Mikami, Tatsuo

見上辰夫

Kanji: 見上辰夫
Nationality: Japanese
Personal information: Former goalkeeper of the Japanese national team, Genzo Wakabayashi's coach, All Japan Jr. Youth's coach
First appearance: Captain Tsubasa chapter 1
A former goalkeeper for the Japanese national team, he serves as Wakabayashi's personal coach. He was the first to discover Roberto's true identity. Before Wakabayashi's match against Nankatsu and Tsubasa, he subjected Wakabayashi to grueling training. When Wakabayashi became depressed after conceding a goal, Mikami struck him and declared he would stop coaching him. This caused Wakabayashi to return to the field with greater composure. While Wakabayashi was unable to play for most of the national tournament, Mikami stayed by his side, tending to his injury to help him play in the final match. Determined to elevate Japanese soccer at all costs, he was sent to West Germany by the Japanese soccer organization after the tournament. Before departing, he asked Wakabayashi if he wanted to join him, and Wakabayashi agreed.
Mikami returned to Japan alone after three years to watch the middle school national tournament. His objective was to gather the best players to form the All Japan Jr. Youth team for the International Jr. Youth Tournament in France. Mikami listened closely to the players' wishes, followed Misugi's tactical suggestions, and even accepted the players' decision to exclude Tsubasa from playing. He asked his former pupil Wakabayashi to play the role of the bad guy, so the team would realize the strength of other countries. His tactical decisions proved effective in the first two matches, as he kept Misaki and Misugi as secret weapons, which turned the tide of those games. However, he made a mistake by listening to Misugi and the Tachibana twins in the match against France, allowing them to play. This left Japan with no substitutions, only ten players on the field, and five of them injured in extra time. Still winning thanks to their guts, Mikami's final decision was to let Wakabayashi play the final match against West Germany, which had a huge positive impact on the game.
Starting as the All Japan Youth coach in the World Youth series, Mikami had to tell Wakashimazu that he would choose Wakabayashi as the regular keeper, resulting in Wakashimazu leaving the team. When the R.J.7 appeared, Mikami had to undergo surgery for appendicitis that had complicated into peritonitis, leaving his coaching role to Gamo. This decision was not motivated by his surgery but by Gamo's passion. At the end of the Asian preliminaries, Wakashimazu returned to the team, presenting his excuses to Mikami, who admitted that both of them had been stubborn, which likely stemmed from their single-minded goalkeeper characters.
In Road to 2002, Mikami was the coach of Japan Youth, a team formed by the next age group of players and led by Sawada. The team broke through the Asian preliminaries after a close match against Korea in the final game.