Japanese star Okazaki claims Bundesliga record

Berlin: Mainz striker Shinji Okazaki became the highest-scoring Japanese in a single Bundesliga season when he scored his 14th goal on Saturday to break Shinji Kagawa`s previous record.

Okazaki headed his side`s opening goal after half an hour at home to Nuremberg on Saturday to break Kagawa`s two-year-old mark. Kagawa, now with Manchester United, scored 13 goals in his final season for Borussia Dortmund in the 2011/12 season before moving to Old Trafford. Okazaki has experienced a new lease of life since joining Mainz last July and has scored more goals this season than he managed in three years at previous club VfB Stuttgart. With 24 goals in 94 German league games, he is now two short of the record for the most goals in the Bundesliga for a Japanese, set by Yasuhiko Okudera in 234 appearances over nine years at Cologne, Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen between 1977 and 1986.