Cheer On Japan! Meet the Japanese Stars of the NWSL

June is almost over. That means we’re already halfway through 2025. Time flies.

Well, I’ve written here before about how I often watch NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) games on TV, and the other day I was watching one too (it’s broadcast on a commercial channel, by the way), and I was surprised to find out that the manager of the Chicago team is Japanese!
His name is Henmi Masaki, and he was appointed interim coach (temporary manager) of the Chicago Stars FC this year. Even if it’s on an interim basis, he’s the first Japanese person to serve as a manager in the NWSL. What an achievement!

And when watching NWSL games, you see so many Japanese players that it seems like every team has one or two Japanese players in the starting lineup. So I was curious, so I looked into the Japanese players who are on each NWSL team as of June 2025.

• Angel City FC
  • Jun Endo: FW (transferred in 2022)
  • Miyabi Moriya: Defender (transferred in 2025)
  • Hannah Stambaugh: Goalkeeper (transferred in 2024)
• Portland Thorns FC
  • Hina Sugita: Midfielder (transferred in 2022)
• North Carolina Courage
  • Manaka Matsukubo: Midfielder (transferred in 2023)
  • Shinomi Koyama: Midfielder (transferred from Djurgården IF, Sweden, in 2025)
• Washington Spirit
  • Narumi Miura: Midfielder (transferred from NC College in 2025)

  The staff also includes Morinao Imaizumi as a Player Development Coach and Mami Yamaguchi as an Assistant Coach/Player Development Coach.

• Utah Royals FC
  • Mina Tanaka: FW (transferred from Bayer Leverkusen in the Women’s Bundesliga in 2024)
• Chicago Stars FC
  • Manaka Hayashi: Midfielder (transferred in 2025)

*Please let us know if you find any errors or omissions!

Currently, there are 14 teams in the NWSL, and with this many players, it’s not surprising that it seems like a lot.

It’s great to see Japanese players doing well on the American stage! As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m amazed that they are in the starting lineup quite often. Moreover, when I see them boldly charging into opponents bigger than them and receiving yellow cards, I think, “So cool!” (Of course, that doesn’t mean yellow cards are a good thing…) Even if you don’t think you can compete with them in terms of physical size, with daily effort and a strong will, you won’t be left behind. Every time I watch them play, I get courage and my spirit is lifted.

When talking about Japanese athletes who are active in America (especially LA), Shohei Otani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers immediately come to mind (and they are truly at the forefront, achieving unbelievably high levels of results), but there are many more Japanese athletes who are competing and doing well in America. Go Japanese athletes!

*Please note that the NWSL will be on a hiatus until early August in July as tournaments that serve as regional qualifiers for the World Cup will be held around the world.