The J.League participated in a joint Integrity Seminar aimed toward the extermination of match-fixing on Wednesday.

Compliance officers from all 52 J.League clubs, members of the Tokyo Olympic & Paralympic Organising Committee and local police formed the bulk of the 160 officials in attendance.

The body also included representatives from the Japan Football Association (JFA) and FIFA Early Warning System (EWS) to discuss methods to raise awareness of deterrents against match-fixing.

“Bookmakers around the world are accepting bets on all three divisions of the J.League and we must be aware of that,” J.League chairman Mitsuru Murai said. 

“We have to create a culture of awareness and enlightenment. This is not a temporary issue, but rather one that will require repeated and continued action on our part.

“If [a lack of integrity] is discovered in the J.League, it could damage the foundation of Japanese sports.”

Murai’s statements echoed those of JFA General Secretary Hiromi Hara, who had opened the conference by declaring: “Japan should be a leader in the sports world in the fight against match fixing.” 

Toshiyuki Okeya of the Japan Sports Council then spoke on “Integrity in Japanese Sports”, while FIFA Security Director Ralf Mutschke discussed past cases of match-fixing and the organisation’s efforts to stop them.

Following these lectures, EWS demonstrated the current state of the football betting market through a simulation which led to a lively exchange of opinions between participants.

The day concluded with a guest speech from K-League officials on their anti-match-fixing efforts, along with updates from the JFA and J.League about Japanese policies.