Former Japan National Soccer Team Player Sato Hisato Makes Sudden Comeback at Social Contribution Event but His Atonement Is Not Over

It has been revealed that former Japan national soccer team player Hisato Sato (42), whose “extramarital affair” was exposed in this magazine’s scoop on April 25th, will participate in the representative OB match to be held at Hanazono Rugby Stadium (Higashiosaka City) on the 21st of this month. This will be his first public appearance since the extramarital affair scandal. A soccer reporter reveals this.

“The Japan Representative OB Match is a public event organized by the General Foundation for Autonomy Comprehensive Center, which handles social contribution projects of the lottery. This event invites recognizable representative OBs who have participated in the World Cup and international tournaments to various municipalities, where they hold soccer classes and play matches with local teams. Admission is free, and in some cases, participants get the chance to play against actual representative OBs, making it a highly popular event in every town. Hisato Sato is also featured on the promotional flyers.”

The event is hosted by the Osaka Football Association. Akihiro Nagashima, a former Japan national team forward and the father of Fuji TV announcer Yumi Nagashima, became the president of the Osaka Football Association this June. This will be the first official event under the Nagashima administration. Shinji Ono, who retired just last season, will participate for the first time, along with illustrious members such as Masayuki Okano, who contributed to Japan’s first World Cup appearance and is now the general manager of J3 Tottori. The aforementioned soccer reporter reveals this.

“Most of the members gathered this time are former Japan national team players selected after the 1998 World Cup, and almost all of them have played together with Hisato (Sato). Since the report of his extramarital affair, Hisato has been repenting, such as by making apology calls to those who covered his commentary work as his replacement. With the support and cooperation of his colleagues who wanted to help his comeback, he was able to participate in this match.”

During his active career, he was nicknamed ‘Mr. Fair Play’ for receiving a few yellow cards. With 161 goals in the J1 League, he ranks third in history, and he was also selected for the Japan national team. Sato has always publicly stated that the people he respects most are his parents and the woman he loves is his wife, and he has been supported by his family love. After retiring, he served as the president of the J.League Players Association and was highly regarded by the Japan Football Association (JFA) as one of the candidates for executive positions.

However, after retiring, his work as a commentator was not as enviable as during his active career. A director from a commercial broadcaster reveals this.

“His career during his active years was impeccable, but Sato’s commentary content was not straightforward and was sometimes difficult for viewers to understand. As a soccer commentator on commercial broadcasting stations, his evaluation was not as high as that of other OBs such as Atsuto Uchida and Shinji Ono.”

When this evaluation spread, changes were seen in Sato.

“His home is in Hiroshima, but after retiring, he started living alone in Tokyo. It was good that he had more work in Tokyo, but he was often late. Former national team OBs who worked with him would sometimes tilt their heads and say, “Was Hisato Sato really like that?”‘ (The aforementioned reporter reveals)

His professional bad reputation began to spread about a year ago. Coincidentally, this was around the same time Sato started his relationship with the partner involved in the extramarital affair.

The extramarital affair discovered in the exemplary J.League player, completely unrelated to the flashy world, was met with surprise from the representative OBs. A former Japan national team OB reveals this.

“Seeing the Friday report, I was like, ‘What?’ I never imagined Sato would be involved in an extramarital affair. There were no rumors about night outings among the OBs, and his wife used to come to pick him up at local events.”

Sato married his wife, Nao, when he was 21. During his active career, he moved between Cerezo Osaka, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Nagoya, but Nao followed him everywhere. He is the father of three sons, with his eldest in university and his second son in high school, both of whom are in soccer clubs. To those around him, they appeared to be an ideal soccer family. A Japanese national team OB who knows the situation well reveals this.

“Even with this extramarital affair scandal, his wife is reportedly saying, ‘I will definitely not get a divorce.’ Hisato is also aiming to make a comeback in the soccer world and has been continuing his atonement efforts.”

Sato has continued his repentance tour with various television stations and many related parties, but the damage to his image due to the extramarital affair is immeasurable. A JFA official reveals this:

“It seems that Hisato (Sato) will be able to attend the event on the 21st thanks to the efforts of a certain company, but it is uncertain whether that company will continue to support him in the future. As of now, no new company has emerged to formally manage him.”

Even if Sato aims to return to work in the soccer world, it will be difficult to secure jobs without the support of a company playing an agent-like role. In 2012, while with J1 Hiroshima, Sato was selected as the J.League MVP under the guidance of Hajime Moriyasu, who now leads the Japan national team. The mentor is said to be very concerned about Sato’s situation, as ‘Moriyasu is also very worried about this extramarital affair scandal’ (an evening paper reporter).

Sato has lost his positions as the J.League OB Association president and the technical advisor for Hiroshima University’s soccer team, which he held before the extramarital affair scandal broke. Even if he makes a comeback on the public stage through the OB match, the path to regaining trust will remain challenging unless he has an extraordinary determination.