Yoshida, a former captain of the Japanese national team with 127 appearances for Japan, is now embarking on a new stage of his professional career in the United States.

The 37-year-old defender has played in the Netherlands, England, Italy, Germany, and the United States. During the 2026 World Cup, Yoshida joined the Japanese team as a support member. He recently obtained permanent residency in the United States, commonly known as a "Green Card," while playing for the LA Galaxy.

In his program "Yoshida Treasure in Talk," Yoshida spoke about his feelings after receiving the Green Card. He stated that there have been some misunderstandings about it.

"A Green Card is U.S. permanent residency. I don't know why this became news, and many people asked me, 'Are you not going back to Japan anymore?' But wait, it's not like that (laughs)."

"I actually also have permanent residency in the UK, but I still go back to Japan many times. So this doesn't mean I won't go back."

Regarding the biggest benefit of obtaining a Green Card, Yoshida said: "The biggest advantage is that I can live in the United States whenever I want, for as long as I want."

Previously, Yoshida held a P-1 visa, which is primarily for individuals with extraordinary abilities, but if he were no longer playing for the LA Galaxy, visa extensions would be restricted.

"With a Green Card, to be extreme, even if I suddenly decide tomorrow that I don't want to play football anymore, I can still live in Los Angeles (laughs)."

"Of course, I'm not saying I'm retiring tomorrow, just that I've acquired the right to reside. And not just me, my family also obtained Green Cards together. In that sense, it can be said that this is to expand the options for our family."

However, Yoshida also pointed out that the biggest concern after obtaining a Green Card is tax issues.

"The biggest complexity in the United States is the need to pay taxes based on global income. For example, money I earned in the UK this year, or in Japan, although it won't be double-taxed, I must prove that I actually received the income and completed the tax payments."

"For example, if a certain income has a tax rate of 30% in another country, but the US stipulates a tax rate of 35%, then according to the regulations, I need to pay the remaining 5% to the United States."

"So these things are very complicated. I now have tax advisors in Japan, the UK, and the US, and tax processing is very cumbersome, which also significantly increases costs (laughs)."

Yoshida also revealed that during the Trump administration, the difficulty of applying for a U.S. Green Card seemed to have increased, and the review time also became longer.

"I heard that applying now has become very difficult and takes more time. I also hesitated at the time whether or not to apply."

"But since not many people have done something like this, I also had a bit of simple curiosity and wanted to try it. Ultimately, it took about over a year from submitting the application to receiving the Green Card."

Due to his career spanning multiple countries, Yoshida also needed to submit criminal record certificates from several countries during the application process.

"I have lived in Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, and Germany, so I had to get police certificates from these countries, which are criminal record certificates in English, to prove that I have no criminal history."

"These procedures took quite some time."

Yoshida revealed that after the Japanese team's match against Brazil, he immediately returned to Japan to handle the relevant procedures, then successfully retrieved his passport and returned to Los Angeles.

Regarding his future life arrangements, Yoshida said with a laugh: "In the future, I can stay in the U.S., or in the UK, or go back to Japan... I feel invincible (laughs)."

"However, compared to myself, I think this is more helpful for my children, giving them more options."

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