On 7 July 2014 FC Basel announced that they had signed Kakitani on a four-year contract.

[3] Kakitani joined Basel to the start of the 2014–15 Swiss Super League season.

[5] Kakitani played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Stockhorn Arena on 2 August, coming on as a substitute for Mohamed Elneny as Basel won 3–2 against Thun.

[6] He scored his first goal for his new club one week later, on 9 August, in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 4–1 against Zürich.

However, Kakitani failed to make a lasting impression in this season under trainer Paulo Sousa.

He was named Most Valuable Player in the AFC U-17 Championship 2006 after helping Japan win the tournament, scoring 4 goals.

[12][13] Kakitani debuted for the Japan senior team at the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.