Hikaru Naomoto

Hikaru Naomoto (猶本 光, Naomoto Hikaru; born March 3, 1994) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for WE League club Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and the Japan women's national team.

Hikaru Naomoto
猶本 光

Naomoto with SC Freiburg in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-03-03) March 3, 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Ogori, Fukuoka, Japan
Height	1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Number	8
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2011	Fukuoka J. Anclas	26	(0)
2012–2018	Urawa Reds	110	(9)
2018–2020	SC Freiburg	23	(0)
2020–2025	Urawa Reds	66	(20)
2025–	Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
International career‡
2010	Japan U-17	6	(2)
2012	Japan U-20	6	(2)
2014–	Japan	40	(4)
Medal record Urawa Reds Winner Nadeshiko League 2014 Runner-up Nadeshiko League Cup 2017 Runner-up Empress's Cup 2014 Representing  Japan AFC Women's Asian Cup 2014 Vietnam 2018 Jordan Asian Games 2014 Incheon Team FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2012 Japan AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2011 Vietnam FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2010 Trinidad and Tobago AFC U-16 Women's Championship 2009 Thailand
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16：00, 30 June 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:19, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Naomoto was born in Ogori on March 3, 1994. In 2007, she joined her local club Fukuoka J. Anclas. After graduating from high school, she joined Urawa Reds in 2012. She was selected Best Eleven in 2014 season.On June30, 2025, she announced her departure and transferred to Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza.

National team career

Naomoto played for the Japan U-17 team at 2010 U-17 World Cup where Japan won 2nd place and for the U-20 team at 2012 U-20 World Cup, where Japan won 3rd place.^[1] On May 8, 2014, she debuted for the Japan national team against New Zealand. She was a member of Japan's 2014 Asian Cup and 2014 Asian Games squads. Japan won the championship at Asian Cup and 2nd place at Asian Games. In 2018, she played at 2018 Asian Cup and Japan won their second consecutive title. She played 18 games for Japan.

On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.^[2]

On July 26, she scored the opening goal in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C Round 2 match against Costa Rica and contributed to the victory, and was named VISA Player of the Match.^[3][4]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 26 October 2023^[5]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	2014	6	0
	2015	2	0
	2016	0	0
	2017	7	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	2	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	1	0
	2022	10	2
	2023	7	2
Total		38	4

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Noamoto goal.

List of international goals scored by Hikaru Noamoto

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 January 2022	Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India	Myanmar	3–0	5–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
2	24 June 2022	Sport Center FAS, Stara Pazova, Serbia	Serbia	2–0	5–0	Friendly
3	26 July 2023	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand	Costa Rica	1–0	2–0	2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
4	26 October 2023	Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	India	7–0	7–0	2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Honours

Japan

• AFC Women's Asian Cup: 2014, 2018

Individual

• Nadeshiko League Best XI: 2014
• WE League Valuable Player Award: 2021–22, 2022–23
• WE League Best XI: 2022–23
• 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup VISA Player of the Match: against Costa Rica