Career
After graduating from Nara Ikuei High School in 1995, he joined J. League side Yokohama Flügels. He became the Number. 1 GK for the club in August of that season. His first professional appearance came on 16 August 1995 in a league match against Bellmare Hiratsuka.
He contributed to the club winning the Emperor"s Cup in 1998.
When Flügels was merged with cross-town Yokohama Marinos in 1999, he was signed by Nagoya Grampus Eight. He made his international debut for Japan on 15 February 1998 against Australia.
He played for Japan as the Number.1 goalkeeper following an injury to Kawaguchi, but himself sustained a broken finger in 2009. After recovering, he was named in the 2010 World Cup squad as one of two Japanese players (the other being Kawaguchi) to participate in 4 consecutive World Cups.
However, despite performing impressively in the qualifiers, he was benched for the tournament in favour of his former understudy Eiji Kawashima.
He would make one last appearance for Japan when he captained the team to a 2–1 victory over Guatemala on 7 September 2010 before retiring from international duty.
