TOKYO - The J.League will kick off a new era Friday with its first August start to the season, bringing Japanese football into line with the top European leagues.
Among the 20 top-tier J1 sides, Sanfrecce Hiroshima enjoyed a productive summer of transfers to put pressure on Kashima Antlers and Vissel Kobe, the finalists for the one-off 100 Year Vision League, staged in the first half of 2026 to fill the calendar ahead of the transition.
Former Japan forward Takuma Asano left Mallorca to return to his first club Hiroshima, where he has been joined by former West Ham and Ajax striker Sebastien Haller from Ivory Coast. Midfielder Takumu Kawamura also returned from his injury-blighted spell at Red Bull Salzburg to bolster manager Bartosch Gaul's options.
The Toru Oniki-led Kashima, the 2025 champions and record nine-time winners, will remain one of the teams to beat in the new campaign after adding Brazilian midfielder Matheus Bueno and attacker Yan Matheus.
Kobe, winners of the Vision League under Michael Skibbe, increased their firepower by adding 2024 J1 top scorer Anderson Lopes to a squad teeming with former Japan internationals, including Yuya Osako.
Machida Zelvia made a stunning run to the Asian Champions League Elite final in April in their debut continental campaign, and they will look to continue challenging for their maiden J1 title while playing their high-intensity style under manager Go Kuroda.
Kashiwa Reysol and Kyoto Sanga will head straight into the ACLE after they respectively finished second and third in 2025, joining Kashima and Kobe in the group stage.
ACL2 champions Gamba Osaka could join the quartet in the ACLE should they advance through the preliminary stage.
Mito HollyHock enter their first full-fledged J1 campaign after playing in the Vision League, while JEF United Chiba and V-Varen Nagasaki return to the top-flight for the first time since 2009 and 2018, respectively.
The final matches of the calendar year on Dec. 19 will precede a winter break before the campaign relaunches on Feb. 13, with the season ending on June 6.
