KASHIWA, Japan - Urawa Reds goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa tied the J.League first-division appearance record of 672 games Saturday in their 4-0 away loss to Kashiwa Reysol.
The 40-year-old former Japan international played the full 90 minutes at Sankyo Frontier Stadium, tying the mark held by former Japan midfielder Yasuhito Endo.
Describing the defeat as part of his growth, the veteran said, "Maybe God is telling me that I still have room to improve and need to keep growing."
With a chance to set the record outright in the Nov. 8 match against Vissel Kobe, Nishikawa said, "I will approach the game with a sense of purpose."
The Oita Prefecture native was promoted from Oita Trinita's youth team to the senior squad in 2005 and made his J.League debut that year.
He joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2010 before moving to Urawa in 2014. A member of Japan's squad at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, he earned 31 caps for the Samurai Blue.
Nishikawa retained his place as Urawa's first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Zion Suzuki, who has since become the first Japanese goalkeeper to play in the English Premier League with Aston Villa.
Saturday's win moved Kashiwa up to third on 28 points.
Meanwhile, FC Tokyo and Sanfrecce rose to first and second on 30 and 29, respectively, pushing Machida Zelvia, who did not play Saturday and will be in action the following day, down to fourth.
Teruhito Nakagawa and Dani Gomez each scored twice in Tokyo's 4-0 away win over Fagiano Okayama.
Hiroshima opened the scoring through Akito Suzuki's 30th-minute goal, before Shuto Nakano and Daiki Suga also found the net in the second half to complete a 3-0 away win over Mito HollyHock.
