In recent years, Japan’s J1 League has become a fashionable place to scout. Spurred on by success stories such as Kaoru Mitoma and Kyogo Furuhashi, clubs have shown increasing interest in a league that offers good talent and excellent value for money.
Kaishū Sano, Kuryu Matsuki and Yu Hirakawa were among the players who made moves to Europe during 2024, and now that the league’s season has come to a close, there may be others lined up to follow in their footsteps.
In December, we published a free data release of Statsbomb event data paired with Hudl Physical Metrics for the league's 2024 season. Here, we will use that dataset to analyze five young players, aged 24 or under, who stood out in the numbers.
First, some definitions. While most of the metrics are fairly self-explanatory, there are a few that might not be.
On-Ball Value (OBV) is a Hudl Statsbomb model that assigns a value to each on-ball action based on the effect it has on the team’s likelihood of scoring and conceding. It provides a means of quantifying the value of each action, and is applied to both offensive actions such as carries and passes, and defensive actions like interceptions and tackles.
High Intensity Running: Above 20 km/h (encompasses both High Speed Running and Sprinting)
High Acceleration/Deceleration: A peak value greater than 3 meters/second²
Medium Acceleration/Deceleration: A peak value between 1.5 meters/second² and 3 meters/second²
Now, onto the analysis. Of the 73 players aged 24 or under who received at least 900 minutes of playing time, these were the statistical standouts.
Ikuma Sekigawa (Central Defender, 24)
The center of defense is arguably the position in which physical metrics offer the most standalone insight because the physical qualities of central defenders are less likely to manifest themselves through event data.
By the latter, Ikuma Sekigawa of Kashima Antlers was the season’s young standout:
The 24-year-old was solid in his defensive work on the ground and in the air, and added more value with his passing (per OBV) than the average J1 League central defender.
But the physical metrics paint a very different picture of his capabilities.
Sekigawa had the worst physical profile of any J1 League central defender.
Some of that could maybe be argued away by stylistic quirks at a team or player level. It is also arguable to what degree all of these metrics provide useful context in the case of a central defender. But in combination with his relative lack of height, it could be enough to give pause to potential suitors.
Sota Miura (Left-Back, 24)
Sota Miura missed a chunk of action in the middle of the season with a knee injury, but when he was on the pitch, he was the most impressive young attacking full-back in the league.
The 24-year-old had a role in the progression of the ball forward into the final third, and once there he was the most prolific full-back in the league at moving it into the penalty area: twice per 90 on average.
Miura was also the full-back who created the best-quality opportunities for his teammates in open play with his whipped-in deliveries from the left.
On the physical side, Miura had a below average profile for the J1 League, with figures fairly significantly below those of the positional average across the big five European leagues. It is his creative passing that makes him stand out, and it is that, rather than his physical prowess, that would likely tempt interest from abroad.
Satoshi Tanaka (Central Midfielder, 22)
Satoshi Tanaka was one of the season’s outstanding midfielders. The 22-year-old returned to Japan midway through 2023 after a loan spell at Belgian club Kortrijk and seemed to take a step forward in 2024. He further increased his defensive numbers while also adding more offensive output to his game.
Tanaka ranked second for tackles and interceptions on an absolute basis (4th on possession-adjusted numbers) and was very difficult to overcome on the dribble. On the ball, he contributed significantly more to progression and chance creation, and even scored five goals, albeit from a much less impressive 1.71 Expected Goals (xG).
On the physical side he was, on average, a 77th percentile midfielder across all metrics, with highlights in terms of his volume of high and medium-speed accelerations. He also displayed plenty of robustness. Only one under-24 midfield accumulated more minutes, while his performance in demanding physical metrics such as high intensity running didn’t taper off at all over the final half hour of matches. In fact, he tended to complete more of them.
All of which is to say that Tanaka has shown enough to suggest he deserves another shot at Europe.
Shin Yamada (Forward, 24)
In just his second full professional season, Shin Yamada recorded the kind of numbers that suggest he isn’t long for the league.
His season-long tally of 20 non-penalty goals and assists was the league’s joint-highest, alongside Anderson Lopes, and no player contributed more on a per-90 basis than his 0.79. Only one accumulated more xG and xG assisted per 90.
A glance at his shot map highlights the consistency with which he manufactured shots from good central positions inside the penalty area.
Yamada’s physical profile doesn’t pop to quite the same degree, but it is still comfortably above average for his position and there are no immediate red flags.
It would be surprising if he was not already attracting interest from abroad.
Sho Fukuda (Forward, 23)
It feels strange to highlight a second player from a Shonan Bellmare team who only finished 15th in the table, but Sho Fukuda deserves his place after a highly promising first full season in the top flight following his mid-2023 leap from J3.
Fukuda had one of the strongest physical profiles of any young J1 player. He was an average 87th percentile forward across all of our metrics.
And he put it to good use. No forward added more value from dribbles and carries.
What is interesting is that the value he added didn’t come primarily through penalty box entries, as is often the case for forwards and wingers. In fact, 45 J1 players completed more carries into the area than his 0.93 per 90. Instead, he was a constant menace in transition phases, progressing his team upfield with long and direct carries, at times initiated from within his own half.
More broadly, his output of 0.55 non-penalty goals and assists per 90 (13 in total) from 0.37 xG and xG assisted represented a very solid return, while he also clocked up a high number of pressure actions in a statistical profile that was otherwise above average for his position.
If he remains in the league, next season will define whether Fukuda is simply a solid J1 League attacker or a player with a ceiling high enough to secure a move elsewhere.
Conduct your own analysis of the J1 League by accessing our free data release that includes key Hudl Statsbomb metrics such as pressures and On-Ball Value (OBV), in addition to a suite of Hudl physical metrics that offer ample opportunities for detailed investigation.