Shimizu progressed through the youth system to begin her professional career at Tokyo Verdy Beleza in her homeland and blossomed into one of the team’s – and the Nadeshiko League’s –most consistent performers.
She was a winner of five league titles in what was at the time the top tier of women’s football in Japan, also being named in the division’s best XI every season from 2017 to 2020.
The defender was appointed captain at the club in 2020, before embarking on a new challenge by moving to the Barclays Women’s Super League with West Ham ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Shimizu appeared in all 44 league matches during her two years with the Hammers, playing every minute of the 2023-24 term.
City swooped to sign her last summer, but an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament rupture sustained at the 2024 Olympics prevented her from taking to the pitch in Manchester.