Makoto Mitsuta was born on 20 July 1999 in Kumamoto, Japan. He came through Sanfrecce Hiroshima's youth setup and developed into one of the J1 League's most dynamic small attacking midfielders. With Sanfrecce he won the J.League Cup in 2022 and the Super Cup in 2025.
His Sanfrecce career produced consistent J1 output across multiple seasons: 23 J1 matches with 4 goals and 5 assists in 2023, 35 J1 matches with 3 goals and 4 assists in 2024, and 23 J1 matches with 4 goals and 5 assists across the first half of 2025. After joining Gamba Osaka mid-2025 he played 35 league matches with 2 goals and continued in AFC Champions League Two competition.
For Japan, Mitsuta was a member of the squad that won the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in 2022.
A 170cm two-footed attacking midfielder with elite acceleration, dribbling and the technical security to play between the lines, Mitsuta is one of Japan's most exciting small attacking midfielders. He is a candidate for the wider 2026 FIFA World Cup squad as a J-League-based attacking option.