is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for National Women's Soccer League club Utah Royals and the Japan national team. She has previously played for Tokyo Verdy Beleza, Bayer Leverkusen, and INAC Kobe Leonessa.
Early life Tanaka was born in Thailand on April 28, 1994 to a Japanese father and a Thai mother. She returned to Japan soon after her birth and grew up in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa. She graduated from Kanagawa Prefectural Yurigaoka High School in March 2013.
Club career On May 3, 2011, she made her debut for Nippon TV Beleza in a 1–0 loss to Okayama Yunogo Belle. On August 14, she scored her first goal in a 5–0 home victory against Fukuoka J. Anclas. She became top scorer in 2016 and 2017. She was also selected Best Eleven for 3 years in a row (2015–2017).
In 2020, Tanaka signed for INAC Kobe Leonessa. After the season was delayed by two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanaka made her club debut in the season opener on July 18. She scored the only goal of the match. On 3 February 2020, she joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season
On July 5, 2024, NWSL club Utah Royals signed Tanaka to a contract through the 2025 NWSL season. Tanaka signed a contract extension with Utah through 2028 on August 22, 2025.
National team career Tanaka was part of the Japan U-17 national team that finished in second place at the 2010 U-17 World Cup and of the U-20 team that finished in third place at the 2012 U-20 World Cup. In February 2013, she received her first senior team call-up. On March 8, she made her debut for Japan and scored her first goal in a 2–1 loss to Germany in the 2013 Algarve Cup.
On 19 March 2018, she was called up to the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, where Japan won the championship.
On 18 June 2021, she was included in the Japan squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
On 7 January 2022, Tanaka was called up to the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup squad.
On 13 June 2023, she was included in Japan's 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. On July 31, Tanaka scored in Japan's 4-0 group-stage victory in a match against Spain.
On 14 June 2024, Tanaka was included in the Japan squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Tanaka was tournament MVP as part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup. She scored four goals and had three assists across Japan's three matches of the tournament.
Career statistics Club . + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupIncludes the Empress's CupLeague CupIncludes the Nadeshiko League CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTokyo Verdy Beleza2011Nadeshiko League7130—1012012Nadeshiko League15221201932013Nadeshiko League1710208727172014Nadeshiko League21345—2582015Nadeshiko League231447—27212016Nadeshiko League1818429631262017Nadeshiko League1815576629282018Nadeshiko League1815575528272019Nadeshiko League16205410103334Total1539834334034227165INAC Kobe Leonessa2020Nadeshiko League181231—21132021–22WE League181210—19122022–23WE League1911214225142023–24WE League32003163Total583762737142Bayer Leverkusen (loan)2020–21Frauen-Bundesliga104——104Utah Royals2024NWSL71——712025NWSL236——2362026NWSL32——32Total3390000339Career total25414840354737341220
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsJapan201341201400201520201600201714520181582019422020302021115202292202312720241152025117202651Total10143
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tanaka goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Mina TanakaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition18 March 2013Bela Vista Municipal Stadium, Parchal, Portugal1–11–22013 Algarve Cup29 April 2017Egao Kenkō Stadium, Kumamoto, Japan2–03–0Friendly327 July 2017SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, United States1–02–42017 Tournament of Nations422 October 2017Minami Nagano Sports Park Stadium, Nagano, Japan2–02–0Friendly58 December 2017Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan1–03–22017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship611 December 20171–01–0 71 April 2018Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki, Isahaya, Japan1–07–1Friendly87 April 2018King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan4–04–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup910 June 2018Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand1–03–1Friendly102–1113–11226 July 2018Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States1–14–22018 Tournament of Nations1321 August 2018Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia4–0 7–0 2018 Asian Games147–01511 December 2019Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea2–09–02019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship164–0178 April 2021Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai, Japan7–07–0Friendly1810 June 2021Edion Stadium Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan8–08–0 1913 June 2021Kanseki Stadium Tochigi, Utsunomiya, Japan2–05–12027 July 2021Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, Japan1–01–02020 Summer Olympics2130 July 2021Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan1–11–3226 October 2022Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan1–02–0Friendly232–0247 April 2023Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal2–12–12522 July 2023Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand2–05–02023 FIFA Women's World Cup2631 July 2023Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand4–04–02723 September 2023Kitakyushu Stadium, Kitakyushu, Japan1–08–0Friendly2826 October 2023Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan4–07–02024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament2930 November 2023Arena Corinthians, São Paulo, Brazil3–33–4 Friendly303 December 2023Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil2–02–0319 April 2024Lower.com Field, Columbus, United States1–01–1 (0–3 p)2024 SheBelieves Cup3231 May 2024Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain1–02–0 Friendly3313 July 2024Kanazawa Go Go Curry Stadium, Kanazawa, Japan1–04–03431 July 2024Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France2–03–12024 Summer Olympics3526 October 2024Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan3–04–0Friendly36 20 February 2025 Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States 1–04–0 2025 SheBelieves Cup372–038 23 February 2025 State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States 2–04–1394–14027 June 2025Butarque, Leganés, Spain1–01–3Friendly4129 November 2025Peace Stadium, Nagasaki, Japan 2–03–0422 December 2025Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki, Isahaya, Japan1–01–04315 March 2026Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia1–07–02026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Honours Nippon TV Beleza Nadeshiko League: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Empress's Cup: 2014, 2017, 2018 Nadeshiko League Cup: 2012, 2016, 2018 AFC Women's Club Championship: 2019
INAC Kobe Leonessa WE League: 2021-22 Empress's Cup: 2023
Japan SheBelieves Cup: 2025
Individual Nadeshiko League Top Scorer: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nadeshiko League Best XI: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nadeshiko League Best Player Award (MVP): 2018, 2019
References
External links
Mina Tanaka at Japan Football Association Mina Tanaka at NTV Beleza