After the FIFA World Cup came to an end, Kawashima played two matches against Paraguay and Argentina. In December 2010, it was announced that Kawashima was selected by the national team for the 2011 Asian Cup. He played his first match of the tournament starting in a 1–1 draw against Jordan on 9 January 2011. On 13 January, however, he was sent off for causing a penalty in the group stage match against Syria, but Japan went on to win the game 2–1. After serving a one-match suspension he returned to the squad in a 3–2 win over Qatar in the quarter–final. In the semi-final against South Korea on 26 January Kawashima saved two penalty shoot-out shots to enable Japan to advance. On 29 January, Kawashima kept a clean sheet in the Final as Japan won 1–0; he was chosen as Man of the Match. After the match Kawashima spoke about winning the Asian Cup.