The 33-year-old former Espanyol and Bolton Wanderers forward made the announcement after helping Cerezo Osaka, the club that launched his career, beat Thespa Kusatsu 5-0 to seal promotion to the first division with three games of the campaign to spare.

"Cerezo have allowed me to spend the majority of my 15-year professional career here. Helping them get promoted has taken a great weight off my shoulders," said Nishizawa.

Nishizawa, who rejoined Cerezo this season after two years with Shimizu S-Pulse, played for Japan at the 2002 World Cup the country co-hosted with South Korea. He scored 10 goals in 29 appearances for the national team.