Take a look across North America, and you’ll find more Japanese players in Major League Soccer than ever before. There are Cayman Togashi (Atlanta United), Yohei Takaoka (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kyogo Furuhashi?and Maya Yoshida (LA Galaxy).?
However, no team has a stronger Japanese contingent than DC?United: Keisuke Kurokawa, Kimito Nono?and Hosei Kijima.
Unlike Kurokawa, who arrived in January from Gamba Osaka, and Nono, who arrived in July from Kashima Antlers, Kijima has enjoyed a uniquely Japanese-American education, having studied at?an international school in Yokohama. Inspired by the success of Kei Nishikori, Kijima left Japan and moved 12,000 kilometers away to the same exact place where Nishikori went to kickstart his tennis career: IMG Academy.
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