, nicknamed Atom, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ykkösliiga club KTP.
He was a participant at 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and scored 1 goal in 3 appearances.
Club career Albirex Niigata Tanaka was educated at and played for Maebashi Ikuei High School in Maebashi, Gunma. While he was a high school student, he was registered as a J.League specially-designated player by Albirex Niigata. It meant that he was eligible to play and train with Albirex Niigata, while he was still eligible to play for his high school football club. He played two league games for Albirex in the 2005 season. He made his debut on 27 November 2005 in a J1 League away match against Nagoya Grampus Eight.
After graduating from his high school in 2006, he officially signed with Albirex Niigata. His first appearance as a professional player came on 5 March 2006 in a league match against Kawasaki Frontale. His first professional goal came on 8 April 2006 in a league match against Ventforet Kofu.
HJK Helsinki After scoring once in five matches for his new team HJK Helsinki in the 2015 Finnish League Cup, he scored on his Veikkausliiga debut against RoPS in a 3–1 away win on 12 April.
In October 2015 of the same year, HJK exercised their option of keeping Tanaka under contract for the 2016 season. Tanaka was voted as a best eleven member in 2015 and 2016 in the Finnish League.
On 25 October 2017, it was announced that Tanaka would leave HJK at the end of the 2017 season.
Cerezo Osaka He is playing for Cerezo Osaka for the 2018 season.
Return to HJK On 3 March 2020, Tanaka returned to Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, after signing a contract until the end of July.
In the 2023 season Atom surpassed the 200th match mark in HJK. On 28 November 2023, Atom extended his contract with HJK, signing a new deal for the 2024 season,Jo kahdeksas kausi Atomia!, hjk.fi, 28 November 2023 which will be his eight season with the club in total. In December 2024, it was announced that Tanaka would leave HJK after the 2024 season.Atomin ja Toivion viimeinen kotipeli, hjk.fi, 10 December 2024
KTP In January 2025, Tanaka signed with newly promoted Veikkausliiga club Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP).
International career Tanaka was a U-20 international and took part in the 2006 AFC Youth Championship and 2007 U-20 World Cup. He scored 1 goal in 8 appearances for this tournament.
Personal life Atom is a Finnish sauna enthusiast and he writes a sauna blog in Japanese. He has described Helsinki his second hometown.HJK:n Atomu Tanaka omisti japaninkielisen bloginsa saunalle: ”Suomalaisen saunan suosio kasvaa Japanissa voimakkaasti”, Apu, apu.fi, 1 May 2021Japanilainen Atomu Tanaka astui suomalaiseen saunaan – Kummastui näkemästään: ”Mistä se johtuu?”, Iltalehti, 22 June 2023Atomu Tanaka finding happiness in the Finnish sauna, saunafromfinland, 18 May 2022Saunafani palasi Suomeen, Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 24 June 2020
Career statistics Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 27 out of 289)
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAlbirex Niigata2005J1 League200000–202006J1 League2211041–2722007J1 League1110020–1312008J1 League2512050–3212009J1 League502030–1002010J1 League1013330–1642011J1 League2531021–2842012J1 League3441040–3942013J1 League3342160–4152014J1 League3324100–373Total200171652920024524HJK Helsinki2015Veikkausliiga31832516145122016Veikkausliiga17521524228102017Veikkausliiga23372–00305Total711612510310310327Cerezo Osaka2018J1 League601000301002019J1 League2121081–303Total272208130403Cerezo Osaka U-232018J3 League10–––102019J3 League20–––20Total3000000030HJK Helsinki2020Veikkausliiga19540––2352021Veikkausliiga16151–712832022Veikkausliiga1911020602812023Veikkausliiga1811052803232024Veikkausliiga80202050170Total8081319226112812KTP2025Veikkausliiga2712051–3422026Ykkösliiga1120060–172Total3832011100514Career total41946451167939455470
Honours Club HJK Helsinki Veikkausliiga: 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Finnish Cup: 2017, 2020 Finnish League Cup: 2023
Individual Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016
Notes
References
External links Profile at Cerezo Osaka