At the end of the 2010–11 season, having made 30 appearances in all competitions, Kawashima won the club's player of the season award. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima was linked a move away from Lierse, with clubs like Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and VVV-Venlo keen on signing him. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Kawashima remained first choice goalkeeper for the side and then kept his first clean sheet in a 0–0 draw against Genk on 6 August 2011. He then managed two clean sheets between 17 September 2011 and 24 September 2011 against Cercle Brugge and Westerlo. During the 2011–12 season, he was credited by Manager Chris Janssens for giving the club the best defence. In October 2011, Kawashima was handed the captaincy taking over from Wesley Sonck and played his first match as captain on 15 October 2011, where he helped the side beat Zulte Waregem 2–1. Kawashima again kept two clean sheets between 26 February 2012 and 3 March 2012 against Anderlecht and OH Leuven. He spent the rest of the season continuing his duties as captain. His performance at Lierse led the club begin negotiations over a new contract. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he had played all 30 regular league games and six Europa League Playoff games. Once again, Kawashima won the club's player of the season award. For his performances, he was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year but lost out to Silvio Proto. 2011 Lierse shouting incident On 19 August 2011, during a match between Lierse and Germinal Beerschot, which Lierse were leading 1–0, Kawashima was subjected to taunts and insults by Beerschot supporters, who chanted "Kawashima-Fukushima!" in reference to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. After being confronted by Kawashima, the referee halted the match for several minutes until order was restored. After the match had ended in a 1–1 draw, Kawashima left the pitch in tears, visibly upset at the insults. Kawashima said, "I can pass on many things, but not that. This is not funny. Using the drama of Fukushima in this manner is not at all funny." After the match, Beerschot released a club statement on the incident: "Our fans have crossed a thin line where a bit of fun turns into something serious. The chants aimed at Lierse goalkeeper Kawashima were offensive and completely out of order". However, Beerschot said that Kawashima was partly to