Watanabe was born in Nasu, Tochigi on June 4, 1953.

After graduating from high school, he joined his local club Towa Real Estate in 1972.

The club moved to Tokyo and was changed to "Fujita Industries".

On February 12, 1974, Watanabe debuted for Japan national team against Singapore.

This biographical article related to a Japanese association football midfielder born in the 1950s is a stub.