When Wataru Endō debuted for Liverpool against Bournemouth in August, he became the 12th Japanese footballer to play in the English Premier League. He joins a select bunch of players from The Land of the Rising Sun to do so. Endō has yet to attach himself to another list, though - Japanese players who have scored in the EPL.
With Japanese footballers now commonplace around the major leagues all over Europe, British bookmakers favoured by Japanese punters are seeing increased action on their platforms. With Liverpool (5/1), Arsenal (5/1) and Brighton (250/1) currently including players from Japan in their league squads, these bettors can support their home players in both team and individual markets more regularly.
Two of these current Japanese EPL players are already league goalscorers, with the aforementioned midfielder Wataru Endō likely to join them sometime this season. Let's take this chance to look at the list of the nine Japanese scorers in the English Premier League to date.
Shinji Okazaki, with 14 goals, is the footballer who holds the record for the most Premier League goals by a Japanese player. He became the second EPL winner from the country when Leicester City shocked punters and bookies alike by winning the league in 2015/16. His performances for Leicester that season earned him the Asian International Player of the Year award.
Kaoru Mitoma's 10 goals in 43 league outings are fast helping him become a Brighton & Hove Albion legend. Mitoma became the first Japanese player to win the Premier League's "Goal of the Month" award for his individual effort against Wolves in August. No doubt, bettors backing Kaoru Mitoma are happy.
Shinji Kagawa scored six goals in his 38 EPL appearances for Man Utd between 2012 and 2014. He was voted Man of the Match against Swansea in Sir Alex Ferguson's last home match before his retirement. Kagawa received his only Premier League winner's medal the same day.
Maya Yoshida found the net six times during a Southampton career spanning eight seasons and 154 league appearances. He was the first Japanese player to reach the milestone of 100 Premier League appearances.
Takumi Minamino scored on six occasions over three Premier League seasons for Liverpool and Southampton. The Japanese winger was part of the 2019/20 Liverpool squad that won the English Premier League for the first time in 30 years.
Junichi Inamoto scored four times for Fulham in the EPL between 2002 and 2004. He also represented West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League but failed to find the net. In all, Inamoto played 66 times over four seasons in the EPL.
Hidetoshi Nakata ended an illustrious career including 77 international caps with a single Premier League goal while on loan at Bolton Wanderers in 2005/06. In all, Nakata made 21 league appearances for the Horwich-based club.
Yoshinori Muto was somewhat disappointing at Newcastle United between 2018 and 2020. The forward only found the net once in 25 EPL appearances before being loaned out to Spanish side Eibar.
Takehiro Tomiyasu became the ninth and most recent addition to the list of Japanese goalscorers by scoring Arsenal's fifth in a 5-0 win over Sheffield United in October. The big defender's first Premier League goal came in his 50th league appearance for his club.
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