provided an opportunity for him to get consistent playing time as the first Japanese Designated Player (DP) in league history.
Unfortunately for him, the FC Cincinnati team he joined was the worst in the league at that time, and he would take part in two consecutive Wooden Spoon seasons to start his tenure. In 2021, Luciano Acosta and Brenner joined the Orange and Blue, and Kubo saw his role slowly change from an attacking goal-scoring threat to central midfield. The 2022 Qatar World Cup came and went without Yuya’s being considered for the Samurai Blue. Instead, a different (Take) Kubo ended up starting for the Japanese team that topped a group with European giants Spain and Germany.
So with how Kubo’s tenure in Cincinnati has gone, it was surprising to see Yohei Takaoka take on that exact same challenge – in the same league. Takaoka has expressed on a multitude of occasions that his goal is to make the Japanese national team roster for the 2026 World Cup.
Yohei Takaoka had spent the entirety of his career in Japan and J. League – between Yokohama FC, Sagan Tosu, and the last few seasons with Yokohama F. Marinos. In his last season, Takaoka won the J1 League title and was a part of the J1 Best XI team. Even then, Takaoka still hasn’t gotten a single call-up to the Japanese national team, with current manager Hidemasa Moriyasu electing to go with Shuinchi Gonda of Shimizu S-Pulse, a recently relegated, now J2 side. The other two goalkeepers on the roster in Qatar? A 39 year old Eiji Kawashima and Daniel Schmidt from St. Truiden of the Belgian First Division. Kawashima announced his retirement from the national team last December, and Gonda will 37 years old during the 2026 World Cup. Takaoka, 27, will be in a great spot to fight for a possible starting role for the Japanese national team.
Good news for Takaoka is that after a few rocky performances to start the season, he’s been in incredible form – posting five consecutive clean sheets in MLS play between Matchdays 6-10, including a saved PK.
If Takaoka continues his world-class performances all season, we may see more Japanese players come across the Pacific to MLS. If MLS is a stepping stone for Japanese players, it will be important for Takaoka to show that it’s possible to succeed, with that success meaning that good play in MLS can lead to call ups to the Japanese national team.