Overseas experience boosts Japan’s Olympic footing

Japan Under-22s took one step closer to the London Olympics after winning their two most recent qualifiers against Bahrain and Syria.

Former Kashiwa Reysol forward Yuki Otsu opened his international account with a goal in each victory, and I considered the impact of overseas experience on the next generation of Japanese internationals for The Daily Yomiuri.

An exodus of talent

More and more players are leaving the J.League for Europe in what is mostly a positive development for Japanese football.

The lack of money coming in to compensate for these departures is a concern though, as I discussed in Number 1 Shimbun this month.