The third round of the 2017 Emperor’s Cup took place on Wednesday night, and despite the dominance of J1 sides there were still several upsets to be had. The biggest shock of the night took place at K’s Denki Stadium, where Seiya Nakano’s pair of headers gave the University of Tsukuba a 2-1 win over Avispa Fukuoka.  The fourth-y…

FC Tokyo on Monday announced the full transfer of striker Takuma Abe to South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai. The 29-year-old, who joined Tokyo last season, has 10 appearances in the 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign as well as three goals from seven appearances in the J.League YBC Levain Cup. “It’s only been a year and a half, but I want …

Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Monday announced the appointment of Jan Anders Jonsson as the club’s new manager. The Swede, who served as a player-coach for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 1993, will replace former head coach Hajime Moriyasu who resigned last week over the team’s poor results this season. “It’s an incredible honour to return to…

The 18th round of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League concluded on Sunday as Urawa Reds hosted last-place Albirex Niigata. The hosts, and in particular under-fire manager Mihailo Petrovic, looked incredibly shaky after Albirex defender Kei Koizumi scored the opening goal for his side in the 35th minute. But the visitors’ defending could not withstand a v…

This weekend marked an exciting start to the second half of the MEIJI YASUDA J2 League campaign, with most clubs still in contention for a playoff spot. Shonan Bellmare took sole control of first place following a 0-0 draw at Oita Trinita, as title rivals Avispa Fukuoka stumbled in a 2-0 home loss to Zweigen Kanazawa. Kyohei Sugiura scored both goals for…

Cerezo Osaka saw off Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 in their MEIJI YASUDA J1 League title six-pointer to return to the top of the table on Saturday. The newly-promoted outfit returned to their perch in spite of falling behind when Kosuke Taketomi netted the opener in the first half with a glorious diving header. Reysol had the chance to double their league but Cr…

Vissel Kobe’s newest signing Lukas Podolski spoke to Japanese media for the first time on Thursday following his arrival in the country, where he was greeted by about a thousand fans at Kobe Airport. The former Germany international appeared with club chairman Hiroshi Mikitani, answering questions regarding the move and his impressions of the J.Lea…

Lukas Podolski arrived in Japan on Thursday to a raucous reception by his new club, Vissel Kobe. After reaching Kansai International Airport early on a Thursday, a chartered jet ferried the 31-year-old striker to Kobe Airport, where he greeted hundreds of fans surrounding a red carpet with photos and autographs. Podolski was later formally unveiled by…

Kashima Antlers are back on top of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League after the first half of the season drew to a close on Wednesday, with the Japanese champions beating Gamba Osaka 1-0. Go Oiwa’s men continued their perfect start under the new manager as Yasushi Endo fired home the winner in the 55th minute, and Antlers held out against waves of Gamba pr…

Vissel Kobe on Monday announced the signing of striker Mike Havenaar on a full transfer from Dutch side ADO Den Haag. The Hiroshima-born attacker made his professional debut in 2006, playing for Yokohama F. Marinos, Avispa Fukuoka, Sagan Tosu, and Ventforet Kofu before joining Vitesse in 2012. Havenaar, who celebrated his 30th birthday in May, is a na…

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on Saturday announced the signing of striker Jay Bothroyd. The one-time England international made his J.League debut with Jubilo Iwata in 2015, helping that side earn promotion and scoring 14 goals from 22 appearances in last year’s MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign. “I’m happy to join Hokkaido Consadole Sap…

Cerezo Osaka have now gone top of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League after Kashima Antlers defeated previous leaders Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 on Sunday. The reigning Japanese champions travelled to Kashiwa Stadium seeking to keep up their perfect record under coach Go Oiwa but duly fell behind as Hidekazu Otani opened the scoring for the hosts. However, Antlers roa…

Sanfrecce Hiroshima will be proud of rallying from two goals down at Urawa Reds, even if that was not enough to prevent them from slipping to a 4-3 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League loss. The relegation battlers traveled to Saitama Stadium on Saturday hoping to enjoy a boost in fortunes against their wobbling hosts too, but were disappointed early on as Shinzo Koro…

Yokohama FC on Thursday announced the signing of midfielder Leandro Domingues on a full transfer from Brazil’s Portuguesa. The 33-year-old previously spent over four years in the J.League with Kashiwa Reysol, contributing to the club’s 2011 J.League championship and winning that year’s MVP honours. He transferred to Nagoya Grampus du…

Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Tuesday announced the signing of striker Patric and midfielder Daiki Niwa from Gamba Osaka. The 33-year-old Brazilian will join on a half-season loan from Brazil’s Salgueiro AC, while one-time Japan international Niwa will arrive on a full transfer. “I want to thank the club for believing in me and making this offer,…

The 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup Playoff Stage opened on Wednesday night, with four second- and third-place finishers in the Group Stage hoping to join the group winners as well as Japan’s four AFC Champions Leagues representatives in the knockout tournament. Goals by Ricardo Santos and Takaki Fukumitsu gave MEIJI YASUDA J1 League high-flyers Cerez…

The J.League board of directors on Tuesday confirmed a new promotion/relegation format for the 2018 campaign. The provisionally-named J1 League Participation Playoff will feature eligible J2 League clubs between third and sixth place in a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the winner facing the 16th-place finisher in the J1 League. The top t…

FC Tokyo have announced the conclusion of their contract with Australian midfielder Nathan Burns. The Socceroo regular joined the club in 2015, scoring a total of three goals from 26 league appearances.  He did not make any appearances in the current MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign, but came on four times during the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup g…

Gamba Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale lost ground in the race for the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League title, playing out a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Frontale thoroughly dominated the encounter at Suita City Football Stadium and deservedly took the lead when Kengo Nakamura fired home in the 52nd minute. The guests, who attempted a remarkable 21 shots in total, would have…

Sagan Tosu midfielder Daichi Kamada will join Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a full transfer, the club announced on Friday. The 20-year-old joined Sagan after graduating Higashiyama High School in 2015, immediately breaking into the starting XI.  He has since raised his J1 League scoring total to 13 goals from 64 appearances. A farewel…