Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has signed a loan deal until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
This move means Miura might feature in the Japanese professional league - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The ex-international forward, who started his career with the Brazilian club Santos in 1986, failed to score in just over an hour across seven appearances last season while on loan at fourth-tier club Atletico Suzuka.
"My passion for football remains undimmed, regardless of my age," he said as he gears up for a forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.
"I am truly thankful to be given this opportunity. I promise 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 loan since 2022 from J2 League side Yokohama FC.
The veteran, who has also featured in Australia, Italy, and Croatia, joined the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He scored 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that concluded in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
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.
