Former Japan international Junichi Inamoto has announced his retirement from professional football, Afrosport reports.
The 45-year-old, who is the first Japanese player to feature in the Premier League, announced the decision to call time on his lengthy career at the end of the month in a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“I have done it all… I have been so happy to be able to continue playing football until I’m satisfied with my life,” Inamoto, who currently plays for Japanese fifth-tier side Nankatsu SC, wrote on Instagram.
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Inamoto started his professional career with Japanese side Gamba Osaka, whom he joined during his final year of high school, and made his J League debut at age 17 in 1997.
The midfielder joined Arsenal on loan in 2001 but failed to make an appearance for the Gunners before securing a long-term loan move to Fulham in 2004.
Inamoto also had stints at West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, Galatasaray, Eintracht Frankfurt, and the French club Rennes before returning to Japan in 2010.
He played 82 times for Japan on the international scene, featuring in the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan, where he scored the only goal in their first World Cup win—a 1-0 victory over Russia.
He, however, retired from international football after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, scoring five goals for the Asian nation.
