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Shonan Bellmare’s Shuto Machino is now firmly in the Top Scorer race after scoring his eighth goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Kyoto Sanga that took his club out of the relegation zone. The forward sits second on the scoring chart, just two goals behind Kashima Antlers’ Ayase Ueda, another one of the J.League's rising stars.Machino’s latest goal wa…

Matchweek 18 in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League is in the books! Let’s dive into all the action across the league.Yokohama F·Marinos 4, Kashiwa Reysol 0This title challenger showdown turned into a showcase for Marinos, who were led by two goals from Léo Ceará in a dominant win to stay top of the table. Nagoya Grampus 1, Kashima Antlers 1Kashima could not k…

Vissel Kobe and Urawa Reds were two of the best teams in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League last season. Both qualified for the AFC Champions League and, earlier this year, they advanced out of their groups in the continental championship. As ever, though, Japanese football is full of surprises — and top of the list this season is seeing Vissel bottom of the J1 tab…

A top four clash in YokohamaYokohama F·Marinos have risen to the top of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League table, but they are hardly comfortable. Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale are only a point back of the Tricolor, while Kashiwa Reysol are within four points. It makes for a terrific title race and that fight will take centerstage on Saturday when Marinos a…

The Emperor’s Cup delivered a series of big upsets on Wednesday, with the holders and defending Meiji Yasuda J1 League champions both falling to opposition from a lower division.Urawa Reds won the Emperor's Cup in thrilling fashion last December but their dreams of a repeat were dashed by Thespakusatsu Gunma, who came into the third round match winless…

The 2022 Meiji Yasuda J1 League season has reached its halfway point, with 17 matchweeks in the books and 17 still yet to be played.How has each club fared so far and what do they have to do in the second half of the season?Yokohama F·MarinosThe Tricolor find themselves top of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League table midway through the campaign and to get there the…

The Meiji Yasuda J1 League returned from a long international break with Matchweek 17 and we got some great games.Gamba Osaka 1, Yokohama F·Marinos 2Dawhan gave Gamba an early lead, but Takuma Nishimura and Kota Mizunuma scored five minutes apart in the second half to keep Marinos top of the table. Kashima Antlers 1, Kyoto Sanga 0A goal by Arthur Caik…

Japan had a busy June, playing four games against top quality opponents to prepare for this winter's World Cup, with an array of Meiji Yasuda J.League stars present and past starring in a productive month.The Samurai Blue defeated Paraguay, 4-1, to kick off the run of games, with four former J1 players scoring the goals. Takuma Asano, who came up at Sa…

Australia are going to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and a couple Meiji Yasuda J.League players contributed to the successful qualifying cycle. Mitchell Duke and Adam Taggart were part of the Socceroos team that leapt over the final hurdle, beating Peru on penalty kicks on Monday in the FIFA inter-confederation play-off, which booked their ticket to November’s fi…

Seiya Maikuma has been named the KONAMI Monthly MVP for May.The Cerezo Osaka man was outstanding, helping his club to a 13-point month with three goals and two assists in six matches.Maikuma was out for the early part of the season, making his season debut off the bench on March 12 and his first start came on April 29. He started all six matches in May, tho…

Kawasaki Frontale are just a point back of first place Yokohama F·Marinos, putting them in the mix for their fourth title in the last five years. That’s an astounding chase that would be arguably the greatest run in the history of the league, and that chase picks up against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on Saturday after a two-week break for international game…

International stars returnThe Meiji Yasuda J1 League has been off since May for the FIFA international break, but all of its players were not idle. Some of the league’s biggest stars were playing for their countries and are coming back in terrific form.Kawasaki Frontale’s Miki Yamane suited up for Japan as part of their 2022 World Cup preparations and playe…

Yokohama F·Marinos used the month of May to take over first place in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League table, and Kevin Muscat has been named Manager of the Month for his work guiding them to that top spot.Marinos had four wins and a draw in six May matches. Their fearsome attack, which leads the league in goals, delivered 13 goals in those six contests against ju…

Matheus Savio brought the touch, the dribbling and the finishing to win Goal of the Month honors for May. The Kashiwa Reysol man was honored for his outstanding goal in Matchweek 16 that helped his side to a 3-1 win over Shimizu S-Pulse. He displayed a great first touch to bring it down, sent one defender sliding the wrong way then created space to shoot pa…

The field for the J.League YBC Levain Cup Prime Stage is set after four teams won their Play-off Stage ties and advanced to the quarter-finals.Avispa Fukuoka entered the second leg of the Play-off Stage ahead of title contender Kashima Antlers, 1-0, but in need of a good showing away from home to advance. It was a tall task, but one Avispa proved up to.Ever…

June has been a busy month for our global match broadcasts on YouTube and there is still so much more to come for our international J.League family.The month has already seen two compelling J.League YBC Levain Cup ties play out in the Play-off Stage in front of worldwide audiences, as well as a thrilling last-minute winner for V-Varen Nagasaki in Meiji Yasu…

Meiji Yasuda J1 League clubs were perfect in the second round of the Emperor’s Cup, as all 18 top-flight teams won their contests to advance to the next stage of the historic cup competition.Teams from the top two flights entered the tournament in the second round, making these the first games of this year’s competition to feature the top 40 clubs in the Ja…

The 2022 J.League YBC Levain Cup resumed play over the weekend with the all-important play-off stage - four two-legged ties for spots in the quarter-finals of the tournament.Nagoya Grampus stole headlines from the weekend’s matches, registering a 6-1 first-leg victory against Kyoto Sanga. Sho Inagaki gave the cup holders an early lead before a red card late…

Cerezo Osaka and Chaowat Veerachart will be reunited this summer as the Thai midfielder returns on loan to the club where he also spent time four years ago.Veerachart joined Cerezo Osaka's U-23 side in 2018, playing 14 times in the J3 League, before returning to star at BG Pathum United F.C., where he recently featured in the club's successful run…

The Japan National Team will once again be full of Meiji Yasuda J.League stars of today and the past as a month of international football gets underway.The Samurai Blue are set for four home friendlies in June against quality opponents as part of the crucial preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.Among the current J.League cohort in the national team setup…