Shimizu S-Pulse After graduating Takigawa Daini High School in 2004, Okazaki signed full professional terms with
Shimizu S-Pulse the following year. In December 2005, he made his first
J.League appearance as a substitute against
Sanfrecce Hiroshima. On 15 April 2007, he scored his first professional goal against
Kawasaki Frontale. Okazaki ended his
first season as a first team player with three goals from 13 matches. Okazaki scored ten times in 27 matches during the
2008 J. League season and also represented S-Pulse in the
J. League Cup Final, where the team lost 2–0 to
Oita Trinita. He continued his promising goalscoring in the
2009 and
2010 seasons and, in January 2011, was signed by German side
VfB Stuttgart of the
Bundesliga.
VfB Stuttgart in 2011 On 30 January 2011, Okazaki signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Stuttgart. On 17 February 2011, clearance to play for the club was granted for Okazaki by
FIFA. He made his competitive debut for VfB on the same night in a
Europa League match against
Benfica. On 20 February 2011, Okazaki made his
Bundesliga debut for VfB against
Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Okazaki scored his first goal against
Hannover 96, which he scored from outside the box. Okazaki came on as a second-half substitute for Stuttgart in their first game of the
2011–12 Bundesliga season against
Schalke 04. His side were up 2–0 and Okazaki added a goal scoring from long range in the 90th minute, sealing a 3–0 win. Okazaki's goal from a bicycle kick on 19 February 2012 in a Bundesliga match of VfB Stuttgart against Hannover 96 was selected
Goal of the Month. After
Yasuhiko Okudera in April 1978, Okazaki was the second player from Japan to win this award in Germany. Okazaki had a poor
2012–13 season, scoring only once in the
Bundesliga. However, he scored his first goals in European competition with two goals against
Steaua București in the
Europa League.
Mainz 05 On 1 July 2013, Okazaki moved to
Mainz 05. He scored his first goal for Mainz on his debut in a 3–2 win against his former club Stuttgart on the opening matchday of the
2013–14 Bundesliga season. At the end of the season he ended with 15 league goals. Okazaki became the most prolific Japanese player in Bundesliga history on 13 September 2014, scoring his 27th and 28th league goals in Mainz's 3–1 win over
Hertha Berlin.
Leicester City 2015–16 in 2016 On 26 June 2015, Okazaki moved to
Premier League side
Leicester City for a fee believed to be in the region of £7 million. He made his debut for the club on 8 August 2015 in Leicester City's 4–2 opening day win against
Sunderland, and scored his first goal for the club the following week in a 2–1 win against
West Ham United. On 19 December 2015, Okazaki scored the winner in a 3–2 win over
Everton at
Goodison Park, to ensure that Leicester City topped the table at Christmas. On 10 January 2016, Okazaki scored Leicester's second goal in the
FA Cup clash at
White Hart Lane with
Tottenham Hotspur despite drawing to a
Harry Kane penalty in the 90th minute. On 14 March 2016, Okazaki scored in a league fixture against
Newcastle United: a spectacular overhead strike that won Leicester City the game 1–0 and took them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Leicester City went on to win the league that year, making Okazaki the second Japanese player to win the Premier League after
Shinji Kagawa. His performances in the 2015–16 season earned him the
Asian International Player of the Year award in December 2016.
2016–17 Okazaki scored twice in a 2–4 defeat to Chelsea in the third round of the 2016–17
EFL Cup on 20 September 2016. He scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–1 win over
Crystal Palace on 22 October 2016, earning him
Man of the match and achieving an 84.8% pass success rate, more than any other Leicester player. On 22 November 2016, Okazaki scored in a 2–1 win over
Club Brugge in the
Champions League group stage, becoming the sixth Japanese player to score a
Champions League goal and the first since
Keisuke Honda in November 2013. He finished the season with only three league goals.
2017–2019 Okazaki was in goalscoring form at the start to the
2017–18 season, scoring four goals in six appearances for Leicester in all competitions. He was released by Leicester at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Málaga On 30 July 2019, Okazaki signed a one-year contract with
Málaga CF. However, Málaga canceled its contract with Okazaki after just 34 days, since his wage demands exceeded its maximum budget as permitted by the league.
Huesca On 4 September 2019, the
free agent Okazaki signed a one-year contract with
Segunda División side
Huesca. On 8 September 2019, he made his debut for Huesca as a substitute. On 25 July 2020, after scoring 12 times as his side
achieved promotion to
La Liga, Okazaki renewed his contract for a further year.
Cartagena On 31 August 2021, Okazaki moved to
FC Cartagena in the second division on a one-year contract.
Sint-Truiden On 19 August 2022, Okazaki signed with
Sint-Truiden in Belgium. On 26 February 2024, he announced he would retire from playing at the end of the 2023–24 season. ==International career==