Tomiyasu was born on November 5, 1998, in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. His birthplace is the largest city on Japan’s southernmost main island, Kyushu. While his sisters chose swimming as a hobby, Tomiyasu opted for football. He started playing at local club Sanchiku Kickers.
Not long afterwards, he was picked up by Avispa Fukuoka. At the club competing at the highest level in Japan, Tomiyasu took his first steps towards professional football. He made his debut in 2015, just under a month before his seventeenth birthday, playing as a defensive midfielder in a cup match against Machida Zelvia. He also progressed through all of Japan’s youth national teams.
A move to Europe followed soon after. In January 2018, Belgian side Sint-Truidense V.V. signed him from Avispa Fukuoka, where Tomiyasu played a total of 56 official matches. Later that year, he also made his debut for the Japanese national team in a friendly against Panama.
His time in the Jupiler Pro League lasted one and a half seasons and 41 matches. Tomiyasu then caught the attention of Bologna and signed for the northern Italian club at the start of the 2019/2020 season. Over two seasons with the 'Rossoblù', he made 64 official appearances and scored three goals.
A closer look at his statistics in Italy highlights his defensive strength. Based on his Serie A matches in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons, Tomiyasu won 325 duels, 149 aerial duels and completed 55 successful tackles. This placed him second among all Bologna players in that period. He also ranked highly in clearances, making 170 defensive actions, 77 of which were headers. With that final statistic, he shared first place.
Playing in the Premier League was a dream of his, as stated on Arsenal’s website. That dream became reality after his strong performances in Italy. The Gunners signed Tomiyasu in 2021, and he made his debut on September 11 of that year at home against Norwich City. He was immediately voted Arsenal’s Player of the Month that same month. In England, the Japanese international played most of his matches as a right-back, but also made almost thirty appearances on the left flank.
An analysis of his Premier League statistics from his first to his final appearance shows that Tomiyasu won an average of 5.5 duels and 2.4 aerial duels per ninety minutes. His aerial strength stands out in particular, placing him first among all Arsenal players in that period with at least fifty matches. He also leads in interceptions (1.5 per ninety minutes) and ranks second in clearances, with an average of 3.1 per ninety minutes.
During his time in England, Tomiyasu also gained experience in the UEFA Champions League. He played six matches in Europe’s top club competition and is one of only two Japanese players ever to register two assists in a single Champions League match (both against RC Lens in November 2023), alongside Takumi Minamino.
In his final period at Arsenal, Tomiyasu struggled with injuries, with his last Premier League minutes coming in October 2024. Last summer, his contract with Arsenal was terminated by mutual consent and with mutual respect. As of Tuesday, Ajax now have a second Japanese player. Welcome to Amsterdam, Takehiro!
Tomiyasu will wear shirt number 32 at Ajax.
