Football Japan Minutecast

Atsuto Uchida joins up with the rest of the Japan squad for their training camp in Kagoshima today as the centre of attention after it was reported that Lokomotiv Moscow are interested in taking the Kashima Antlers right-back to the Russian Premier League following this year�fs World Cup.

The 21-year-old has been a key figure in the Kashima eleven since joining the club straight from high school in 2006, and a regular for Takeshi Okada�fs national team following his debut against Chile two years ago tomorrow. His performances have attracted the attention of a number of European clubs, but with interest from German side Schalke 04 said to have cooled following the arrival of Chinese international Hao Junmin, Lokomotiv now appear to be in pole position for Uchida�fs signature.

Despite signing a four-and-a-half-year contract just 12 months ago, the Antlers management have already admitted that they would be powerless to prevent their player from moving overseas this summer. Uchida would become the second Japan international to ply their trade in Russia after Keisuke Honda joined Lokomotiv�fs cross-city rivals CSKA Moscow from Dutch outfit VVV Venlo earlier this month.

------------

In a busy week of transfer activity across the J. League, there was better news for Kashima fans on Saturday when the club announced they had signed Brazilian attacking midfielder Fellype Gabriel from Portuguesa. The 24-year-old, who lists Flamengo and Cruzeiro amongst his former clubs, made five appearances for the Brazil U-20 side in their run to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Youth Championship in 2005.

Fellype could be making his debut against a former team-mate in the season-opening Fuji Xerox Super Cup on 27 February, after Emperor�fs Cup winners Gamba Osaka announced the signing of Portuguesa striker Zé Carlos last Monday. The 26-year-old played against Gamba on the way to an AFC Champions League winner�fs medal with Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2006, and joins another new Brazilian forward, Dodo, who impressed in a brief spell with J2 side Ehime FC last year.

Elsewhere, FC Tokyo have announced the arrivals of Brazilian U-20 striker Ricardinho and Korean U-21 defender Kim Young-Gwon, while Montedio Yamagata have confirmed the permanent signing of Yu Hasegawa, who scored ten league goals while on loan from Kashiwa Reysol last season.

Man-of-the-moment Sota Hirayama has been included in a 26-man squad named by Japan coach Takeshi Okada for next week�fs pre-season training camp in Kagoshima and the friendly with Venezuela on 2 February.

Hirayama�fs inclusion had been widely touted following a hat-trick on his international debut against Yemen earlier this month, but this is the first time that the 24-year-old FC Tokyo striker has ever been called up for a Japan team at full strength. Two other players to retain their places from the experimental squad chosen for the Asian Cup qualifying match are Mu Kanazaki of Nagoya Grampus and the uncapped Taisuke Muramatsu of Shonan Bellmare, who missed out against Yemen through illness.

Former Rennes midfielder Junichi Inamoto celebrated his 150,000 euro move to Kawasaki Frontale with a return to the squad, while there was also a first recall in over three years for Mitsuo Ogasawara, who won his sixth J. League title with Kashima Antlers last season. Ogasawara last played for Japan in the 2006 World Cup before a brief spell in Serie A with Messina, but has remained in the international wilderness ever since despite repeated calls for his inclusion from pundits and club coach Oswaldo de Oliveira alike.

The 30-year-old usually takes a deeper lying role for Kashima, but Okada has suggested that he is likely to be used in attacking midfield if chosen against Venezuela.

------------

Kazuyoshi Miura will extend his record as the J. League�fs oldest ever player this season after agreeing to a one-year extension to his contract with J2 side Yokohama FC. The striker turned down a possible return to Brazilian third division club XV de Jaú, where he enjoyed a successful season as a 21-year-old back in 1988, to sign on for a fourth year at the Mitsuzawa Stadium for an estimated salary of 30 million yen. �eKing Kazu�f scored once in 30 league appearances for Yokohama last year, and celebrates his 43rd birthday next month.

Former Arsenal and Fulham midfielder Junichi Inamoto�fs return to the J. League could be confirmed as early as this afternoon after last season�fs runners-up Kawasaki Frontale announced on Sunday that they expected to have a deal confirmed for the 30-year-old within �ethe next couple of days�f.

Inamoto, who remains best known for his pair of goals in the 2002 World Cup, only joined French side Rennes from Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany last summer, but expressed his desire to move back to Japan last month after finding playing opportunities limited in Ligue 1. The midfielder has also appeared for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, and Galatasaray throughout what has been a somewhat nomadic European adventure since leaving Gamba Osaka in 2001, but enjoyed a return to the domestic spotlight with a first national team goal in over six years against Ghana last September.

One player who has already signed on the dotted line for a J. League comeback is Shinji Ono, whose arrival at Shimizu S-Pulse was set in stone on Saturday. The former Urawa Reds and Feyenoord midfielder made just 29 Bundesliga appearances for VfL Bochum in an injury-plagued two years, but hopes that rejoining his family in Japan will help revitalise his career and put him back in contention for the World Cup squad this summer.

Sota Hirayama may have been the toast of the nation after a hat-trick on his full international debut against Yemen last week, but the FC Tokyo striker insists that anything less than ten league goals would still make 2010 a disappointment. Hirayama was labelled as the next big thing after breaking into the Japan Olympic team at the age of just 18 and scoring eight goals in the Dutch Eredivisie in his first season as a professional with Heracles Almelo in 2005-06. His career has stagnated since moving to the J. League, however, with just 13 goals in total over the last three and a half years.

The 24-year-old was part of an experimental squad for the Yemen game consisting almost entirely of uncapped players, with Japan�fs progress in Asian Cup qualification virtually guaranteed. Takeshi Okada�fs side fell 2-0 down early on, but in single-handedly leading their recovery to win 3-2, Hirayama became the first Japan player to net a trio on his debut since Takeo Wakabayashi back in 1930.


Key dates
25 January - Japan national team training camp (Kagoshima)
2 February - Friendly match: Japan v Venezuela (Oita)
6-14 February - 2010 East Asian Football Championship (Tokyo)
23-24 February - AFC Champions League group stage matchday 1
27 February - Fuji Xerox Super Cup (Kashima Antlers v Gamba Osaka)
6 March - J. League matchday 1