Yanagawa began racing on mini-bikes and developed quickly through Japan's domestic series, winning the country's 250 cc championship in 1989. He progressed to the Japanese Superbike championship in 1993 and spent four seasons establishing himself as one of the fastest riders in that class before Kawasaki decided he was ready to represent the brand in the Superbike World Championship.
Yanagawa's 1997 World Superbike debut justified Kawasaki's confidence from the outset. At the A1-Ring in Austria, he became the first Japanese rider to win a Superbike World Championship race on foreign soil — a historic milestone for Japanese motorcycle racing. He followed that result with another win at Sugo later in the season and finished the year fourth overall, an impressive achievement in his debut campaign.
The 1998 season was dominated by two serious incidents rather than results. At Monza, Yanagawa's Kawasaki hurtled through the gravel at the Ascari Chicane before catching fire due to a burst fuel line; Yanagawa was fortunately clear of the bike by that point. Later at Laguna Seca, a more frightening moment occurred when a wildcard Kawasaki entered by Doug Chandler went out of control on the approach to the Corkscrew corner and struck Yanagawa's machine at speed. Despite the severity of the impact, Yanagawa missed only one further round. He was classified second in the Laguna Seca race when the restart was abandoned following a further pile-up. He recovered to take two fourth-place finishes on his return, then added two podiums at Sugo, ending the season seventh overall.
Yanagawa finished fifth overall in both 1999 and 2000. The 1999 season included a third win at Sugo alongside five third-place finishes, confirming his ability to produce results at tracks where he had established familiarity. The 2000 campaign matched that overall standing.
In 2001, Yanagawa crashed on the opening lap of his 100th World Superbike race at Sugo, a round that had been a stronghold for him throughout his career. He scored two third places at Monza to finish ninth overall, but Kawasaki was by then shifting its focus toward MotoGP development and gradually withdrawing investment from the Superbike programme.
Yanagawa took on a testing role for Kawasaki's emerging MotoGP project in 2002, briefly competing on the machine before returning full-time to the All-Japan Road Race Championship. He remained competitive in that domestic series for several more years, leading the standings in 2007 before finishing as runner-up behind Atsushi Watanabe.
Yanagawa made a one-off return to the MotoGP World Championship at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, taking a wildcard entry in front of a home crowd as a final appearance on the world stage.
Yanagawa's career was defined by his effectiveness as Kawasaki's international ambassador at a time when Japanese manufacturer representation in World Superbikes was still establishing itself. His historic win at the A1-Ring in 1997 and his consistent podium results across five full World Superbike seasons gave Kawasaki meaningful presence in the championship before the brand's attention moved to MotoGP. He remained a respected figure in Japanese domestic racing long after his international career concluded.
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