Overview

• The deal aligns with Kawasaki’s Kyoto contract expiry in January and lets Mainz secure him ahead of a potential free transfer next winter.
• Kawasaki issued a public apology in Japan after postponing his senior national-team debut, calling the move to the Bundesliga a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
• Sporting director Niko Bungert praised Kawasaki’s versatility, technical two-footed play and high-intensity pressing as a perfect match for Mainz’s system.
• He becomes the fourth Japanese player at Mainz, extending a successful lineage that includes Shinji Okazaki and Yoshinori Muto.
• The signing completes a busy summer in which Mainz generated €23 million from the sales of Jonathan Burkardt and Ludovic Ajorque and added Hollerbach, Schopp and Bos to reinforce the squad.