Daiki Iwamasa led Kashima Antlers to a very nice August, winning three of four matches to take over fifth in the table, and he’s been honored for that excellent work by being named Manager of the Month.

Antlers have had their eyes on competing for the top places in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League all season and, after a strong August, they are certainly doing that. They are on the edges of the title race and are very much in the thick of the battle for the AFC Champions League places under Iwamasa’s guidance.

Excellent defense was the key to Kashima’s strong August showing, allowing just one goal all month. Iwamasa had Antlers well-organized, tough and completely bought up to run off a crucial nine points in their bid to climb the table, which is why he has been recognized as the league’s top boss for August.

Manager of the Month in J2 has been awarded to Shimizu S-Pulse’s Tadahiro Akiba. S-Pulse went undefeated in August, continuing an unbeaten streak that, as of mid-September is now up to 13 matches.

Akiba has assembled a terrific defense that is among the best in J2 and it showed in August as they put together a couple of clean sheets en route to three wins and a draw in the month. That pushed S-Pulse up to third place as they aim to earn promotion to the top flight.

In J3, top manager honors were given to Fukushima United’s Mitsumasa Yoda. His team had three wins and a draw in August as well, pushing them from the edges of the relegation fight to mid-table safety.