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Japan will be heading to their seventh World Cup this November, with the competition taking place in Qatar this year. The Blue Samurai are one of the best Asian teams and have consistently qualified for the World Cup since 1998.
Despite having such talented players, the farthest the Japanese have gone in the tournament is the Round of 16, reaching this stage three times.
In recent years, Japanese players have found great success playing football in Europe. They have thrived in several different leagues but the Bundesliga seems to be a starting point for several players.
We look at the three top goalscorers for the country and what they have accomplished during their careers.
#3 Shinji Okazaki - 50 goals
Shinji Okazaki has made 119 appearances for Japan and is still an active player for the national team. He won the AFC Asian Cup with the team in 2011 and has been a mainstay of Japanese football for more than a decade.
Okazaki began his career at Shimizu S-Pulse before moving to Germany to play for Stuttgart and Mainz. In 2015, Leicester City came calling and he won the Premier League in the 2015-16 campaign with the Foxes.
Okazaki's versatility in the forward line made him a great tool for countering the opposition press. In his prime, the forward had plenty of pace and energy, and that was useful for teams who played on the counterattack.
Okazaki currently plays for Sint-Truiden in the Belgian Pro League and may make the squad for the World Cup this winter.
#2 Kazuyoshi Miura - 55 goals
Kazuyoshi Miura made 98 appearances for Japan from 1990 to 2000 and won the AFC Asian Cup in 1992. He began his career in Brazil, spending four years in the country and playing for clubs like Palmeiras and Sau Paulo.
Miura signed for Tokyo Verdi in 1990, where he became a pillar at the club for over eight years. He scored more than 100 goals for Tokyo Verdi and has also had stints with Genoa and Dinamo Zagreb.
In 2005, Miura signed for Yokohama FC and is still contracted to them at the age of 55. He is the oldest professional player in the world, which is a remarkable accomplishment.
Miura helped his nation reach its first World Cup in 1998 but was surprisingly not selected for the tournament. Miura is proof that age is just a number, and as long as one is healthy, anything is possible.
#1 Kunishige Kamamoto - 80 goals
Kunishige Kamamoto is Japan's all-time leading goalscorer and played from 1964 to 1977 for the team. He scored seven goals during the 1968 Mexico Olympics, going on to win the bronze medal.
Kamamoto spent his career at Yanmar Diesel, which is now known as Cerezo Osaka in the J-League. He scored 202 goals in 251 appearances for the club, winning multiple domestic trophies.
Kamamoto retired from football in 1984 and became a manager before holding administrative positions in the Japan Football Association. He is a highly respected figure within the country and is known for his fighting spirit and astute thinking on the pitch.
Only time will tell whether his record will ever be broken.
