On April 25, 2001, Suzuki debuted for the Japan national team against Spain. He played all four of Japan's games at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, starting the first three and scoring in the 2–2 tie against Belgium; Japan were eliminated in the round of 16 following a 1–0 defeat to Turkey. He was also part of the Japanese team which won the 2004 Asian Cup. He played 55 games and scored 11 goals for Japan until 2005.