Atomu Tanaka

Atomu Tanaka (田中 亜土夢, Tanaka Atomu; born 4 October 1987), nicknamed Atom, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club KTP.

Atomu Tanaka
田中 亜土夢

Tanaka with HJK in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Atomu Tanaka[1]
Date of birth	(1987-10-04) 4 October 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Niigata, Japan
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	KTP
Number	37
Youth career
1996–1999	Shindori Eagles
2000–2002	Kido Junior High School
2003–2005	Maebashi Ikuei High School
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2014	Albirex Niigata	200	(17)
2015–2017	HJK	71	(16)
2018–2019	Cerezo Osaka	27	(2)
2018–2019	→ Cerezo Osaka U-23	3	(0)
2020–2024	HJK	80	(8)
2025–	KTP	17	(1)
International career
2006–2007	Japan U20	8	(1)
Medal record Representing  Japan AFC U-19 Championship 2006 India
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 July 2025

He was a participant at 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and scored 1 goal in 3 appearances.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] His first professional goal came on 8 April 2006 in a league match against Ventforet Kofu.^[6]

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.^[7] Tanaka was voted as a best eleven member in 2015 and 2016 in the Finnish League.^[8]

On 25 October 2017, it was announced that Tanaka would leave HJK at the end of the 2017 season.^[9]

Cerezo Osaka

He is playing for Cerezo Osaka for the 2018 season.^[10]

Return to HJK

On 3 March 2020, Tanaka returned to Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, after signing a contract until the end of July.^[11]

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,^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^{[14][15][16][dead link][17]}

Career statistics

As of 10 March 2025 ^[18][19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Albirex Niigata	2005	J1 League	2	0	0	0	0	0	–		2	0
	2006	J1 League	22	1	1	0	4	1	–		27	2
	2007	J1 League	11	1	0	0	2	0	–		13	1
	2008	J1 League	25	1	2	0	5	0	–		32	1
	2009	J1 League	5	0	2	0	3	0	–		10	0
	2010	J1 League	10	1	3	3	3	0	–		16	4
	2011	J1 League	25	3	1	0	2	1	–		28	4
	2012	J1 League	34	4	1	0	4	0	–		39	4
	2013	J1 League	33	4	2	1	6	0	–		41	5
	2014	J1 League	33	2	4	1	0	0	–		37	3
	Total		200	17	16	5	29	2	0	0	245	24
HJK Helsinki	2015	Veikkausliiga	31	8	3	2	5	1	6[a]	1	45	12
	2016	Veikkausliiga	17	5	2	1	5	2	4[b]	2	28	10
	2017	Veikkausliiga	23	3	7	2	–		0	0	30	5
	Total		71	16	12	5	10	3	10	3	103	27
Cerezo Osaka	2018	J1 League	6	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	10	0
	2019	J1 League	21	2	1	0	8	1	–		30	3
	Total		27	2	2	0	8	1	3	0	40	3
Cerezo Osaka U-23	2018	J3 League	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2019	J3 League	2	0	–		–		–		2	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
HJK Helsinki	2020	Veikkausliiga	19	5	4	0	–		–		23	5
	2021	Veikkausliiga	16	1	5	1	–		7[c]	1	28	3
	2022	Veikkausliiga	19	1	1	0	2	0	6[b]	0	28	1
	2023	Veikkausliiga	18	1	1	0	5	2	8[d]	0	32	3
	2024	Veikkausliiga	8	0	2	0	2	0	5[e]	0	17	0
	Total		80	8	13	1	9	2	26	1	128	12
KTP	2025	Veikkausliiga	0	0	0	0	5	1	–		5	1
Career total			381	43	43	11	61	9	39	4	514	67

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^[20]

Notes

1. Appearances at the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances at the UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances at the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League
4. Appearances at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
5. Appearances in UEFA Conference League