Heart of Midlothian have confirmed the exit of Kyosuke Tagawa.

The Japanese striker has returned to his homeland, joining Kashima Antlers for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance and Scottish FA approval.

Tagawa departs after just one year having signed from FC Tokyo on a three-year deal. The 25-year-old netted three times during his time at Tynecastle Park, including two in the final two matches of the season. One of which was the memorable strike against Rangers.

The striker had been heavily involved during pre-season but was left out of the squad for the opening game of the season against Rangers.

Hearts are understood to have brought in a six-figure fee for the striker.

“Kyosuke has been great to work with," Steven Naismith told the club's official website. "He is a good person and a good professional, and he’s built up a relationship with his teammates, the staff and the fans.

“On the playing side, he hasn’t managed to get the amount of minutes on the pitch that he would’ve liked and you can probably put that down to the form of our other forwards over the past year.

“He wants to play regularly so when the opportunity arose for him to return to the J-League, it made sense for everyone to get it done.

“I thank Kyosuke for his efforts at Hearts and wish him all the best for the future.”