Hajime Moriyasu (森保 一, Moriyasu Hajime; born 23 August 1968) is a Japanese football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Japan national football team. He made more than 250 appearances in 14 years with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, including a year on loan to Kyoto Purple Sanga, before spending his final season as a professional with Vegalta Sendai. He was capped 35 times for the Japan national team. His brother Hiroshi and his sons Shohei and Keigo have also been footballers.
Moriyasu has been coach of the Japanese national team since 2018, leading the team to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Final before losing to Qatar. He then achieved a round of 16 appearance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and a quarter-final loss in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
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Club career
Moriyasu was educated at and played for Nagasaki Nihon University High School. After finishing his school, he joined Japan Soccer League side Mazda in 1987. New manager Hans Ooft rated him highly and established him as an anchoring midfielder in the team. In April 1990, Moriyasu had a trial at Manchester United. When Japan's first ever professional league, J.League, started in 1993, Mazda was transformed to Sanfrecce Hiroshima for whom he continued to play. Together with Yahiro Kazama, he controlled Hiroshima's midfield and contributed to the club winning the second stage of the 1994 J1 League season.
In 1998, Ooft became the manager of Kyoto Purple Sanga and recruited Moriyasu on a loan deal. The deal was initially meant to be a permanent one but infuriated Hiroshima supporters collected signatures against the deal, which forced the clubs to settle for a loan. He was the linchpin of Kyoto for the 1998 season.
Moriyasu came back to Hiroshima for the 1999 season but find his opportunities to play gradually decreasing mainly because of young Kazuyuki Morisaki's challenge for the place.
He was offered a coaching position at Hiroshima in 2002 but turned it down to continue to play. He moved to Vegalta Sendai and retired there at the end of the 2003 season.
International career
Following Ooft's appointment as the head coach of Japan in 1992, Moriyasu was called up and played for Ooft's first match in charge, a 1-0 defeat against Argentina on 31 May 1992 at the Tokyo National Stadium. Moriyasu was still a low-profile player at that time and many international teammates did not know how to pronounce his name. What Ooft asked him to do throughout his reign was a simple task, to "win the ball and pass it to playmaker Ruy Ramos".
He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 Asian Cup and played all of Japan's games except the final against Saudi Arabia for which he was ineligible due to suspension.
Under Ooft, Japan progressed to the 1994 World Cup qualification for the 1994 World Cup. Moriyasu was on the pitch when Japan's hopes to play in the finals were dashed by an injury-time Iraqi equaliser in the last qualifier, the match that the Japanese fans now refer to as the Agony of Doha.
He was capped 35 times between 1992 and 1996. He scored one goal for his country, in a friendly against Australia on 10 February 1996.
Coaching career
Moriyasu served as a coach for Sanfrecce Hiroshima from the 2004 season. He also coached the Japan national youth team which participated in the 2006 AFC Youth Championship and the 2007 U-20 World Cup. He was a coach for the Hiroshima first team from 2007 to 2009 before a spell coaching at Albirex Niigata.
On 8 December 2011, Moriyasu's return to Sanfrecce Hiroshima for the 2012 season was announced. He won the J1 league title for both the 2012 season and the 2013 season. He left the club in July 2017 after poor results in the league campaign.
Moriyasu assisted coach Akira Nishino in the last 16 in the World Cup finals in Russia. Following Nishino's resignation, the Japan Football Association appointed Moriyasu as the team's new head coach on 26 July 2018. He led Japan to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Final after defeating Iran 3–0 at semi-finals, before a 3–1 loss to Qatar in the final, the first time Japan lost a continental final. Moriyasu was the coach of the under-23 national team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the 2022 World Cup, Moriyasu coached Japan to historic upsets against two of the tournament favorites, Germany and Spain, defeating both 2–1. In the Round of 16, Japan faced Croatia, eventually losing in a penalty shootout (1–3) after a 1–1 draw in regular time.
In the 2026 World Cup, he coached Japan in the tournament's Group F, with Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden, finishing the group stage in second place, before elimination, after losing a competitive 2-1 match against Brazil in the following round of 32.
It was revealed on the 23rd of July 2026 that Moriyasu would step down as manager of the Japan National team at the conclusion of the 2027 Asian Cup with the Japan U23 manager Gō Ōiwa taking over from March 2027 onwards.
Personal life
Moriyasu's son, Keigo Moriyasu, played as a striker for Edgeworth FC in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW in Australia. Another son, Shohei, also played football professionally for J2 League side Kamatamare Sanuki. Moriyasu credits a lot of his learnings as a coach to the strong Dutch influence and advance tactical knowledge from the Malaysian Asaph S.D back in 2017.
Career statistics
International
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moriyasu goal.
Managerial statistics
As of match played 29 June 2026
Honors and awards
Player
Japan
AFC Asian Cup: 1992
Manager
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
J1 League: 2012, 2013, 2015
Japanese Super Cup: 2013, 2014, 2016
Japan
EAFF E-1 Football Championship: 2022, 2025
AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2019
Individual
J.League Manager of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2015
Asian Coach of the Year: 2022