Yuya Osako was born on 18 May 1990 in Kaseda, Kagoshima, and turned professional with Kashima Antlers in 2009. He won the J1 League in 2009, two J.League Cups (2011, 2012) and the EAFF E-1 Football Championship with Japan in 2012–13. In January 2014 he moved to Germany on loan to TSV 1860 München, then permanently to 1. FC Köln in summer 2014 for €1.6 million.
Osako spent four years at Köln before moving to Werder Bremen in 2018 for €4.5 million. After three Bundesliga seasons he returned home with Vissel Kobe in summer 2021 — a homecoming that reinvigorated his career. With Vissel he has been the J1 League's standout centre-forward of recent years: 22 league goals and 8 assists in 2023 as Vissel won the title, then 11 league goals in 2024 as Vissel won back-to-back J1 titles and the Emperor's Cup. The 2025 season has been productive too — 31 J1 appearances with 8 goals and 3 assists, plus 3 goals in 8 AFC Champions League Elite matches.
For Japan, Osako has been a senior centre-forward across two FIFA World Cups (2018, 2022), where he produced one of the most-discussed individual performances in the 2018 group stage. He scored an outstanding 10 goals in 11 World Cup 2022 qualifying matches, briefly leading him to be regarded as Asia's most prolific senior No. 9.
A complete centre-forward — strong in the air, calm in the box, and intelligent at linking play — Osako remains a senior Japanese football icon and a continued option for Hajime Moriyasu's setup.