Having won the tournament in 2011, Japan has seen its women's football program fall behind as the sport has gained significant traction in Europe in recent years.
“We aspire to elevate the status of women’s football in our country,” stated Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, president of the Japan Football Association, during an interview at the JFA headquarters in Tokyo, positioned in front of a large image of Japan’s World Cup-winning team.
Miyamoto, who captained the Japan men’s team during the co-hosted World Cup with South Korea in 2002, witnessed firsthand the surge of interest in football that event generated among the Japanese populace.
Now at the age of 47, he assumed leadership of the JFA this year and harbors similar ambitions for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, a tournament Japan has yet to host.
However, Japan is expected to encounter significant competition for the hosting rights, particularly from a joint bid by the United States and Mexico, with England and China also expressing interest.
“We have the WE League, and it has been struggling to gather an audience,” Miyamoto said.
“We would like to increase the number of women players here.”
The WE League for professional women was established in 2021; however, it has struggled to achieve the attendance and revenue levels seen in women's leagues across Europe and the United States.
Since their defeat to the United States in the 2015 World Cup final, Japan's women's national team has not advanced past the quarter-finals.
Miyamoto expressed that Japan "could have done better" in leveraging the momentum from their 2011 victory, which initially sparked significant interest in women's football but soon diminished.
‘No fear’
The ex-defender expresses a desire for Japan to cultivate a more fervent football culture overall, noting that his experience with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg was a significant source of inspiration for him.
“They have their own culture, they have football in their daily lives,” he said.
“We haven’t built that kind of community here in Japan. I’d like to make football our culture in Japan.”
Miyamoto represented his national team on 71 occasions, serving as captain during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
He dedicated the majority of his career to the domestic J. League, a period when only a few Japanese internationals were active in European leagues.
Today, Japanese players are widely present across Europe, which has positively impacted the national team, allowing them to consistently reach the knockout stages of the World Cup.
“It’s very normal for them to play in the Champions League,” Miyamoto said of the current generation of players.
“When facing big teams like Germany or Spain… they have no fear.”
The continuous influx of players to Europe has benefited Japan's national team, yet it has also created challenges for J. League clubs.
Miyamoto emphasizes the importance of ongoing talent development but points out that "transfer fees for Japanese players are significantly lower than those for players from South America."
Art of the deal
In 2021, Brighton acquired winger Kaoru Mitoma for a mere 2.5 million pounds, while Celtic secured the services of prolific goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi for 4.5 million pounds.
“In Europe clubs are very strong, but in Japan clubs are not that strong,” said Miyamoto.
“Players who only have six months left on their contract are still playing in official matches. After the season, they will be free to go anywhere, and in that case, clubs can’t get any money.”
Miyamoto aims to introduce a novel approach to Japanese football.
He holds a degree from the FIFA Master sports executive program and previously served as a coach for Gamba Osaka, a J. League team.
Notably, he is the first JFA president with World Cup experience and the youngest since World War II.
“Former players, especially players who played at a high level, know how the football world works,” said Miyamoto.
“Forty-seven is not young as a person. Talking about leaders of national organisations, maybe 47 is young.
“Maybe a new generation might be able to bring something new into this world.”