Shiraishi was born in Takamatsu, Kagawa, and only began playing football in his last year of high school.
[2] After failing to break into the Meiji University football team in his native Japan, Shiraishi moved to Argentina, where he spent four years with Gimnasia.
[3] After failing to settle at Gimnasia, where his money and clothes were stolen regularly, he moved to France, where he played semi-professionally for three years.
[3][4] Having not succeeded as a player, Shiraishi decided to go into football management, and would spend time at Feyenoord and Arsenal, before working as a coach for the Barcelona youth teams.
[7] He worked with Keisuke Honda as a performance analyst during the former Japanese international's time with AC Milan and Pachuca.