LEXUS has signed athlete sponsorship agreements with Wataru Endo, a member of SAMURAI BLUE (the Japan National Football Team), and professional surfer Kanoa Igarashi. This partnership was inspired by the bold ambition and dreams of both athletes as they pursue excellence on the global stage. Looking ahead, LEXUS will continue to support them through a wide range of initiatives.
Wataru Endo has been playing for Liverpool FC in the English Premier League since 2023, and contributed to the team's league championship victory in the 2024-2025 season. He also serves as captain of SAMURAI BLUE, the Japan national football team. Kanoa Igarashi made history in 2016 as the youngest-ever competitor and the first Asian athlete to join the WSL Championship Tour, the pinnacle of professional surfing. As of 2025, he has competed on the tour for ten consecutive years. He also earned a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021.
Comment from Wataru Endo
The first car I drove as a professional football player was a LEXUS. I'm very grateful to receive support from a brand I've always loved. As a Japanese player, I take great pride in driving a LEXUS here in the UK, and I will continue striving to compete at the highest level with both my club and the national team. Thank you for your continued support.
Comment from Kanoa Igarashi
It brings me great joy and excitement to pursue new heights alongside LEXUS, one of the world's leading brands. For surfers in pursuit of the perfect wave, the car is an indispensable companion―virtually an extension of the body. With LEXUS, I believe I can reach waves no one has ever ridden before. And like LEXUS, I will keep pushing forward, aiming for the very top.
- Related link
- https://youtube.com/live/q5WTMtGKZRI?feature=share
- Name
- Wataru Endo
- Date of Birth
- February 9, 1993
- Height / Weight
- 178 cm / 77 kg
- Hometown
- Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Current Club
- Liverpool FC
- Previous Clubs
- Shonan Bellmare, Urawa Reds, Sint-Truidense VV, VfB Stuttgart
- Career Highlights
-
- 2015
- Selected for the Japan National Team (SAMURAI BLUE) for the first time
- 2016
- Competed in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
- 2017
- Won the AFC Champions League
- 2018
- Represented Japan at the FIFA World Cup in Russia
- 2021
- Competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games
- 2022
- Represented Japan at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- 2023
- Transferred to Liverpool FC in the English Premier League
- 2023
- Appointed captain of the Japan National Team (SAMURAI BLUE)
Toyota Motor Corporation is an official partner of the Japan National Football Team.
- Name
- Kanoa Igarashi
- Date of Birth
- October 1, 1997
- Height / Weight
- 180 cm / 78 kg
- Hometown
- California, United States
- Career Highlights
-
- 2012
- Became the youngest-ever winner of the USA Championship U-18 at age 14
- 2019
- Made history as the first Asian surfer to win an event on the WSL Championship Tour (Round 3)
- 2021
- Won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics Games, where surfing made its debut as an official Olympic sport
- 2022
- Won the ISA World Surfing Games and achieved his long-held dream of becoming world champion
Toyota Motor Corporation works to develop and manufacture innovative, safe and high-quality products and services that create happiness by providing mobility for all. We believe that true achievement comes from supporting our customers, partners, employees, and the communities in which we operate. Since our founding over 80 years ago in 1937, we have applied our Guiding Principles in pursuit of a safer, greener and more inclusive society. Today, as we transform into a mobility company developing connected, automated, shared and electrified technologies, we also remain true to our Guiding Principles and many of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to help realize an ever-better world, where everyone is free to move.
- SDGs Initiatives
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