Kaoru Mitoma

Early years

Born on 20 May 1997, in Hita, Ōita, Mitoma eventually moved to Kawasaki, Kanagawa in his earlier days, where he grew up in Miyamae-ku. He then joined the Kawasaki Frontale academy at the U10 level. He was then offered a promotion from the U-18s to the senior team coached by Yahiro Kazama, but instead chose to enroll at the University of Tsukuba and join its football club, known for being a powerhouse club at university level; some of its alumni include Shogo Taniguchi and Shintaro Kurumaya. Mitoma professed to feeling unprepared to enter professional football at age 18, citing the struggles of fellow Kawasaki academy products Ko Itakura and Koji Miyoshi to win regular playing time with the senior squad. He wrote his university thesis on dribbling. During his time at Tsukuba, Mitoma was selected to represent Japan at the 2017 and 2019 Universiade tournaments, as well as the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 Toulon Tournament with the under-23 national team. Playing in the Kanto University Soccer League with Tsukuba, he was named to the all-league XI in his final three seasons while majoring in physical education. In addition, Tsukuba appeared in the 2016 and 2017 Emperor's Cup tournaments making an upstart run to the round of 16 in the latter edition, upsetting J.League clubs YSCC Yokohama, Vegalta Sendai (against whom Mitoma scored a brace), and Avispa Fukuoka along the way. While enrolled in college, Mitoma also occasionally joined Frontale's senior team for…

Club

As of match played 9 May 2026

International

As of match played 31 March 2026

As of match played 31 March 2026 Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mitoma goal.

Mitoma was part of Japan's squad for the men's football tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He made substitute appearances against Mexico in the group stage, New Zealand in the quarter-final and Mexico again in the bronze medal match, scoring Japan's goal in the latter. In November 2021, Mitoma was called up to the Japan senior squad for the first time for 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Oman. He made his debut on 16 November, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away win over Oman. On 24 March 2022, Mitoma scored his first two international goals in a 2–0 World Cup qualification win against Australia after coming on as an 86th-minute substitute. This win confirmed Japan's qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Five days later, Mitoma made his first start for Japan in their final World Cup qualifying match against Vietnam. In May 2022, Mitoma was included in Japan's squad for friendly matches against Paraguay and Brazil and the 2022 Kirin Cup. On 2 June, he started the match against Paraguay and scored the Samurai Blue's third goal of a 4–1 win. He also started the Kirin Cup semi-final against Ghana, where he scored once and assisted another goal for Takefusa Kubo in another 4–1 win. On 23 September, he scored his fifth international goal from eight caps in a 2–0 friendly win against the United States after appearing as a 68th-minute substitute for Kubo. Four days later, he played 66 minutes as a starter in a 0–0 draw with Ecuador.

2022 FIFA World Cup

On 1…

Mitoma is the childhood friend of fellow Japan international and former Kawasaki Frontale teammate Ao Tanaka, who currently plays for Premier League club Leeds United. Both went to Saginuma Elementary School in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and promised to make Japan proud as professional footballers. His older brother, Kousei Yuki is an actor.