Gamba Osaka slumped to a 4-1 defeat at home to Jeju United in their Group H AFC Champions League encounter on Wednesday. Kenta Hasegawa’s men were looking to build on their strong 3-0 win at Adelaide United on the opening day of their Asian campaign in front of their own fans. But things took a turn for the worse when Yasuhito Endo put into his …

Striker Peter Utaka has joined FC Tokyo on a season-long loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the two clubs announced on Wednesday. The 33-year-old scored 19 goals in 33 appearances while on loan to Sanfrecce during last season’s MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign, earning him Golden Boot honours alongside Vissel Kobe’s Leandro. “I’m ha…

Cerezo Osaka on Tuesday announced a pair of injuries to midfielders Kota Mizunuma and Masaki Sakamoto. Mizunuma, who arrived this winter from FC Tokyo, will miss four weeks after injuring his right hamstring in the team’s opening day draw against Jubilo Iwata. Meanwhile, Sakamoto is expected to sit out three weeks after hurting his left hamstrin…

Vissel Kobe on Tuesday revealed that striker Leandro will miss six months of action after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament. The Brazilian suffered the injury in the team’s opening-day win at Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday, The 32-year-old shared 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League Golden Boot honours last season with 19 goals for Vissel, his bes…

Urawa Reds roared to a 5-2 win over FC Seoul, scoring all five of their goals before the half-time whistle in Tuesday’s Group F encounter. Yuki Muto opened the scoring and Mihailo Petrovic’s men never looked back, extending their advantage through Tadanari Lee, Takahiro Sekine and Tomoya Ugajin inside the first 20 minutes. Their comfortabl…

Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Monday announced an injury to midfielder Yoshifumi Kashiwa that will see him kept off the pitch until April. The 29-year-old will sit out six weeks after damaging his right hamstring in the second half of team’s opening-day draw against Albirex Niigata. Sanfrecce will play a second straight home game on March 4 when they w…

FC Tokyo midfielder Yohei Kajiyama will miss the next three weeks after bruising a muscle in his right calf, the club announced on Monday. The veteran, who made 14 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League appearances last season, suffered the injury during a February 18 training match. Tokyo have also announced that midfielder Tasuku Hiraoka will be out for three to fo…

Machida Zelvia on Monday announced that striker Yuya Nakamura will miss at least five months after suffering a broken left fibula. The 30-year-old striker, who scored 11 goals in 19 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League appearances last season, underwent surgery to repair the injury on February 22. Nakamura joined the J2 League side in 2015 after spending a decade w…

Shimizu S-Pulse on Monday announced a severe injury to midfielder Yosuke Kawai that will see the player miss half a year of action. The 27-year-old tore his left Achilles tendon during the team’s 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League opener against Vissel Kobe. S-Pulse also announced that midfielder Ryo Takeuchi will sit out five weeks after severely brui…

Ryo Nagai’s brace gave Nagoya Grampus a bright start in their quest for a swift return to the J1 as the 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League opened across Japan on Sunday. The 25-year-old impressed in his club debut at the sold-out Paloma Mizuho Stadium, netting in the 41st and 84th minutes in the J.League co-founder’s 2-0 win over Fagiano Okayama. …

Gamba Osaka drew 1-1 against Ventforet Kofu in the final match of the 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League’s opening round. After a scoreless first half, the visitors took the lead in the 55th minute thanks to a surprising effort by defender Masaru Matsuhashi. But three away points were not in the cards for Ventforet after Yasuyuki Konno pounced on a loo…

Yuto Misao’s own-goal saw reigning MEIJI YASUDA J1 League champions Kashima Antlers fall to a 1-0 home defeat to FC Tokyo on Saturday. Masatada Ishii’s men had sought to send out a title statement on the opening day of the season but it was the capital side instead that threatened more, particularly in the second half. And their endeavour …

The 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League kicks off this weekend, with a number of milestones possible. The following statistical achievements could be reached on Sunday in the opening: [J2 Career Appearances] Yuki Nakashima (Machida Zelvia) - 300 appearances Tomohiro Tsuda (Yokohama FC) - 200 appearances [J2 Total Goals] Kazuki Ganaha (Kamatamare San…

The 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League kicks off this weekend, with a number of milestones possible. The following statistical achievements could be reached on Saturday in the opening: [J1 Career Appearances] Tereyuki Moniwa (Cerezo Osaka) - 300 appearances Ryota Moriwaki (Urawa Reds) - 250 appearances Hidetaka Kanazono (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) - 10…

The J.League on Thursday confirmed the participation of five clubs in the 2017 J.Satellite League. Vegalta Sendai, Shonan Bellmare, Albirex Niigata, Shimizu S-Pulse and Sanfrecce Hiroshima will take part in the competition, which gives young players more playing opportunities. The J.Satellite League was revived in 2016 after initially taking place fro…

The J.League on Thursday confirmed the use of Additional Assistant Referees (AAR) throughout the entirety of the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup. The extra officials, who help accurately judge decisions within the penalty area, were first used in the J.League last season during the knockout stage of the 2016 J.League YBC Levain Cup, the J.League Championshi…

The J.League-supported documentary “MARCH” has claimed the Best Foreign Language Documentary Award at the International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema in London. The short film follows Minamisoma, Fukushima-based marching band Seeds+ during their 2015 performance at an Ehime FC match as part of their efforts to promote revitalisation of t…

Gamba Osaka roared to a 3-0 win against Adelaide United in their first AFC Champions League Group H game on Wednesday. Kenta Hasegawa’s men downed their 2008 ACL final opponents thanks to first-half goals from Shun Nagasawa and Yasuyuki Konno. Dylan McGowan’s own-goal late in the second half compounded Adelaide’s misery as Gamba secu…

Kawasaki Frontale were denied the win in a 1-1 draw against Suwon Samsung Bluewings in their AFC Champions League opener on Wednesday. Yu Kobayashi put his side in the driving seat in the 11th minute when he turned home Kengo Nakamura’s well-executed volleyed pass, as they looked to gain the early initiative in Group G. However, Shogo Taniguchi …

The J.League got off to a strong start in the 2017 AFC Champions League on Tuesday, with two teams winning their opening matches. In Australia’s Campbelltown Stadium, Urawa Reds took down 2014 champions Western Sydney Wanderers in a decisive 4-0 victory.  After a first half that finished 0-0, the visitors took the lead when Tadanari Lee ass…