J1 League

J1 League: Kashima win the East in the 2026 transition season

The J1 League is Japan's top division, founded in 1993, and Kashima Antlers are its most successful club. From 2026/27 the league moves to an August-to-June calendar, in line with Europe, and the first half of 2026 was filled by a one-off transition season, played by the twenty J1 clubs in East and West groups of ten.

Kashima won the East with 45 points from 18 games, eight ahead of FC Tokyo and Machida Zelvia; they lost three times and conceded only 11 goals. Vissel Kobe won the West with 35 points, four ahead of Cerezo Osaka and Nagoya Grampus. Every game in the transition season had a winner, with drawn games decided on penalties.

Léo Ceará of Kashima, Yokohama F. Marinos' K. Tanimura and Nagoya's Y. Yamagishi shared the scoring lead with ten goals each. JEF United Chiba finished bottom of the East with three wins.