On two occasions between December 2007 and January 2008, Uchida received an international call-up from national coach Ivica Osim but did not play any game.
Uchida finally made a full international debut for Japan on 26 January 2008 in a friendly against Chile at National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
This was the first match under the reign of new manager Takeshi Okada.
The results was a 0–0 draw.
In a follow–up match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he helped Japan kept another clean sheet, in a 3–0 win.
On 6 February 2008, Uchida played 90 minutes for Japan in a 4–1 win against Thailand and became the first teenage Japanese footballer to play FIFA World Cup qualification after the establishment of the J. League in 1993.
On 22 June 2008, Uchida scored the winner in a 1–0 win against Bahrain.
It was his first international goal and Uchida became the youngest Japanese goalscorer in FIFA World Cup qualification at age 20 years and 87 days, beating an 11-year-old record that was held by Hidetoshi Nakata.
Throughout 2008, he dispatched the right–back position from Yūichi Komano and Yūichi Komano.

Uchida started 2009 when he set up two goals, in a 5–1 win against Finland on 5 February 2009.
In June 2009, he was featured in two of the three World Cup qualifying matches, which resulted in Japan qualified for the tournament.
Later in the year, Uchida helped Japan kept four clean sheets in a row between 10 October 2009 and 18 November 2009, all of them were friendly matches.

In February 2010, Uchida was called up to the national squad for the East Asian Football Championship.
He helped the side kept two clean sheets in the first two matches.
However, Japan's loss to South Korea in Matchday 3 meant that Japan finished third place in the tournament.
Uchida was a member of the Japan team for the 2010 World Cup squad, being called up in May 2010.
However, Uchida appeared as a substitute bench for all the World Cup matches, as he failed to dispatch a right–back place from Yūichi Komano.
After the tournament, Uchida said he was disappointed in himself for not playing in the World Cup and hope his move to Schalke 04 would make him a better player.

In December 2010, Uchida was called up for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
He played all the first three matches in the tournament and helped Japan reached the knockout stage.
However, Uchida was suspended for the quarter–final against Qatar after being booked two times on different occasions.
He returned to the starting line-up, playing against South Korea in the semi–finals and played the whole game, as Japan beat the opposition team 3–2 in the penalty shoot–out following the match being played for 120 minutes, in a 2–2 draw.
In the AFC Asian Cup Final against Australia, Uchida started and played 120 minutes, as they beat the Socceroos 1–0 to win the AFC Asian Cup, thanks to Tadanari Lee.
Later in the year, he helped Japan kept three clean sheets in three Japan's matches between 7 June 2011 and 2 September 2011.

Two years later, Uchida was called up to the national side for the 2013 Confederations Cup squad.
He was featured three times in the tournament, as Japan loss all three matches and was eliminated in the Group Stage.
At one point after losing to Brazil, Brazilian media gave Uchida's performance the lowest score out of the match.

In May 2014, Uchida was called up to the 2014 World Cup squad.
Prior to this, Uchida was involved in three friendly matches, which a game against Cyprus on 27 May 2014, he scored his second international goal for the club.
Unlike the previous World Cup, Uchida started all three matches in the World Cup, which saw Japan eliminated from the Group Stage.
Following Japan's elimination, he hinted about retirement from the national team.
A month later, Uchida later reflected about playing in the World Cup.

Expecting to be picked for the AFC Asian Cup, Uchida, however, was cut from the squad ahead of the tournament.
It was revealed that he was recovering from his injury.
Uchida returned to the national side two months later, playing two times for the side.
On two occasions between December 2007 and January 2008, Uchida received an international call-up from national coach Ivica Osim but did not play any game. Uchida finally made a full international debut for Japan on 26 January 2008 in a friendly against Chile at National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. This was the first match under the reign of new manager Takeshi Okada. The results was a 0–0 draw. In a follow–up match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he helped Japan kept another clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. On 6 February 2008, Uchida played 90 minutes for Japan in a 4–1 win against Thailand and became the first teenage Japanese footballer to play FIFA World Cup qualification after the establishment of the J. League in 1993. On 22 June 2008, Uchida scored the winner in a 1–0 win against Bahrain. It was his first international goal and Uchida became the youngest Japanese goalscorer in FIFA World Cup qualification at age 20 years and 87 days, beating an 11-year-old record that was held by Hidetoshi Nakata. Throughout 2008, he dispatched the right–back position from Yūichi Komano and Yūichi Komano.
Uchida started 2009 when he set up two goals, in a 5–1 win against Finland on 5 February 2009. In June 2009, he was featured in two of the three World Cup qualifying matches, which resulted in Japan qualified for the tournament. Later in the year, Uchida helped Japan kept four clean sheets in a row between 10 October 2009 and 18 November 2009, all of them were friendly matches.
In February 2010, Uchida was called up to the national squad for the East Asian Football Championship. He helped the side kept two clean sheets in the first two matches. However, Japan's loss to South Korea in Matchday 3 meant that Japan finished third place in the tournament. Uchida was a member of the Japan team for the 2010 World Cup squad, being called up in May 2010. However, Uchida appeared as a substitute bench for all the World Cup matches, as he failed to dispatch a right–back place from Yūichi Komano. After the tournament, Uchida said he was disappointed in himself for not playing in the World Cup and hope his move to Schalke 04 would make him a better player.
In December 2010, Uchida was called up for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. He played all the first three matches in the tournament and helped Japan reached the knockout stage. However, Uchida was suspended for the quarter–final against Qatar after being booked two times on different occasions. He returned to the starting line-up, playing against South Korea in the semi–finals and played the whole game, as Japan beat the opposition team 3–2 in the penalty shoot–out following the match being played for 120 minutes, in a 2–2 draw. In the AFC Asian Cup Final against Australia, Uchida started and played 120 minutes, as they beat the Socceroos 1–0 to win the AFC Asian Cup, thanks to Tadanari Lee. Later in the year, he helped Japan kept three clean sheets in three Japan's matches between 7 June 2011 and 2 September 2011.
Two years later, Uchida was called up to the national side for the 2013 Confederations Cup squad. He was featured three times in the tournament, as Japan loss all three matches and was eliminated in the Group Stage. At one point after losing to Brazil, Brazilian media gave Uchida's performance the lowest score out of the match.
In May 2014, Uchida was called up to the 2014 World Cup squad. Prior to this, Uchida was involved in three friendly matches, which a game against Cyprus on 27 May 2014, he scored his second international goal for the club. Unlike the previous World Cup, Uchida started all three matches in the World Cup, which saw Japan eliminated from the Group Stage. Following Japan's elimination, he hinted about retirement from the national team. A month later, Uchida later reflected about playing in the World Cup.
Expecting to be picked for the AFC Asian Cup, Uchida, however, was cut from the squad ahead of the tournament. It was revealed that he was recovering from his injury. Uchida returned to the national side two months later, playing two times for the side.
Atsuto Uchida