Jo was born inMuroran on June 17, 1975. After graduating fromKagoshima Jitsugyo High School, he joinedJ1 League clubJEF United Ichihara in 1994. After three seasons with Ichihara, Jo moved to theYokohama Marinos (laterYokohama F. Marinos) in 1997. His performances in the 1998 and 1999 season led to a loan move to the SpanishLa Liga teamReal Valladolid. He failed to make an impact with the club, making just 15 appearances and scoring two goals before sustaining a knee injury. After his return to Japan, Jo struggled to reestablish himself as a regular goal scorer with the Marinos andVissel Kobe, with whom he joined in 2002. He joinedYokohama FC in 2003, where he scored 12 goals in his first season with them. He helped his club to become J2 Champions in 2006 gained and promotion to J1, but he retired from playing after that season.
On September 20, 1995, Jo debuted for theJapan national team againstParaguay. He made his first appearance in an international competition with theJapan U-23 national team in the1996 Summer Olympics. In October 1996, he played for the Japan senior team for the first time in a year. He also played at the1996 Asian Cup in December. After the1998 World Cup qualification in 1997 Japan qualified for the 1998 World Cup for the first time in their history. He played at the 1998 World Cup and the1999 Copa América. He played all matches in both competitions. He played 35 games and scored 7 goals for Japan until 2001.
