i can't exactly make a ranking including the players who retired or passed the prime.. so i will mention only current stars
but in my opinion.. it will be..
Current top 10:
1. Keisuke Honda - MF, CSKA Moscow(phisically strong, wide view, calm mind. very high soccer IQ. skilled as well, stable. he makes the game of current team Japan)
2. Yuto Nagatomo - DF Internazionale Milan(fast, good cross ball, incredible stamina. best asian SB i think)
3. Shinji Kagawa - MF Borussia Dortmund(quick, and skilled. he can also pass well. great off-ball movement. and the stamina)
4. Yasuhito Endo - MF Gamba Osaka(takes great part in game making. wide view. has very high soccer IQ. one of the best defensive MF in japan ever)
5. Makoto Hasebe - MF Wolvesburg(captain. calm. stable player. good at marking the opponent)
6. Eiji Kawashima - GK Lierse(well, i think he defended team japan's goal well since the 2010 WC)
7. Atsuto Uchida - DF Schalke(he is not stable sometimes, but if you have seen him playing in last CL, he was very agile and running around whole game like nagatomo. well, nagatomo is Left SB and this guy is the Ritht SB. that makes team japan complete)
8. Shinji Okazaki - FW Stuttgart(he has most goals made in current team japan squad)
9. Tulio Tanaka - DF Nagoya Grampus Eight(this guy wasn't called to NT anymore after 2010 WC. but this guy was one of the reason japan passed the group stage. physically very strong. ideal center back still)
10. Yuji Nakazawa - DF Yokohama F Marinos(he defended japan's goal at 2010 WC. along with tulio, he was best center back in japan. although haven't be called to NT after WC but i think they haven't found yet the good enough replacement for this guy end tulio at CB)
well..notable players in past:
Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono, Naohito Takahara etc...
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