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Watatu Endo has reacted to Liverpool’s plan to visit Japan during the summer pre-season tour.

The club confirmed on Monday that they will return to Asia in July as part of their build-up to the 2025-26 campaign.

The Reds will face Italian giants AC Milan on Saturday, July 26, at the newly opened Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, with both teams competing for the Standard Chartered Trophy.

This fixture will mark the first major football match at the impressive 50,000-seat venue, which officially opened on March 1, 2025, as part of the larger Kai Tak Sports Park complex.

The game will be played at the state-of-the-art facility in Kowloon, built on the site of the former Kai Tak Airport at a reported cost of HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion).

The game against Milan will be followed by a visit to Endo’s own nation, Japan, with further details set to be announced in due course.

This will mark Liverpool’s first summer visit to the country.

The club previously visited Japan in 2005 for the World Club Championship, where Rafael Benitez’s side lost 1-0 to São Paulo in Yokohama.

Reacting to the Reds’ plans to visit Japan, Endo told the club’s official website that he was looking forward to going to his home country with his teammates.

“I’m really happy about it,” the midfielder said.

“I’m so excited to be going to Japan with my teammates, and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I know there are a lot of Liverpool fans in Japan, as well as Premier League fans, so I believe everyone is really looking forward to it.

“I hope all the Liverpool fans in Japan fully enjoy the team’s visit.”

Endo revealed that he sees similarities between his current Liverpool and where he grew up in Japan.

“When I go to the waterfront in Liverpool, it reminds me of the port in Yokohama, where I’m from,” he explained.

And how might Endo use any downtime with his teammates to show them local sights during the trip?

“Each player has different things they want to do in Japan.

Some of them love anime, so I’d like to take them to an anime shop,” he said.

“Others enjoy Japanese food, especially sushi, so I think it would be great to take them to a sushi restaurant.”

While Wataru Endo is looking forward to touring Japan and Asia with his teammates, there is a chance he will no longer be in the club by the time the tour comes around.

The Liverpool No.3 is attracting serious interest from Eintracht Frankfurt.

According to a report by Bild, the Bundesliga side will only move for the Liverpool midfielder if they reach the Champions League.

Meanwhile, LFC’s proposed visit to Japan aligns with Liverpool’s strengthened commercial ties to the country following a multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with Japan Airlines announced in 2024?

The presence of Wataru Endo, Japan’s national team captain, in Liverpool’s squad further enhances the club’s connection with Japanese fans

This tour represents a deliberate commercial strategy by Liverpool, who have opted to skip the Premier League’s 2025 Summer Series in the United States in favor of returning to Asia.

The club last visited the region in 2023 with matches in Singapore and previously played in Hong Kong in 2017 as part of the Premier League Asia Trophy.

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