Early career in Japan Kawashima started his professional career at
Omiya Ardija in
J2 League after graduating Urawa Higashi High School. He went on to make 41 appearances for the side during his three-year spell. During his time at Omiya Ardija, Kawashima went on trial at
Serie A side
Parma. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against
Gamba Osaka in the J. League Cup match on 27 March 2004. Kawashima helped Nagoya Grampus reach the knockout stage of the J. League Cup after the club won four out of the five matches in the group stage. On 12 June 2004, Kawashima finally made his league debut for Nagoya Grampus and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win against
Urawa Red Diamonds. However in the quarter–finals of the J. League Cup, Kawashima received a straight red card in the 88th minute, as the club won 2–1 against
Kashima Antlers. After serving a one match suspension, he returned as a starting keeper in the semi–finals of the J. League Cup against Urawa Red Diamonds, but Nagoya Grampus were out of the tournament following a 4–1 loss. At the end of the 2004 season, Kawashima made twelve appearances in all competitions. In the 2005 season, Kawashima stayed as a starter for Nagoya Grampus in the J. League Cup matches. However, he was unable to replicate the success of last season, as the club were eliminated in the J. League Cup group stage. Kawashima only appeared three times in the league. At the end of the 2005 season, he went on to make ten appearances in all competitions. Due to the absence of
Seigo Narazaki, Kawashima became Nagoya Grampus’ first choice goalkeeper at the start of the 2006 season. After the absence of Narazaki, he played two times between 18 July 2006 and 21 July 2006, losing both matches and went on a run of conceding a total of eight goals. However, Kawashima suffered a hand injury while training and was out for four weeks. At the end of the 2006 season, he went on to make fourteen appearances in all competitions. During his time at Nagoya Grampus, Kawashima competed with veteran goalkeeper Narazaki and served as the club's second choice goalkeeper.
Kawasaki Frontale It was announced on 28 December 2006 that
Kawasaki Frontale had signed Kawashima for a
transfer fee of 150 million yen. The move was, at the time, the largest transfer fee for a player in the J.League. He made his Kawasaki Frontale’s debut as a starter and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win over Kashima Antlers in the opening game of the season. Five days later on 7 March 2007, Kawashima made AFC Champions League debut, in a 3–1 win over
Arema. After establishing himself as the club’s first choice goalkeeper, he soon received praises for his performances. Later in the 2007 season, Kawasaki Frontale became the first Japanese club to qualify for the
2007 AFC Champions League, where they finished first in
their group. In the knockout rounds, Kawashima allowed no regulation goals in the quarter finals against Iran's
Sepahan club, but Kawasaki Frontale ended up losing 5–4 in the
penalty shoot-out. He also helped the club reach the final of
J.League Cup against Gamba Osaka but they loss 1–0. At the end of the 2007 season, Kawashima had made 48 appearances (34 in the league) in all competitions. Ahead of the 2008 season, it was announced that Kawashima would be appointed as Kawasaki Frontale’s vice–captain and stayed to remain as the club’s first choice goalkeeper. He then kept two clean sheets against
JEF United Chiba and
Consadole Sapporo on 30 March 2008 and 2 April 2008 respectively. Between 26 April 2008 and 6 May 2008, Kawashima helped Kawasaki Frontale win four league matches in a row. He kept a clean sheets against Gamba Osaka,
Vissel Kobe and
[Tokyo Verdy on 23 November 2008, 29 November 2008 and 6 December 2008 respectively. However, the club failed to win the
league, finishing as runners-up behind winners Kashima Antlers. Kawashima then helped Kawasaki Frontale win six league matches in a row between 10 May 2009 and 1 July 2009. Along the way, he kept three consecutive league clean sheets against
Oita Trinita,
Montedio Yamagata and Gamba Osaka on 20 June 2009, 28 June 2009 and 1 July 2009 respectively. Following this, Kawashima said that he was determined to help the club win the league. At the start of October, Kawashima helped Kawasaki Frontale go on a winning streak against
Yokohama F. Marinos, Kashima Antlers,
Omiya Ardija,
Sanfrecce Hiroshima and
JEF United Chiba in the league to keep their fight for the title alive. However, he conceded a goal from
Fernandinho that saw the club lose 1–0 against Oita Trinita on 22 November 2009, putting their title run at risk. The loss eventually saw Kawasaki Frontale failed to win the
league and finished the season as runners-up despite the club winning the remaining two matches. He was starter in the
J.League Cup Final, as Kawasaki Frontale lost 2–0 to
FC Tokyo. Despite this, Kawashima was named in the J. League Best Eleven and also won the
Individual Fair-Play award for the first time in his career. At the end of the 2009 season, he made a total of 47 appearances (34 in the league) in all competitions. Ahead of the 2010 season, Kawashima was linked with a move away from Kawasaki Frontale, but he ultimately stayed at the club. Kawashima remained as Kawasaki Frontale’s vice–captain and stayed on as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the fourth time in a row. Prior to an
AFC Champions League match against
Melbourne Victory on 31 March 2010, he suffered a hand injury in training, but made his recovery and started the whole game, as Kawasaki Frontale lost 1–0. Kawashima made his last appearance for the club, losing 3–1 against
Júbilo Iwata on 16 May 2010. By the time he left Kawasaki Frontale, Kawashima went on to make 17 appearances for the side in all competitions.
Lierse After participating in the
2010 World Cup, Kawashima completed a move to Europe by joining
Lierse S.K. in the
Belgian Pro League. Upon joining the club, he signed a two–year contract with an option to extend. Explaining his reason on moving to Europe, Kawashima said, "After I experienced the World Cup, I thought that putting myself in a more competitive environment is the only way I can get better." After making his debut for the club, Kawashima quickly became the Lierse’s first choice goalkeeper. However, the club struggled at the start of the season and suffered five defeats in the first five matches, but he impressed the club with saves. On 25 September 2010, Kawashima kept his first clean sheet in a 1–0 win over
Charleroi, Lierse’s first league win of the season. In mid–October, Kawashima suffered a groin injury that kept him out throughout the month. He then returned to the starting line-up on 10 November 2010, helping the club beat
RFC Tournai 4–1 in the
round of 16 of the Belgian Cup. Next, Kawashima went on a run of conceding a total of 24 goals in the league for the rest of 2010, as Lierse suffered heavy defeats, including a 7–0 loss against Standard Liège on 27 November 2010, a 3–1 loss against
K.V. Kortrijk on 12 December 2010 and a 6–0 loss against
Anderlecht on 26 December 2010. After helping Japan win the Asian Cup, he did not return as a starting goalkeeper until on 12 February 2011 against
Germinal Beerschot and helped the club drew 2–2. Following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Kawashima made an impressed display for the next two matches against
Lokeren and
Club Brugge, which saw Lierse secure its status in the league for the next season. In the
league's Europa League Playoff’s, he kept another clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw against
Cercle Brugge on 2 April 2011. The club finished second place behind Cercle Brugge in the league's Europa League playoffs. At the end of the 2010–11 season, having made 30 appearances in all competitions, Kawashima won the Lierse’s player of the season award. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima was linked a move away from Lierse, with clubs like
Fulham,
West Bromwich Albion and
VVV-Venlo keen on signing him. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima remained the club’s first choice goalkeeper and then kept his first clean sheet of the season, in a 0–0 draw against
Genk on 6 August 2011. He then managed to keep two clean sheets against Cercle Brugge and
Westerlo on 17 September 2011 and 24 September 2011 respectively. After the match, manager
Chris Janssens praised his performance and contributing to Lierse’s defence, conceding six goals by the end of September. Kawashima was handed the captaincy taking over from
Wesley Sonck and captained Lierse for the first time, in a 2–1 win against
Zulte Waregem on 15 October 2011. From that moment on, he remained as the club’s captain for the rest of the 2011–12 season. Kawashima, once again, kept two clean sheets against Anderlecht and
OH Leuven on 26 February 2012 and 3 March 2012 respectively. His performance at Lierse led the club begin negotiations over a new contract. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he had played all 30 regular league games and six
Europa League Playoff games. For his performance, Kawashima won Lierse’s player of the season award. For his performances, he was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year but lost out to
Silvio Proto.
2011 fan incident On 19 August 2011, during a
league match between
Lierse and
Germinal Beerschot, which Lierse were leading 1–0, Kawashima was subjected to taunts and insults by Beerschot supporters, who chanted "Kawashima, Fukushima!" in reference to the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. After being confronted by Kawashima, the referee halted the match for several minutes until order was restored. After the match had ended in a 1–1 draw, Kawashima left in tears, visibly upset at the insults. Kawashima said, "I can pass on many things, but not that. This is not funny. Using the drama of Fukushima in this manner is not at all funny." After the match, Beerschot released a statement on the incident: "Our fans have crossed a thin line where a bit of fun turns into something serious. The chants aimed at Lierse goalkeeper Kawashima were offensive and completely out of order". However, Beerschot said that Kawashima was partly to blame: "The Lierse shot-stopper also took part in this as he provoked the Beerschot fans with offensive gestures and facial expressions. Our own goalkeeper
Stijn Stijnen on the other hand never reacted to abusive chants and insults from the Lierse faithful." Beerschot further emphasized that it was completely unacceptable to assert insults of this nature. The club's statement enraged Lierse, who took the matter to the
Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) and soon after, Beerschot posted an apology to the Japanese on their website. The RBFA fined Beerschot 30,000
Swiss francs ( and ) and RBFA officials apologized not only to Kawashima, but also to Jun Yokota, the Japanese ambassador to Belgium, over the incident. However, Beerschot announced their intention to appeal against their decision, based on the amount of fine they received as well as their financial problems. In the end, the Appeals Committee of the KBVB reduced the fines to €16,400 instead. However, the club were still unsatisfied with the fines and in February 2012, the Appeals Committee of the KBVB reduced the fines to €2,480 plus the legal costs. On 22 September 2011, Beerschot formally apologized to Kawashima. Responding to Beerschot's apology, he said: "I myself have no family in the region, but I have been there visiting. People still suffer from the situation. For me, these excuses are sufficient. I also do not think supporters should be allowed to call anything anymore. They must be able to create atmosphere, but there are limits." A year later in October 2012, French television host
Laurent Ruquier made a joke about the 'Fukushima effect' and Kawashima after he showed a picture in live audience of composite picture about Kawashima with four arms. This caused outrage from Japan, who criticised Ruquier for "lacking consideration." The next day, Ruquier apologised for the joke. When Beerschot and Lierse met again on 26 December 2011, Kawashima started the whole game, as they drew 0–0. During the match, Beerschot's supporters asked him for forgiveness.
Standard Liège On 18 July 2012, Kawashima left Lierse to join
Standard Liège on a three-year deal. The move reportedly cost the club €600,000. In the opening game of the season, he made his debut for Standard Liège, losing 1–0 against Zulte Waregem. In a follow–up match against his former club Lierse, Kawashima kept a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw and throughout the match, he received standing ovations from Lierse supporters. Since joining the club, Kawashima quickly established himself in the first team as Standard Liège’s first choice goalkeeper. He then kept two clean sheets against Genk and OH Leuven, in two 2–0 victories on 31 October 2012 and 4 November 2012 respectively. Kawashima, once again, kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league against Zulte Waregem, Lierse and
Waasland-Beveren on 18 November 2012, 23 November 2012 and 2 December 2012 respectively. For the second time in the 2012–13 season, he kept another three consecutive clean sheets in the league against Cercle Brugge, Genk and OH Leuven on 16 February 2013, 24 February 2013 and 9 March 2013 respectively. As the 2012–13 season progressed, the club became a serious contender for the title in the
Championship Playoff. However, Standard Liege's two losses between 5 May 2013 and 12 May 2013 against Anderlecht and Club Brugge cost the club as title contender. Kawashima started in every match throughout the 2012–13 season until he was dropped from the squad for the next two matches following his poor performance against Club Brugge. Kawashima played in both legs, in a 7–1 win against Gent to earn Standard Liege
the Europa League spot. In his first season at the club, he made 40 appearances in all competitions. For his performances, Kawashima was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year but lost out to
Silvio Proto for the second time. Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Kawashima was linked with a move away from Standard Liege, but no bid was made. Instead, he remained as the club’s first choice goalkeeper at the start of the season. Throughout the UEFA Europa League qualifications playoffs campaign, Kawashima helped Standard Liege reach the group stage after beating
KR,
Xanthi and
FC Minsk. He started the league season well by keeping six clean sheets in the first six league matches. Kawashima later credited the arrival of goalkeeper coach Jos Beckx for his performances. However, in late–October, he suffered a hip injury which made him miss three matches. Two weeks later on 10 November 2013, Kawashima returned from injury against Club Brugge and kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw, This was followed up three more clean sheets in the next three league matches. He then kept five more clean sheets between 18 January 2014 and 15 February 2014. As the 2013–14 season progressed, the club became a title contender again, but three draws and losses saw Standard Liege cost their chance as title contender once again. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Kawashima had made 47 appearances in all competitions. For his performances, he was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year for the third time, but lost out to
Mathew Ryan. In the 2014–15 season, Kawashima helped Standard Liege beat
Panathinaikos 2–1 on aggregate in the second qualification round for the UEFA Champions League. The club were eventually eliminated in the playoff rounds after losing 4–0 on aggragate against
Zenit Saint Petersburg. In the opening game of the 2014–15 season, he made a perfect start by keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over
Charleroi. In a follow–up match against K.V. Kortrijk, Kawashima produced an impressive saves, described as "world class" by
Het Nieuwsblad, as Standard Liege won 3–2. However, he was subject of criticism over his performances after mistakes against
Feyenoord, Club Brugge and Zulte Waregem. As a result of his poor performances, Kawashima lost his first choice goalkeeper role to
Yohann Thuram-Ulien and was demoted to the substitute bench. Despite this, he appeared two matches in cup competitions in December against Lokeren and Feyenoord, losing both matches. Despite losing his first choice goalkeeper role for the rest of the season, Kawashima finished with 19 appearances in all competitions. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he subsequently left the club when his contract expired to pursue more first team football after losing his place to Thuram-Ulien.
Dundee United Scottish Premiership club
Dundee United applied for a UK work permit to sign Kawashima in November 2015. The signing was confirmed on 29 December, after the work permit had been approved. Upon joining the club, he was described as a "fantastic coup" by Manager
Mixu Paatelainen. However, his performance received criticism when he was at fault for conceding soft goals. Nevertheless, Kawashima managed to keep three clean sheets against
Hamilton Academical,
Ross County and
St. Johnstone. However, Dundee United were relegated after again losing 2–1 to Dundee on 2 May 2016. At the end of the 2015–16 season, following the club's relegation, he was released having made 16 appearances in all competitions.
Metz On 2 August 2016, Kawashima signed for
Ligue 1 side
Metz. Kawashima started the season outside the starting lineup for the first two months, appearing on the substitute bench and serving as backup to
Thomas Didillon for most of the season. On 8 January 2017 when he played the full 90 minutes against
RC Lens in the
first round of the Coupe de France, as the club exited the competition. Kawashima made his league debut for FC Metz in a 3–2 loss against
Paris Saint-Germain on 18 April 2017. His fourth appearance for the club against
Toulouse on 15 May 2017 saw him play a vital role with his impressive saves, including saving a penalty, in a 1–1 draw. At the end of the 2016–17 season, he had played five league games during his maiden season in France. Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Kawashima announced his intention to stay at FC Metz for another season. He started the
2017–18 season on the bench, with Didillon preferred as the club’s first choice goalkeeper. However, following FC Metz’s first three defeats, Kawashima played his first match of the season against
SM Caen on 26 August 2017 and despite some impressive saves, the club eventually loss 1–0. He was then sent off in the 50th minute for a professional foul on
Adama Diakhaby in a 3–1 loss against
AS Monaco on 21 January 2018. After serving a one match suspension, Kawashima returned to the starting lineup in a 2–1 win over
OGC Nice on 27 January 2018. Over the next two months, his performance earned him the FC Metz’s Player of the Month award for February and March. Kawashima reassured his team with a series of excellent displays and as a result, he cemented himself as the club's number one as they fought relegation. His form for Metz earned him a recall to the
Japan national team, where he went on to reclaim the number one jersey. Despite missing out due to injury and appearing as an unused substitute in a number of matches during the 2017–18 season, Kawashima made a total of 31 appearances in all competitions. At the end of the 2017–18 season, upon expiry of his contract, he was released by the club.
Strasbourg On 29 August 2018,
free agent Kawashima joined
Ligue 1 side
RC Strasbourg on a season-long contract. However, he found himself as the club’s third choice goalkeeper behind
Bingourou Kamara and
Matz Sels. Because of this, Kawashima began playing for RC Strasbourg’s reserve team throughout the 2018–19 season. Following the club winning the
Coupe de la Ligue final, he expressed mixed opinion of the achievement, due to not playing in the match. On the last game of the season, Kawashima made his only appearance of the 2018–19 season against
FC Nantes and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Kawashima was linked a move away from RC Strasbourg, as he was linked a move back to Japan, with Vissel Kobe interested in signing him. But Kawashima opted to stay at the club by signing a two–year contract extension. Throughout the 2019–20 season, he remained RC Strasbourg’s third choice goalkeeper behind Kamara and Sels and continued to play for the club’s reserve. Kawashima made no appearance for RC Strasbourg throughout the 2019–20 season, as the season was suspended indefinitely on 12 March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Kawashima became RC Strasbourg’s first choice goalkeeper in the first two matches of the 2020–21 season following the injury of Sels and competed with Kamara over the role. After losing both matches, he was demoted to the substitution bench and was replaced by Kamara, but regained his first choice goalkeeper role for the club by late–November. Kawashima helped RC Strasbourg three consecutive clean sheets between 6 January 2021 and 17 January 2021. During his run as the club’s first choice goalkeeper role, he was named RC Strasbourg’s Man of the Match three times. By April, Kawashima returned to the substitute bench following the return of Sels. But he regained his first choice goalkeeper role for the club in the last two matches of the 2020–21 season and helped RC Strasbourg finish fifteenth place. At the end of the 2020–21 season, Kawashima made twenty–four appearances in all competitions. On 12 June 2021, he signed a contract extension with RC Strasbourg, keeping him until 2023. Kawashima spent the next two seasons at RC Strasbourg as the club’s second choice goalkeeper behind the returning Sels and was featured on the substitute bench. He appeared twice for RC Strasbourg during the 2021–22 season. However, Kawashima then faced his own injury concerns after injuring his shoulder throughout the 2022–23 season. At the end of the 2022–23 season, he was released by the club upon expiry of his contract. Even after leaving the club, Kawashima trained with RC Strasbourg and FC Hipsheim for the rest of the year to maintain his fitness in hopes of finding a new club.
Júbilo Iwata After a decade playing in Europe, Kawashima returned to Japan for the first time in 13 years, where he signed for newly promoted J1 League side
Júbilo Iwata on 12 January 2024. Upon joining the club, Kawashima was given a number one shirt. He made his Júbilo Iwata debut as the fifth oldest player to play in a J1 League at 40 years, 11 months and 4 days and the oldest goalkeeper to do so, breaking the record of
Dido Havenaar, as the club loss 2–0 against Vissel Kobe in the opening game of the season. Kawashima played against his former club Kawasaki Frontale and performed in a 5–4 thriller win for Júbilo Iwata in a follow–up match. Since joining the club, he became a first choice goalkeeper for Júbilo Iwata. However, Kawashima came under criticism when he conceded ten goals in the first five league matches of the season. This led to him improving his performance when Kawashima kept two consecutive clean sheets between 3 April 2024 and 7 April 2024 against
Albirex Niigata and
Kyoto Sanga. In a match against
Machida Zelvia on 27 April 2024, he was named a man of the match and kept a clean sheet, including saving a late minute shot from
Mitch Duke, as the club won 2–0. However, Kawashima was dropped for three matches between 11 May 2024 and 15 May 2024. But he made his return to the starting line–up against Urawa Red Diamonds on 19 May 2024. However during a 2–2 draw against Kawasaki Frontale on 6 July 2024, Kawashima suffered a foot injury and was substituted in the 54th minute. After missing five matches, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 4–0 loss against
Machida Zelvia on 17 August 2024. Following this, Kawashima regained his place as Júbilo Iwata’s first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2024 season. Despite his return, the club was relegated to
J2 League after losing 3–0 against
Sagan Tosu on the last game of the season. At the end of the 2024 season, he made thirty–two appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2025 season, Júbilo Iwata announced that Kawashima signed a one–year contract extension with the club. He was appointed as the new captain by Júbilo Iwata. Kawashima started in the first four league matches of the season. However, he made errors in the next two matches against
V-Varen Nagasaki and
Kataller Toyama that saw the club lose both matches. This caused Kawashima to lose his first choice goalkeeper status and was demoted to the substitute bench, as he began to compete with
Ryuki Miura and
Koto Abe over the starting position. In a match against
Iwaki FC on 17 May 2025, Kawashima came on as a 25th-minute substitute after Ryuki Miura came off with an injury and played the rest of the match, as Júbilo Iwata won 2–0. Following this, he became the club’s first choice goalkeeper for three months. However, Kawashima made errors in the next two matches against
Blaublitz Akita and Iwaki FC that saw Júbilo Iwata lose both matches. This caused Kawashima to lose his first choice goalkeeper status and did not play for six matches. On 4 October 2025, he returned to the starting line–up and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against
Ventforet Kofu. Kawashima regained his first choice goalkeeper status for the rest of the season, as the club failed to return to J1 League. At the end of the 2025 season, he went on to make twenty–four appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2026 season, Júbilo Iwata announced that Kawashima signed a one–year contract extension with the club. ==International career==