Born inIchikawa, Chiba, Abe, then a member of the JEF United Ichihara (nowJEF United Chiba) youth side, made his debut with the senior club at the age of 16 years and 333 days on 5 August 1998, at the time a record for the youngest Japanese professional player and J1 League. He went on to become JEF United's captain, and led the club to the2005 and2006 J.League Cup titles while being named to the league's Best Eleven during the span.
On 22 January 2007, Abe joinedUrawa Reds, the defendingJ1 League andEmperor's Cup champions, for a transfer fee of around ¥360 million (around $3 million), a record amount for a Japanese player in a domestic deal.[4]
Abe in his final season withLeicester City on 25 September 2011
On 26 August 2010, Abe was signed by EnglishChampionship clubLeicester City,[6] signing a three-year contract.[7] He made his debut in a 2-1 league win overCardiff City on 14 September,[8] scoring his first goal for the club in a 4–2 win overIpswich Town on 7 May 2011.[9] His last league goal for the club was in a 1–0 win overBrighton on 17 September 2011.[10] Suffering fromhomesickness, Abe's contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 22 January 2012 and he returned to Japan to re-join former club Urawa Reds.[11]
In 2012, Abe returned toUrawa Reds. He played all matches inJ1 League except for one match in 2013 season until 2016 season.[12][13] In 2016, Reds won the champions inJ.League Cup and the 2nd place inJ1 League. He was also selected Best Eleven award.[14] In 2017, Reds won the champions inAFC Champions League for the first time in 10 years. In 2018, Reds won theEmperor's Cup.
On 14 November 2021, Abe announced that he would retire from football at the end of the2021 season.[15][16]
Abe made his senior national team debut on 29 January 2005, in a friendly match againstKazakhstan and scored his first national team goal on 6 September 2006 againstYemen in a2007 Asian Cup qualification match. He was not selected to Japan's2006 World Cup team, but he has become a regular under his former JEF United coachIvica Osim, who took over as the national team head coach after the World Cup. He had previously represented Japan at the Under-20 and Under-23 levels, appearing in all three first round matches at the2004 Olympics and scoring a goal againstItaly.He appeared in all of Japan's games at the2010 World Cup. Despite missing out on Japan's 2011 Asian Cup victory, on 29 March 2011 he played 45 minutes against the J-League All Stars. On 4 August 2011 Abe was announced in the Japan squad to play South Korea. He played 53 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 2011.[17]
