We have seen a lot of young Japanese players breaking through & doing great not only in the Japanese J League but also earning transfer to Europe and doing well. It feels like a particularly exciting moment for Japanese football!
This post will look at what I see as the most promising prospects in the J league. It will look at:
Special Designated Players system in Japan
Current u23 players doing well
Upcoming players who have the greatest potential
SD Tool and Watchlists
I will give current prices for rares. I wouldn't say there is a particular rush to get these players in and they vary in terms of what scarcity is better. For example, I feel rares & D4 u23 give one of the best ROI on Sorare. This will of course depend on your current gallery and in particular, if you have a u23 keeper.
I personally prefer to get players currently playing and/or what I feel is undervalued. I find that with u23 players in general there is a lot of hype that can pump prices up for players who aren't currently starters or poor scorers. I understand that this can give trading potential, though this article will concentrate on my own strategy which is having around 80% of my gallery for SO5 now and around 20% for future players.
Special Designated players
Most young players in Japan are registered with their university or high school until they are at least 18 and as such cannot be registered with another team. The 'designated special players' system allows J.League clubs to invite a maximum of three players to train and play in J.League competitions, without changing their registration status from their current registered team. Therefore, during this time, the player is allowed to play for both their educational institution and their J.League club.
I find that keeping a track of these players from the bigger teams (Frontale, Kashima, YFM etc) a decent method to locate the best upcoming players. Of course more research is needed and some patience. The players can be found here
Recent examples:
2018
Karoru Mitoma
Hayato Araki
2019 Ayase Ueda Reo Hatate
Yusuke Matsuo 202o
Ryotaro Tsunoda Keigo Tsunemoto 2021
Current players - Players playing regularly & on Sorare
Name: Haruya Fujii
Team: Nagoya Grampus
Rare Av: 0.095
Positives
Consistent starter for Nagoya
L15 of 52 with 22% >60
Seen as a key play for Nagoya defender who has impressed in his youth career
U23 until July 1st 2025
Suits the matrix with one of the best interceptions per game in the league.
Risks
Nagoya have been more defensively weaker this season so clean sheets less likely
Manager likes playing 3 CBs and this suits Fujii. If the manager changed we could see Fujiis role differ
Name: Sota Kawasaki
Team: Kyoto
Rare Av: 0.067
Positives
Set piece taker for Kyoto
Regular starter for Kyoto
U23 until July 1st 2026
Plays in an anchor role which suits the new matrix ie passing, tackle, attempted assists
Risks
Has been injured and not fully recovered fully and this is reflected in his drop in scores
Kyoto are at risk of relegation. For me, he would be picked up by a J1 team if they were relegated though this isnt guaranteed of course
Name: Ryotaro Tsunoda
Team: Yokohama FM
Rare Av Price: 0.14
Positives
Left footed CB which are more sought after
Plays for a top team that will usually qualify for ACL (still in this seasons) so extra utility
High peak scores with 38% > 60 points
Risks
U23 until July 1st 2023 (only 1 year of u23 useability)
Rotation risk especially with Muscatt in charge and Eduardo in the team
Name: Satoshi Tanaka
Team: Shonan Bellmare
Position: Midfield
Rare Av: 0.175
Positives
U23 until July 1st 2026
Regular starter and leader of the Shonan team
Regular in all youth level Japan national sides and touted as future international regular
Risks
Well known so somewhat priced in
Relatively low peak score with only 12% >60 points
Risk of transfer to Europe, with some speculation of a move to the Belgium league
Name: Mao Hosoya
Team: Kashiwa Reysol
Position: Forward
Rare Av: 0.23
Positives
U23 until July 1st 2026
Explosive style - both strong and fast with great finishing
High peak scores with 41% >60
Risks
Like many forwards is dependent somewhat on decisive
Rotation risk (?) - recently rotated with Muto though for me this is due to tiredness after national duty
Risk of transfer to Europe, with some speculation of a move to the Belgium and duth league
Notable others
There are a number of players that I consider "too well known" to add here. They are all great! In particular, I like Sugioka (with Tani) and Koga (with Sasaki) as im a big fan of GK + DEF stacks in any division
Other notable players include:
Yuito Suzuki , Miyashiro, Machino, Kobayshii, Honda
There are also players I think are amazing in real life but perhaps dont currently suit the matrix/over priced eg Joel Fujita and Matsuki Injured players with high potential include Araki (Young player of the year last season!) and Matsumura
Future Stars
This site is a useful and includes players mentioned previously
Name: Sota Kitano
Team: Cerezo Osaka
Position: Forward
Notes
Youngest player ever to score for Cerezo
Great dribbling and speed
Playing for Japan U20 national team
Zion Suzuki (Urawa Reds)
Zion was highly impressive in the cup games he played for Urawa last season, so much so he was awarded the "New Hero Award"!
Has played for the u23s and this year was called up to the full national squad
Name: Seiji Kimura Team: FC Tokyo
Position: Defender
Has played for the national team on all youth levels
For Sorare only his 2021 card is available which makes him hard to get for a "reasonable" price
Japan national under-23 football team
The Japan youth teams have been performing particularly well, including recent wins against France and Mexico in the 2021 Olympics.
They also recently won the Dubai Cup and I find looking at the youth squads a good method to help locate players with highest potential. Some of these are not on Sorare, though I imagine will be in the future, either when they transfer or their team gets promoted
Of the players not mentioned so far, I particularly like Baba, Chase, Uchino, Nakashima and Fujio
SD Tools
A great tool on SD is similar players. Of course need to do more research, I have found it an excellent way to get value. The below is what come up with Kawazaki
Watchlists
I have created a couple of watchlists on SD which can be viewed by clicking the below links:
Finish
As we can see, there is a lot exciting talent in all positions in the J league. Though there is always risk of transfer to Europe for some of the players in the near future, the success of Mitoma and Furuhashi show these players can continue to give utility to Sorare managers.
Although, I have only put Rare Card prices in, these players will have the same potential in Limited divisons where U23 cards in Asia offer alot of value, especially considering you can win cards from all leagues in that division and not just Asia cards.
As I mentioned previously, I look for cards to use now predominantly and try to avoid hype players who dont necessarily score great on Sorare. I try to balance between getting a core team and then also having a few players I like that are up and coming - also knowing that I need to be patient (eg Araki with his injury or Nakashima who isnt playing right now). I also find putting alerts on SD really helpful to pick up players if they dip in price, which can be very useful in the off season or for SRs which aren't available that often.