is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for J2 League club Júbilo Iwata.
Kawashima played in Japan for Omiya Ardija, Nagoya Grampus Eight and Kawasaki Frontale before joining Lierse S.K. in Belgium in 2010. He then played for another Belgian club, Standard Liège, from 2012 to 2015, Dundee United in Scotland from 2015 to 2016; Metz and Strasbourg in France from 2016 to 2023 before returning to Japan with Júbilo Iwata in 2024.
He represented Japan at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, earning over 90 caps, and was also named in the final 26-player squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup before announcing retirement from international football one month later.
Early life Born in Yono, Saitama, Japan, Kawashima idolised Sergio Goycochea in his youth. He then joined Yononishi Junior High School and Urawa Higashi High School.
Kawashima has an older brother and older sister.
Club career Early career in Japan Kawashima started his professional career at Omiya Ardija in J2 League after graduating Urawa Higashi High School. On 6 April 2002, he made his Omiya Ardija debut. He went on to make 41 appearances for the side during his three-year spell. During his time at Omiya Ardija, Kawashima went on trial at Serie A side Parma.
Nagoya Grampus Eight In 2004, Kawashima joined Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan's J1 League.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against Gamba Osaka in the J. League Cup match on 27 March 2004. Kawashima helped Nagoya Grampus reach the knockout stage of the J. League Cup after the club won four out of the five matches in the group stage. On 12 June 2004, Kawashima finally made his league debut for Nagoya Grampus and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win against Urawa Red Diamonds. However in the quarter–finals of the J. League Cup, Kawashima received a straight red card in the 88th minute, as the club won 2–1 against Kashima Antlers. After serving a one match suspension, he returned as a starting keeper in the semi–finals of the J. League Cup against Urawa Red Diamonds, but Nagoya Grampus were out of the tournament following a 4–1 loss. At the end of the 2004 season, Kawashima made twelve appearances in all competitions.
In the 2005 season, Kawashima stayed as a starter for Nagoya Grampus in the J. League Cup matches. However, he was unable to replicate the success of last season, as the club were eliminated in the J. League Cup group stage. Kawashima only appeared three times in the league. At the end of the 2005 season, he went on to make ten appearances in all competitions.
Due to the absence of Seigo Narazaki, Kawashima became Nagoya Grampus’ first choice goalkeeper at the start of the 2006 season. After the absence of Narazaki, he played two times between 18 July 2006 and 21 July 2006, losing both matches and went on a run of conceding a total of eight goals. However, Kawashima suffered a hand injury while training and was out for four weeks. At the end of the 2006 season, he went on to make fourteen appearances in all competitions.
During his time at Nagoya Grampus, Kawashima competed with veteran goalkeeper Narazaki and served as the club's second choice goalkeeper.
Kawasaki Frontale It was announced on 28 December 2006 that Kawasaki Frontale had signed Kawashima for a transfer fee of 150 million yen. The move was, at the time, the largest transfer fee for a player in the J.League.
He made his Kawasaki Frontale’s debut as a starter and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win over Kashima Antlers in the opening game of the season. Five days later on 7 March 2007, Kawashima made AFC Champions League debut, in a 3–1 win over Arema. After establishing himself as the club’s first choice goalkeeper, he soon received praises for his performances. Later in the 2007 season, Kawasaki Frontale became the first Japanese club to qualify for the 2007 AFC Champions League, where they finished first in their group. In the knockout rounds, Kawashima allowed no regulation goals in the quarter finals against Iran's Sepahan club, but Kawasaki Frontale ended up losing 5–4 in the penalty shoot-out. He also helped the club reach the final of J.League Cup against Gamba Osaka but they loss 1–0. At the end of the 2007 season, Kawashima had made 48 appearances (34 in the league) in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2008 season, it was announced that Kawashima would be appointed as Kawasaki Frontale’s vice–captain and stayed to remain as the club’s first choice goalkeeper. He then kept two clean sheets against JEF United Chiba and Consadole Sapporo on 30 March 2008 and 2 April 2008 respectively. Between 26 April 2008 and 6 May 2008, Kawashima helped Kawasaki Frontale win four league matches in a row. He kept a clean sheets against Gamba Osaka, Vissel Kobe and Tokyo Verdy on 23 November 2008, 29 November 2008 and 6 December 2008 respectively. However, the club failed to win the league, finishing as runners-up behind winners Kashima Antlers. At the end of the 2008 season, Kawashima went on to make 36 appearances (34 in the league) in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2009 season, Kawashima remained as Kawasaki Frontale’s vice–captain and stayed on as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the third time in a row. Kawashima then helped Kawasaki Frontale win six league matches in a row between 10 May 2009 and 1 July 2009. Along the way, he kept three consecutive league clean sheets against Oita Trinita, Montedio Yamagata and Gamba Osaka on 20 June 2009, 28 June 2009 and 1 July 2009 respectively. Following this, Kawashima said that he was determined to help the club win the league. At the start of October, Kawashima helped Kawasaki Frontale go on a winning streak against Yokohama F. Marinos, Kashima Antlers, Omiya Ardija, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and JEF United Chiba in the league to keep their fight for the title alive. However, he conceded a goal from Fernandinho that saw the club lose 1–0 against Oita Trinita on 22 November 2009, putting their title run at risk. The loss eventually saw Kawasaki Frontale failed to win the league and finished the season as runners-up despite the club winning the remaining two matches. He was starter in the J.League Cup Final, as Kawasaki Frontale lost 2–0 to FC Tokyo. Despite this, Kawashima was named in the J. League Best Eleven and also won the Individual Fair-Play award for the first time in his career. At the end of the 2009 season, he made a total of 47 appearances (34 in the league) in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2010 season, Kawashima was linked with a move away from Kawasaki Frontale, but he ultimately stayed at the club. Kawashima remained as Kawasaki Frontale’s vice–captain and stayed on as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the fourth time in a row. Prior to an AFC Champions League match against Melbourne Victory on 31 March 2010, he suffered a hand injury in training, but made his recovery and started the whole game, as Kawasaki Frontale lost 1–0. Kawashima made his last appearance for the club, losing 3–1 against Júbilo Iwata on 16 May 2010. By the time he left Kawasaki Frontale, Kawashima went on to make 17 appearances for the side in all competitions.
Lierse After participating in the 2010 World Cup, Kawashima completed a move to Europe by joining Lierse S.K. in the Belgian Pro League. Upon joining the club, he signed a two–year contract with an option to extend. Explaining his reason on moving to Europe, Kawashima said, "After I experienced the World Cup, I thought that putting myself in a more competitive environment is the only way I can get better."
Kawashima made his Lierse debut in a 1–0 loss against Sint-Truidense in the opening game of the season. After making his debut for the club, Kawashima quickly became the Lierse’s first choice goalkeeper. However, the club struggled at the start of the season and suffered five defeats in the first five matches, but he impressed the club with saves. On 25 September 2010, Kawashima kept his first clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Charleroi, Lierse’s first league win of the season. In mid–October, Kawashima suffered a groin injury that kept him out throughout the month. He then returned to the starting line-up on 10 November 2010, helping the club beat RFC Tournai 4–1 in the round of 16 of the Belgian Cup. Next, Kawashima went on a run of conceding a total of 24 goals in the league for the rest of 2010, as Lierse suffered heavy defeats, including a 7–0 loss against Standard Liège on 27 November 2010, a 3–1 loss against K.V. Kortrijk on 12 December 2010 and a 6–0 loss against Anderlecht on 26 December 2010. After helping Japan win the Asian Cup, he did not return as a starting goalkeeper until on 12 February 2011 against Germinal Beerschot and helped the club drew 2–2. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Kawashima made an impressed display for the next two matches against Lokeren and Club Brugge, which saw Lierse secure its status in the league for the next season. In the league's Europa League Playoff’s, he kept another clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw against Cercle Brugge on 2 April 2011. The club finished second place behind Cercle Brugge in the league's Europa League playoffs. At the end of the 2010–11 season, having made 30 appearances in all competitions, Kawashima won the Lierse’s player of the season award.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima was linked a move away from Lierse, with clubs like Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and VVV-Venlo keen on signing him. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima remained the club’s first choice goalkeeper and then kept his first clean sheet of the season, in a 0–0 draw against Genk on 6 August 2011. He then managed to keep two clean sheets against Cercle Brugge and Westerlo on 17 September 2011 and 24 September 2011 respectively. After the match, manager Chris Janssens praised his performance and contributing to Lierse’s defence, conceding six goals by the end of September. Kawashima was handed the captaincy taking over from Wesley Sonck and captained Lierse for the first time, in a 2–1 win against Zulte Waregem on 15 October 2011. From that moment on, he remained as the club’s captain for the rest of the 2011–12 season. Kawashima, once again, kept two clean sheets against Anderlecht and OH Leuven on 26 February 2012 and 3 March 2012 respectively. His performance at Lierse led the club begin negotiations over a new contract. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he had played all 30 regular league games and six Europa League Playoff games. For his performance, Kawashima won Lierse’s player of the season award. For his performances, he was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year but lost out to Silvio Proto.
2011 fan incident On 19 August 2011, during a league match between Lierse and Germinal Beerschot, which Lierse were leading 1–0, Kawashima was subjected to taunts and insults by Beerschot supporters, who chanted "Kawashima, Fukushima!" in reference to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. After being confronted by Kawashima, the referee halted the match for several minutes until order was restored. After the match had ended in a 1–1 draw, Kawashima left in tears, visibly upset at the insults. Kawashima said, "I can pass on many things, but not that. This is not funny. Using the drama of Fukushima in this manner is not at all funny."