Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, a former captain of the Japanese men's national soccer team, became the 15th president of the Japan Football Association on Saturday.
Miyamoto, 47, is the youngest JFA president since the end of World War II, and the first JFA head to have played in the World Cup.
He also has experience coaching Gamba Osaka in the top division of the J. League. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he worked as a member of FIFA, the sport's international governing body. Miyamoto previously served as JFA general secretary.
He spent most of his club career with Gamba and made 71 appearences with the national team, captaining the squad at the 2002 World Cup, which Japan co-hosted, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
"I want to make the soccer world better by involving many people, while being strongly committed to the soccer world," Miyamoto told a news conference in Tokyo.
Miyamoto was the only candidate in the JFA leadership election and was approved as the next head of the body in December.
His predecessor, Tashima Kozo, who served four terms for a total of eight years, will become honorary chairman of the association.