After graduating from Doshisha University, he joined Towa Real Estate (later Fujita Industries) in 1973.
He played 139 games and scored 3 goals in the league.
In September 1974, Imai was selected Japan national team for 1974 Asian Games.
In March 1977, he played for Japan for the first time in 3 years at 1978 World Cup qualification.
This biographical article related to a Japanese association football defender born in the 1950s is a stub.