Tatsuya Okamoto

is a Japanese professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for being a football player with three separate periods of professional career.

Career

Júbilo Iwata Okamoto studied at , a public school known for its academic excellence. He trained at the youth team of Júbilo Iwata for three years. After high school graduation, he became a professional player for Iwata in 2005. However, he was unable to secure a position at the team and left in 2006.

Juntendo University In December 2006, Okamoto returned to Iwata Minami High School, and asked the teachers for help in study. He applied to Juntendo University's Faculty of Sports and Health Science, and was accepted after spending only two months of studying for the entrance exam.

Okamoto made an immediate impact as a first-year student in the university's football team, earning the "Rookie of the Year" award in the Kanto University League." In the Emperor's Cup, where they progressed to the fourth round, he faced his former team, Jubilo Iwata. Although they lost 6-1, he scored a goal in the 23rd minute of the first half, which temporarily equalized the score. It was during this time that he wanted to become a professional footballer again. In his second year with Tottori, he was appointed captain of the team that had been relegated to J3 League, but he was unable to lead them back to promotion. In 2015, he announced his retirement at the age of 27. During this period of time, he also worked as the vice president of .

Criacao Shinjuku and third professional career However, Okamoto's football career did not end. He joined Criacao Shinjuku, a regional team playing in the Kantō Soccer League in 2015. Since Okamoto has a teacher's license, he worked as a career consultant for university students while playing for the team.

In 2021, Okamoto led Criacao Shinjuku to the promotion to Japan Football League (JFL), the fourth division with mostly professional teams. This is considered a great achievement for an amateur team.

In 2023, Criacao Shinjuku was promoted to J3 League. Since J3 is considered a professional league, this means Okamoto, at the age of 36, became a professional footballer for a third time. The team also won in the qualifier of Emperor's Cup, with Okamoto scoring the decisive goal. This earned him media attention. In a featured article in 2024, Mainichi Shimbun described him as "the loser who stayed till the end".

In an interview in September 2025, Okamoto expressed his view on football, saying that modern football is too systematic and he believes giving player agency can lead to better results.

Personal life Okamoto is from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.

Career statistics