Portrait of Shinji Kagawa

Birthday profile

Shinji Kagawa

Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer

Born
March 17, 1989
Age in 2026
37
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1989

About Shinji Kagawa

Shinji Kagawa (Japanese: 香川 真司, Kagawa Shinji [kaꜜɡawa ɕiꜜndʑi]; born 17 March 1989) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cerezo Osaka. He is widely regarded as one of the best Japanese players of all time. Kagawa became the first midfielder in J.League history to claim the top scorer title, playing as a shadow striker. In the 2009 season, he formed a partnership with Takashi Inui, which played a role in his emergence as the J2 League's top scorer. He led the J2 League in both goals and assists that season. Kagawa began his professional career in Japan with Cerezo Osaka before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2010. After two years with Dortmund, Kagawa signed for Manchester United on a four-year contract. Two years later, he returned to Dortmund. Kagawa holds the record for most appearances and goals by a Japanese player in UEFA club competitions. He also later played for Beşiktaş in Turkey, Real Zaragoza in Spain, PAOK in Greece, and Sint-Truiden in Belgium before returning to Japan, rejoining Cerezo Osaka at the end of January 2023. Since making his senior international debut in May 2008, he has won over 90 caps and scored over 30 goals. On 29 November 2012, Kagawa was named the Asian Football Confederation's International Player of the Year. Kagawa holds the records for most appearances and goals by a Japanese player in UEFA club competitions.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Shinji Kagawa was born

Shinji Kagawa was born in 1989. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1989

  • #1 song"Look Away" – Chicago
  • Top movieDriving Miss Daisy
  • Top TV showRoseanne
  • Best-selling bookThe Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentSan Francisco earthquake interrupts the World Series
  • Top headlineFall of the Berlin Wall signals end of the Cold War
  • Technology milestoneWorld Wide Web invented by Tim Berners-Lee
  • Defining fadGame Boy
  • Notable inventionGame Boy
  • World population5.19 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderGeorge H.W. Bush
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonDetroit Pistons (NBA)
  • U.S. population246.8M

1989 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Shinji Kagawa's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19892026
Gas$1.02$3.45/gal
Average home$93,100$435,000
Average income$34,213$67,500
Minimum wage$3.35$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$3.97$11.95
Postage stamp$0.25$0.73
Population246.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Olympedia, UEFA. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.