Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Yoshito Okubo are athletes expected to stand out at the FIFA World Cup. Makoto Hasebe, Homare Sawa, and Alberto Zaccheroni are seen as athletes with leadership ability.
– From the May 2014 Athlete Image Evaluation Survey –

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Inc. (Head office Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO Hisao Mori) in partnership with Hakuhodo DY Sports Marketing, Inc. (Head office Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO Masatsugu Toyoda) and Data Stadium, Inc. (Head office Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, President Yoshihiko Kato) conducted the May Athlete Image Evaluation Survey from May 14 to 21. The survey measures the overall image of athletes.

Summary of survey results

Athletes expected to stand out at the FIFA World Cup are Keisuke Honda (1^st), Shinji Kagawa (2^nd), Yuto Nagatomo (3^rd), Yoshito Okubo (4^th), and Shinji Okazaki (5^th). Expectations seem to be on the rise for Okubo, who was selected for the National Team for the first time in a while. Most people obtain their information about the FIFA World Cup from TV (86.4%). Moreover, most people watch matches live on television (74.3%). In response to where they expected Team Japan to finish in the FIFA World Cup, 64% said they expected Japan to advance to the final 16.

The ranking for athletes with leadership ability was Makoto Hasebe 1^st (soccer), Homare Sawa (soccer) 2^nd, Alberto Zaccheroni (soccer) 3^rd, Hiroki Kokubo (baseball) 4^th, and Motohiro Shima (baseball) 5^th. Athletes who can coordinate a team and take the responsibility to make it more competitive rose to the top of the ranking.

Japanese athletes expected to stand out at the FIFA World Cup

1st Keisuke Honda

2nd Shinji Kagawa

3rd Yuto Nagatomo

4th Yoshito Okubo

5th Shinji Okazaki

FIFA World Cup Information Source

1st TV

2nd Newspaper

3rd Internet

How respondent plans to watch FIFA World Cup

1st Live TV broadcast