Kazuyoshi Miura, who turns 59 in February and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has agreed to a loan deal until June with J3 League club Fukushima United.
The transfer means Miura could play in the J.League - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The former Japan striker, who started his career with the Brazilian club Santos in 1986, did not find the net in just over an hour across seven appearances last season while on loan at JFL side Atletico Suzuka.
"My love for the game hasn't changed, no matter how old I get," he said as he gears up for a forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be presented with this chance. I vow I will play with everything I have to make a contribution. Let's make history together!"
Known as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth temporary move since 2022 from J2 League side Yokohama FC.
The veteran, who has also played club football in Australia, Italy, and Croatia, signed for the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He netted 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that ended in 2000, shortly following his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.
Miura, who has expressed a desire for playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "take on a new challenge" after being relegated last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima finished 10th in the twenty-club third division last season.
