8. What Is “Japanese-Style” Football?— How Should We Understand Technical Training? —

Introduction | A Sense of Discomfort with the Term “Japanese-Style Football”

When you are involved in football overseas, you sometimes hear the terms “Japanese-style football” or “Japanese-style training.”

In many cases, these phrases are used to describe individual technical exercises such as cone dribbling or ball mastery drills like juggling.

Here in New Zealand, as a Japanese coach, I am often told things like:

“Japan is a technical football nation,”
or
“Japanese players are good at cone dribbling.”

Every time I hear these comments, however, I feel a slight sense of discomfort.

Is that really what “Japanese-style football” is?
And is that image being properly understood?

In this article, I would like to explore and reflect on the technical training that is often labeled as “Japanese-style,” and to put into words how we at Glocal Football think about it.

What Are the Technical Exercises Commonly Called “Japanese-Style”?

Generally speaking, the training methods associated with “Japanese-style” football include:

It is true that many players who grew up in Japan experienced these kinds of exercises during their youth.

I myself am no exception. During my formative years, I spent countless hours in individual practice, repeatedly working on juggling and cone dribbling.

Behind this approach lies a set of circumstances unique to Japan:

limited training space, physical disadvantages compared to larger football nations, and a development system heavily influenced by schools and club activities.

Within this environment, technical training evolved as something that players could work on individually—something that could be improved through creativity and repetition.

What is important to note here is that these exercises were never meant to be the goal themselves.

They were always intended as a means to an end.

Why Do Japanese Players Love Juggling So Much?

The background of this distinctive training culture is deeply connected to Japan’s cultural and environmental context.

One factor is the concept of “dō” (the way), which can be seen in disciplines such as judo, tea ceremony, and calligraphy.
There is a shared belief that by repeating the same movement thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—of times, one can approach mastery or truth.

This philosophy may have unconsciously influenced how football training developed in Japan.

Another important factor is the reality of urban environments.
In many cities, children grow up surrounded by signs saying“No ball games” or restrictions that prohibit playing matches. Under these conditions, juggling and cone dribbling—activities that can be done quietly, alone, and in very small spaces—became a practical and necessary way for children to keep engaging with the ball.

In that sense, these exercises were not just training methods, but solutions born out of necessity.

Are Technical Drills “Bad”? — Common Misunderstandings

Overseas, technical exercises like these are sometimes criticized.

These criticisms are understandable.
Technical training that lacks decision-making or a clear purpose rarely connects directly to match performance. Mindless repetition—whether dribbling or juggling—can even limit a player’s growth.

However, the real problem is not the exercises themselves.
The issues usually arise when:

When technical training is criticized, it is often the method or the context that is flawed—not the concept of technical work itself.

The Real Reason Technical Training Developed in Japan

For a long time, Japanese football has existed at a physical disadvantage.

Within that reality, the question was always how to compete on equal terms.

Technical training was preparation for this.

Dribbling and juggling were never about looking skillful; they were foundations for increasing options and improving decision-making under pressure.

At its core, Japanese football development has always valued the combination of

“technique + perception + decision-making.”

Technique was never meant to exist in isolation.

What Do Cone Dribbling and Juggling Actually Support in a Match?

Cone dribbling is rarely reproduced exactly as it appears in training.

Still, the ability to move with the ball without losing control, and to understand distance and timing, clearly carries over into real games.

The same applies to juggling.

You will almost never see a player juggle dozens of times during a match.

Yet the ball feel, concentration, and ability to correct mistakes developed through juggling undeniably support overall performance.

Being able to do these things does not automatically mean a player is good.

But it is also true that not being able to do them can become a disadvantage in certain situations.

Glocal Football’s Position

At Glocal Football, we do not simply import Japanese-style training as it is. At the same time, we have no intention of dismissing it as outdated or irrelevant.

What we value most is:

Even when we use drills that might be considered “Japanese-style,” we always design them to include decision-making.

By doing so, players develop not only the ability to execute techniques, but also the judgment required to use them in matches.

Equally important is the constant question: Why are we doing this training?

Within the context of New Zealand, we continuously ask ourselves:
Which techniques are truly necessary?
And to what extent should they be trained?

Conclusion | From “Japanese-Style” to Contextual Training

The label “Japanese-style” itself may not hold much meaning.

What truly matters is:

Technical training should be neither a universal answer nor something to be rejected as part of the past. It should be understood as training with context and purpose.

What Glocal Football aims for is player development that understands culture—and then adapt it to the place where we are now.