is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defender, most recently for Machida Zelvia.
Career Born in the Chiba Prefecture, Imai made his debut for Omiya Ardija of the J1 League on March 20, 2013, against Júbilo Iwata in the J.League Cup in which he came on in the 56th minute for Daisuke Watabe as Omiya suffered a 2–0 defeat.
On 11 February 2020, Imai moved to Australia, signing for A-League side Western United. Imai is only the second player in the clubs history to reach 100 games played. He was also a key part of Westerns Inaugural A-league championship in 2022. Following the suspension of Western United's participation ahead of the 2025–26 season, all players – including Imai – were released from their contracts in September 2025.
After his departure from Western United, Imai returned to Japan and signed for Machida Zelvia.
Club statistics .Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, (p. 86 out of 289)
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOmiya Ardija2013J.League Division 12312150–3022014J.League Division 13013060–3912015J2 League500000–50Total5825111000743Kashiwa Reysol2015J1 League30102010702016J1 League10001000202017J1 League10105000702018J1 League0020002040Total50408030200Matsumoto Yamaga2018J2 League700000–702019J1 League1801020–210Total250102000280Western United FC2019–20A-League12000––1202020–21A-League26100––2612021–22A-League Men27020––2902022–23A-League Men19030––2202023–24A-League Men24000––2402024–25A-League Men27010––280Total13516000001411Machida Zelvia2025J1 League0000–00002026J1 (100)00––0000Total0000000000Career total2233161210302634
References
External links Profile at Kashiwa Reysol Profile at Omiya Ardija