| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
1987–88 → | |
Statistics ofJapan Soccer League for the 1986–87 season.
Despite moving toKashiwa, Chiba and asoccer-specific stadium of their own, Hitachi did not adjust well and were relegated in bottom place, the first drop for the former champions. Matsushita, despite having more victories than relegation rivals Yamaha, had more losses as well and thus joined Hitachi.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yomiuri | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 18 | +17 | 29 | 1987 Asian Club Championship |
| 2 | Nippon Kokan | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 30 | 17 | +13 | 29 | |
| 3 | Mitsubishi Motors | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 28 | |
| 4 | Furukawa Electric | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 17 | +9 | 26 | |
| 5 | Nissan | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 24 | |
| 6 | Yanmar Diesel | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 24 | |
| 7 | Mazda | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 23 | |
| 8 | Fujita Engineering | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 22 | |
| 9 | Honda | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 20 | |
| 10 | Yamaha Motors | 22 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 17 | |
| 11 | Matsushita Electric | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 38 | −15 | 16 | Relegated to Second Division |
| 12 | Hitachi | 22 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 43 | −30 | 6 |
Sumitomo returned to the top flight at the first time of asking, followed by Toyota Motors, who had been struggling since their 1977 relegation and came close to dropping out of the League. TDK and the Kyoto Police Dept. team went back to the regional divisions; TDK would not return to the second tier until2021.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 23 |
| 2 | Sumitomo | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 9 | +27 | 21 |
| 3 | Kofu Club | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | Cosmo Oil | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 14 |
| 5 | ANA Yokohama | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 13 |
| 6 | Fujitsu | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 13 |
| 7 | Toho Titanium | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 12 |
| 8 | TDK | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 46 | −38 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanabe Pharmaceuticals | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 23 |
| 2 | Toyota Motors | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 20 |
| 3 | Osaka Gas | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 19 |
| 4 | Seino Transportation | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 16 |
| 5 | Nippon Steel | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 15 |
| 6 | Kyoto Prefectural Police | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 34 | −19 | 8 |
| 7 | Kawasaki Steel | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 6 |
| 8 | NTT Kansai | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 31 | −19 | 5 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sumitomo | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 22 | Promoted to First Division |
| 2 | Toyota Motors | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 16 | |
| 3 | Tanabe Pharmaceuticals | 14 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 14 | |
| 4 | Seino Transportation | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 14 | |
| 5 | Toshiba | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 13 | |
| 6 | Osaka Gas | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 12 | |
| 7 | Kofu Club | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 11 | |
| 8 | Cosmo Oil | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 10 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fujitsu | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 24 | |
| 2 | ANA Yokohama | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 20 | |
| 3 | Toho Titanium | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 16 | |
| 4 | TDK | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 54 | −34 | 11 | Relegated to Regional Leagues |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nippon Steel | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 23 | |
| 2 | Kawasaki Steel | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 13 | |
| 3 | NTT Kansai | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 11 | |
| 4 | Kyoto Prefectural Police | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 54 | −34 | 11 | Relegated to Regional Leagues |
| Pos | East | Score | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9–10 | Fujitsu | 3-3(PK4-2) | Nippon Steel |
| 11–12 | ANA Yokohama | 4-2 | Kawasaki Steel |
| 13–14 | Toho Titanium | 3-0 | NTT Kansai |
| 15–16 | TDK | 5-0 | Kyoto Prefectural Police |