 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Football in Japan" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Football in Japan | |
|---|---|
 Japanese football fans inSaitama. | |
| Country | Japan |
| Governing body | JFA |
| National teams | Men's team Women's team |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| |
| International competitions | |
Football is among the most popular sports inJapan,[1][2][3] together withbaseball,tennis,golf,sumo, andcombat sports.[4] Around 40% of Japanese people consider themselves football fans.[5] The nationwide organization of football, theJapan Football Association, administers the professional football leagues, includingJ.League, which is considered by many the most successful football league in Asia.[6][7][8][9][10] Japan is also the country with the most comprehensively developed football in Asia in bothmen andwomen as well as in bothfutsal andbeach soccer.
Although the official English name of theJapan Football Association uses the term "football", the termsakkā (サッカー), derived from "soccer", is much more commonly used thanfuttobōru (フットボール). The JFA's Japanese name isNippon Sakkā Kyōkai.
From 1885 to around 1908 in theMeiji era,fūtobōru (フートボール) was the most commonly used term, andassoshieshon (アッソシエーション) also appeared; these were often written together withkemari (蹴鞠), a ball game of theHeian period. During theTaishō era and the earlyShōwa era, terms such asashiki futtobōru (ア式フットボール),ashiki shūkyū (ア式蹴球), andshūkyū (蹴球) came into frequent use.[11] With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war,sakkā became more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples beingFC Tokyo andKyoto Sanga FC.
The introduction of football in Japan is officially credited by the Japan Football Association, and numerous academic papers and books on the history of association football in Japan, to then Lieutenant-CommanderArchibald Lucius Douglas of the Royal Navy and his subordinates, who from 1873 taught the game and its rules to Japanese navy cadets while acting as instructors at theImperial Japanese Navy Academy in Tsukiji, Tokyo.[12][13][14][15]
The first official football match in Japan is widely believed to have been held on February 18, 1888, between theYokohama Country & Athletic Club andKobe Regatta & Athletic Club. YC&AC is the oldest running association football club in Japan as Association Football was introduced into the club on December 25, 1886, for training sessions starting from January 1887.The first Japanese association football club, founded as a football club, is considered to beTokyo Shukyu-dan, founded in 1917, which is now competing in the Tokyo Prefectural amateur league.
In the 1920s, football associations were organised and regional tournaments began in universities and high schools especially in Tokyo. In 1930, theJapan national association football team was organised and had a 3–3 tie withChina for their first title at theFar Eastern Championship Games. The Japan national team also participated in the1936 Berlin Olympic Games, the team had the first victory in an Olympic game with a 3–2 win over powerfulSweden.
Aside from the national cup, theEmperor's Cup established in 1921, there had been several attempts at creating a senior-level national championship. The first was the All Japan Works Football Championship (AJWFC), established in 1948 and open only to company teams. The second was the All Japan Inter-City Football Championship (AJICFC), established in 1955 and separating clubs by cities (any club, works, university or autonomous, could represent their home city and qualify) but the Emperor's Cup remained dominated by universities until the late 1950s. All these tournaments were cups followingsingle-elimination formulas, similar toSerie A in Italy before 1929.
The first organized national league, theJapan Soccer League, was organized in 1965 with eight amateur company clubs and replaced the AJWFC and AJICFC. At the1968 Mexico Olympic Games, the Japan national team, filled with the top JSL stars of the era, had its first big success winning third place and a bronze medal. Olympic success spurred the creation of a Second Division for the JSL and openings for the first few professional players, in the beginning, foreigners (mainly Brazilians), and a few from other countries, which also led to the country hosting its first international competition, the1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. Japanese players, however, remained an amateur, having to work day jobs for the companies owning the clubs (or other companies if their clubs were autonomous). This limited the growth of the Japanese game, and many better Japanese players had to move abroad to make a living off the game, such asYasuhiko Okudera, the first Japanese player to play in a professional European club, (1. FC Köln of Germany).UEFA andCONMEBOL aided the Japanese awareness of football by having theIntercontinental Cup played in Tokyo as a neutral venue.
In 1993, theJapan Professional Football League (commonly known as theJ.League) was formed replacing the semi-professional Japan Soccer League as the new top-level club competition in Japan.[16] It consisted of some of the top clubs from the old JSL, fully professionalized, renamed to fit communities and with the corporate identity reduced to a minimum.[17] The new higher-standard league attracted many more spectators and helped the sport to hugely increase in popularity. The professionalized league also offered, and offers, incentives for amateur non-company clubs to become part of their ranks with no major backing from a company; major examples of community, non-company-affiliated clubs who rose through theprefectural and regional ranks into the major leagues areAlbirex Niigata andOita Trinita.
Japan participated in its first-ever World Cup tournament at the1998 FIFA World Cup held in France. In 2002, Japan co-hosted the2002 FIFA World Cup withRepublic of Korea. After this, the association football communities of both countries received theFIFA Fair Play Award. The Japanese national team has reached the round of 16 on four occasions – as hosts in 2002, where they were knocked out by Turkey 1–0, in 2010, where they lost to Paraguay in penalties, in2018 where they fell 2–3 to Belgium, and in the2022 FIFA World Cup. Japan also qualified for the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The first worldwide popular association football-oriented Japanese animation (manga) series,Captain Tsubasa, was started in 1981.Captain Tsubasa was extremely popular among children of both genders in Japan. Its success led to much more association football manga being written, and it played a great role in association football history in Japan. Playing football became more popular than playing baseball in many schools throughout Japan from the 1980s due to the series.[citation needed]
Captain Tsubasa has also inspired the likes of prominent footballers such asHidetoshi Nakata,[18]Seigo Narazaki,Zinedine Zidane,Francesco Totti,Fernando Torres,Christian Vieri,Giuseppe Sculli,James Rodríguez,Alexis Sánchez[19] andAlessandro Del Piero[20] to play association football and choose it as a career. The inspiration for the character ofTsubasa Oozora came from a number of players, including most prominentlyMusashi Mizushima, arguably the first Japanese footballer to play abroad, and whose move toSão Paulo FC as a ten-year-old boy was partly mimicked in the manga.[21]
The animeGiant Killing revolves around a team's efforts to go from one of the worst professional teams in Japan to the best. Other works focusing on football includeHungry Heart: Wild Striker (from the same author ofCaptain Tsubasa),The Knight in the Area,Days,Inazuma Eleven andBlue Lock.
As in European countries, Japanesewomen's football is organized on a promotion and relegation basis. The top flight of women's association football is the semi-professionalL. League (currently billed as theNadeshiko League). Most clubs are independent clubs, although the recent trend is to have women's sections of established J.League clubs.
Thenational team has enjoyed major success at theFIFA Women's World Cup, having achieved its greatest triumph ever by winning the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany[22] and finishing as runner-up in2015 in Canada.
Stadiums with a capacity of 50,000 or higher are included.
| # | Image | Stadium | Capacity | City | Region | Built | Home team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Japan National Stadium | 80,016 | Tokyo | Kantō region | 2019 | Japan national football team (some matches) Japan national rugby union team |
| 2 |  | Nissan Stadium | 72,327 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 1998 | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| 3 |  | Saitama Stadium 2002 | 63,700 | Saitama | Kantō region | 2001 | Japan national football team (most matches) Urawa Red Diamonds |
| 4 |  | Shizuoka Stadium | 50,889 | Fukuroi | Shizuoka | 2001 | someJúbilo Iwata andShimizu S-Pulse matches |
| Most supportedJ1 League clubs (Statista, 2024)[23] | |
|---|---|
| Club | % |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 4.3% |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2.9% |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2.9% |
| Gamba Osaka | 2.8% |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 2.6% |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2.6% |
| Kashima Antlers | 2.5% |
| Cerezo Osaka | 2.4% |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2.3% |
| Vissel Kobe | 2.3% |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2.1% |
| Júbilo Iwata | 1.9% |
| Tokyo Verdy | 1.5% |
| FC Tokyo | 1.5% |
| Kyoto Sanga | 1.0% |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 0.9% |
| Albirex Niigata | 0.9% |
| Sagan Tosu | 0.8% |
| Machida Zelvia | 0.8% |
| Shonan Bellmare | 0.5% |
The average attendance of the 2024 J1 League was 20,321. With an average of 37,519, the Urawa Red Diamonds drew the highest average home attendance in the 2024 J1 League. Average home attendance figures of the 2024 J1 League:
| # | Football club | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 37,519 |
| 2 | FC Tokyo | 33,225 |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus | 27,650 |
| 4 | Gamba Osaka | 26,096 |
| 5 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 25,609 |
| 6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 24,843 |
| 7 | Kashima Antlers | 22,998 |
| 8 | Albirex Niigata | 22,430 |
| 9 | Vissel Kobe | 21,156 |
| 10 | Kawasaki Frontale | 21,076 |
| 11 | Tokyo Verdy | 20,976 |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 17,903 |
| 13 | Machida Zelvia | 17,610 |
| 14 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 17,086 |
| 15 | Júbilo Iwata | 13,817 |
| 16 | Kyoto Sanga | 13,535 |
| 17 | Kashiwa Reysol | 12,070 |
| 18 | Shonan Bellmare | 11,315 |
| 19 | Sagan Tosu | 9,800 |
| 20 | Avispa Fukuoka | 9,698 |
Source:[24]
The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
| Season | League average | Best club | Best club average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21,246 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 37,350 |
| 2024 | 20,355 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 37,519 |
| 2023 | 18,991 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 30,509 |
| 2022 | 14,329 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 23,617 |
| 2019 | 20,751 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34,184 |
| 2018 | 19,064 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 35,502 |
| 2017 | 18,878 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 33,542 |
| 2014 | 17,297 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 35,516 |
| 2013 | 17,226 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 37,100 |
| 2012 | 17,567 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 36,634 |
| 2011 | 15,799 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 33,910 |
| 2010 | 18,515 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 39,941 |
| 2009 | 19,121 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 44,210 |
| 2008 | 19,208 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 47,609 |
| 2007 | 19,066 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 46,667 |
| 2006 | 18,301 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 45,732 |
| 2005 | 18,763 | Albirex Niigata | 40,114 |
| 1996 | 13,353 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 24,329 |
Sources: League pages on Wikipedia
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | FIFA Fair Play Award Winner 2002 | Succeeded by |
| National association | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National teams (2026) |
| ||||||
| Leagues (2026) |
| ||||||
| Cups (2026) |
| ||||||
| International cups |
| ||||||
| Culture |
| ||||||
| |||||||
.svg)
