Q15. Which Japanese soccer stars play (or have played) abroad? And what about foreign stars playing in Japan?

A15. The first Japanese player to be active in a foreign professional league was Yasuhiko Okudera. A fast winger, he played for top German club 1.F.C. Cologne in the Bundesliga from the late 1970s, becoming the first Japanese soccer player to turn professional. Since hanging up his boots, Okudera has shown his wide-ranging abilities as president of Yokohama F.C., a team in the J. League Second Division.

A number of Japanese players have followed in Okudera's footsteps and gone abroad. Kazuyoshi Miura went to Brazil when he was 15 to play with top Brazilian team Santos. He came back to Japan for a while, then in 1994 he went to italy to play for Genoa, becoming the first Japanese to appear in the Italian first division, Serie A. In 1999 he also played for Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.

It was midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata who really brought Japanese players to the world's attention. After the 1998 World Cup in France, the then 22-year-old playmaker transferred from J. League club Hiratsuka Bellmare (now Shonan Bellmare) to Perugia of Serie A. He then played for A.S. Roma and was a member of their 2001 league-championship-winning team before moving to Parma this season. Inspired by Nakata's success, one after another young Japanese players have transferred overseas. In Europe, forward Shoji Jo played in the Spanish league until 2000, and this season midfielder Shinji Ono has played for Feyenoord in Holland, midfielder Jun'ichi Inamoto for Arsenal of the English Premier League, and goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi for Portsmouth of the English First Division. In South America, Nozomu Hiroyama has played in the Paraguayan league, while Naohiro Takahara appeared in the Argentine league.

Following the launch of the J. League in 1993, many star players from other countries came to Japan to play. Brazil's Zico was a key member of the Kashima Antlers (Japanese only) team. England's goal machine Gary Lineker and Yugoslavia's Dragan Stojkovic both thrilled crowds with their skills playing for Nagoya Grampus Eight (Japanese only). Also, Germany's Pierre Littbarski played for JEF United Ichihara (Japanese only), Italy's Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci and Brazil's Dunga played for Jubilo Iwata, and Cameroon's Patrick Mboma played for Gamba Osaka (Japanese only). Recently more and more South Korean players have also come to the J. League, including Korean World Cup squad members Hwang Sun-Hong and Yoo Sang-Chul, who both play for Kashiwa Reysol (Japanese only).