Masaru Kato is a Japanese midfielder born in Fukuoka on 7 May 1991. After Mitsubishi Yowa's youth setup, he signed with Albirex Niigata and made his J.League debut in 2010. He later had loan spells with Ehime FC, Avispa Fukuoka and V-Varen Nagasaki before joining Nagasaki permanently. In 2026 he moved to Tochigi City. Kato has also represented Japan at youth level and has accumulated extensive J1 and J2 experience.