is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

Aoki was born in

Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...

on 28 September 1982. After graduating from high school, he joined

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...

in 2001. He played as defensive midfielder from first season and Antlers won the champions in 2001 J1 League and 2002 J.League Cup. He became a regular player from 2003 season and played many matches for a long time. In 2007, Antlers won the champions in

for the first time in 6 years and

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

. Antlers won the champions in

for 3 years in a row (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

). From 2010 season, although his opportunity to play as starting member decreased, Antlers won the champions

2010 Emperor's Cup The began on 4 September 2010 and ended on 1 January 2011 with the final at National Stadium (Tokyo), National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Gamba Osaka were the two-time defending champions, having won two previous tournaments. Kashima Antlers won t ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and 2012 J.League Cup. From 2012, he played many matches as center back. Antlers won the champions in 2015 J.League Cup. However he could hardly play in the match in 2016. In July 2016, Aoki moved to

Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Tosu, Saga, Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024 J1 Leag ...

. He played for the club in 2 seasons. In 2018, he moved to

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

club

Roasso Kumamoto is a Japanese football club based in Kumamoto, the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture. The club currently plays in the J2 League, Japan's 2nd tier of professional league football. Name origin ''Roasso'' is a portmanteau of the Italian words ...

. In 2019, he moved to Prefectural Leagues club Nankatsu SC.

National team career

In June 2001, Aoki was selected Japan U-20 national team for 2001 World Youth Championship. At this tournament, he played full time in all 3 matches as defensive midfielder. He made his international debut for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 20 August 2008 in a friendly against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Sapporo Dome The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also h ...

Club statistics

National team statistics

Appearances in major competitions

Team honors

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of Chinese Supe ...

– 2003 *

– 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009 *

– 2007 *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

– 2002 *

Japanese Super Cup The , the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J.League and the Japan Football Association. This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the reigning J1 Leag ...

– 2009

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* *

1982 births Living people Association football people from Gunma Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan men's youth international footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players J2 League players Kashima Antlers players Sagan Tosu players Roasso Kumamoto players Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Men's association football defenders 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Asian Games silver medalists in football {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub