When Mina Tanaka arrived in Utah for the first time in the summer of 2024, Connor Oniki, then-Utah Royals FC’s assistant sporting director, took Tanaka to what she remembers as a “nice restaurant,” where she ate her first American steak.
Tanaka was joining a team that sat at the bottom of the NWSL’s standings in its first season back, having only won two of its 15 matches and scoring just eight goals.
Now two years later, the Royals are in third place in the NWSL. Tanaka leads her team in goals this season (and all time) and has her eyes set on winning the NWSL championship.
“I was confident that this team could do that, and I think it could do better. So this season I want to try to win (the championship),” Tanaka told the Deseret News in her native Japanese with the help of a translation device.
On Wednesday, Tanaka sat in the team’s film room at their Herriman, Utah, facility and reflected on Utah Royals FC’s rise to the top of the NWSL this season and her journey from Japan to the Beehive State.
From Japan to Utah
Tanaka was born in Thailand but raised in Japan, the country she has represented on the international stage since March 2013 — a month before turning 19.
“I started playing soccer because of my older brother’s influence,” she said. “At that time, I was happy that the ball I happened to kick went into the goal, and being praised led me to start playing soccer. Although I used to say I wanted to become a professional or join the national team, I believe I am where I am today precisely because I enjoyed it, loved it and kept going.”
Tanaka is “pretty famous” in Japan, her Royals and Japan teammate Narumi told reporters at Media Day in February.
Her career has taken her to two Olympic Games and a FIFA World Cup — she already has her sights set on next year’s World Cup in Brazil after cheering on the Japanese men in person this summer.
Prior to Utah, Tanaka spent almost the entirety of her career playing in Japan. In junior high, she joined Tokyo Verdy Menina, the affiliated academy of Tokyo Verdy Beleza, according to The Japan Times.
At 17, she debuted for Beleza’s senior team. She spent nine seasons with the club before joining INAC Kobe Leonessa, where she played until joining the Royals in 2024. She also played 10 games in Germany while on loan with Bayer Leverkusen.
Tanaka said that “everything is different” in Japan as a female professional soccer player compared to the U.S.
“The environment is different, the salary is different, and the number of fans watching is different,” she said. “In Japan, I focus on how to increase the number of fans, and there are many things I have to do more than being a soccer player. Because I’m a soccer player in America, I think we have an environment where we can really focus on achieving results.”
Bringing a little bit of Japan to Utah
Now in her third season with the Royals, Utah feels like home for Tanaka.
“Utah’s so comfortable for me, so because good, beautiful mountains and then people (are) kind, no traffic, chill,” she said in English. “I don’t like traffic, so I don’t want to live in L.A.”
Tanaka’s understanding of English is better than she lets on. She corrects the device when it says she has enjoyed Utah’s “ponds” this summer. She knows it should have said “lakes.”
She’s also able to understand and answer some questions in English without the device’s assistance, like how helpful it is to have fellow Japanese stars Miyabi and Narumi, who grew up in the same city as Tanaka, on the Royals this season.
Japanese American Aria Nagai was also on the team before being loaned to USL Super League’s Dallas Trinity FC in July.
“They are so helpful for me and the team, so it’s easier for me,” Tanaka said.
Together, they taught their Royals teammates how to make onigiri, or rice balls, and gyoza, Japanese dumplings. Tanaka enjoys cooking she said, but she’s “no good.”
“My Royals teammates were all kind and asked me about Japan when I came in my first year and tried to understand the language even a little,” she said. “Even now, they are interested in listening to and talking to Japanese like this, and they are interested in Japanese culture and rice ball culture. So I really love my teammates, and I think I’m playing in a really good environment.”
On Aug. 14, Tanaka, Miyabi and Narumi made history when they each scored against Bay FC, marking the most goals scored by Japanese players on one team in a single NWSL match.
‘A fantastic player’
Tanaka signed an extension with Utah Royals FC last year, which will keep her in Utah through the 2028 season. Even then, a season where Utah was headed to a 12th-place finish, Tanaka believed the Royals could be a championship contender.
“Right now we don’t have the results. I can really feel that as we continue to play matches we’re climbing our way up and in the next three years of my contract I feel very strongly that we can get to the top with this team.” Tanaka said at the time. “That’s because I love this club and I really love the teammates who are fighting alongside me. And the thought — ‘I want to be champions with this team, with these teammates’ is really powerful to me.”
In April, she was recognized at the Governor’s State of Sport Awards as Utah’s Professional Female Athlete of the Year after leading the Royals in scoring in 2025.
Tanaka’s 15 goals make her Utah’s all-time leading scorer, and she plans on adding a lot more to that total. Her 24 shots on goal this season are currently fifth most in the league.
“This season I’ve had a lot of PKs, so I want to improve my record so that I can score goals in play,” she said.
Not only can Tanaka score goals, but she can assist on them, too. She has four this season.
In May, Utah beat the Houston Dash 2-0 at home with goals from Cloé Lacasse and Utahn Courtney Brown. Both were assisted by Tanaka.
“She is a fantastic player,” Lacasse said after the match. “We just want her to keep doing what she’s doing, and she’s thriving right now. So we’re just gonna keep supporting her.”
After that same match, head coach Jimmy Coenraets said Tanaka was still just scratching the surface.
“I think we’re still only seeing 80, 70% at the minute, I think,” he said. “There’s still margins, and I think today you’re seeing some glimpses of greatness. And I think if she can keep her level up and she can just remain healthy and fit, I think she might be, or she should at least be already in the team of the season.”
Since that victory, Tanaka has added another assist and six goals, including a brace against San Diego Wave, to her season total.
Up next, Tanaka and Utah Royals FC host Boston Legacy FC at home Friday at 7:30 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on NWSL+.