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Founded: 1992
Inaugural season: 1993
Country: Japan
Number of Teams: 31
J1: 18
J2: 13
Chairman: Kenji Onitake
Current Champion: Kashima Antlers (2008)
Website: www.j-league.or.jp/eng/
Now one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football, Japan’s J.League, first opened to 59,626 supporters at Tokyo National Stadium on May 15, 1993. When the league was formed a year earlier, it had drawn ten clubs from the former Japan Soccer League. Prior to the J.League’s creation, the highest level of football in the country consisted of amateur, corporate-owned teams.
Since 1993, the number of clubs has grown steadily across the four main islands. A second division featuring a system of promotion and relegation was launched in 1999 to meet the rising demand for the world’s game. Now in the two division system, the premier league has expanded to 18 clubs. Over the course of the regular J.League season all the clubs compete for the prized Yamazaki Nabisco Cup.
As illustrated in their “One Hundred Year Vision” campaign, the league has focused efforts on improving the level of play and the development of Japan’s sporting culture. With an aggregate of 8.5 million fans watching J.League matches in 2005, the success of the league is easily measured.
Media Contact:
Hisao Shuto, Public Relations Manager
JFA House 9F, 3-10-15, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033
Tel: +81-3-3830-1915
Fax: +81-3-3830-1910
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