Meiji Yasuda J1 League Match-day 5 took place on July 18, and Kawasaki Frontale stayed at the top of the table by topping Yokohama FC.

Frontale took the lead at Yokohama FC in the 28th minute with a goal by Yasuto Wakizaka. The hosts equalized later, but Yu Kobayashi’s penalty in the 75th minute put Kawasaki ahead again. After Akihiro Ienaga extended the lead again from the spot in the 78th minute, the table-leaders added two more to claim a comfortable 5-1 win. Second-place Urawa Reds traveled to FC Tokyo and got defeated 2-0, through goals scored at the end of the first half and in the 66th minute. While Reds dropped to the sixth place, FC Tokyo moved up to second.

Cerezo Osaka won 2-1 at Sanfrecce Hiroshima. After breaking the deadlock through an own goal in the 20th minute, Naoyuki Fujita doubled the lead in the 50th minute. Although Hiroshima pulled one back, Cerezo defended their lead to jump up to the second place along with FC Tokyo. Nagoya Grampus kept their unbeaten record by defeating Sagan Tosu 1-0 at home, with Naoki Maeda scoring the winner.

Kashima Antlers won their first match of the season by defeating Yokohama F.Marinos 4-2 at home. Ayase Ueda scored in the 4th minute, and after Yokohama F.Marinos equalized, the young striker struck again in the 58th minute. Everaldo and Ryohei Shirosaki added two in the 67th and 82nd minute respectively to help the team claim their first win of the season. Kashiwa Reysol hosted Shonan Bellmare, and Olunga gave them a lead in the 19th minute, to then double the lead through a penalty in the 44th minute. After Shonan halved the deficit in the 63rd minute, Hayato Nakama scored a stunning volley in the 70th minute, and while Reysol conceded a late goal, they managed to win the game 3-2.

Vegalta Sendai drew 2-2 with Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, failing to defend a 2-1 lead provided by Ryo Germain and Keiya Shiihashi. Gamba Osaka had a tough start against Oita Trinita as the away side took the lead, but Takashi Usami scored an equalizer from the spot in the 37th minute and Ademilson completed the comeback in the 48th minute, to wrap the final result of 2-1. Vissel Kobe, hosted Shimizu S-Pulse and ended the first half nicely as Kyogo Furuhashi scored right before the whistles. Douglas, playing against his former team, doubled the lead in the 54th minute, and Furuhashi netted his second of the day in the 65th minute. Although they conceded in the 75th minute, they kept the scoreline of 3-1 to secure their second win of the season. Meanwhile, Shimizu dropped to the bottom of the table, having lost all five matches this season.