; JSL) was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936. JSL was the first-ever national league of an amateur team sport in Japan.
History
Each JSL team represented a corporation, and like Japanese baseball teams, went by the name of the company that owned the team. Unlike in baseball, however, promotion and relegation was followed, as J.League follows today. The players were officially amateur and were employees of the parent corporations, but especially in later years, top players were generally paid strictly to play soccer.
Originally, the JSL consisted of a single division, but in 1972 a Second Division was added. Clubs could join in by winning the All Japan Senior Football Championship cup competition and then winning a promotion/relegation series against the bottom teams in the JSL. From 1973 to 1980, both the champions and runners-up of the Second Division had to play the promotion/relegation series against the First Division's bottom clubs; afterwards and until 1984, only the runners-up had to play the series.
Top JSL teams included Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nissan, Toyo Industries (Mazda) and Yomiuri Shimbun, which are now, respectively, Kashiwa Reysol, JEF United Chiba, Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Tokyo Verdy. Furukawa/JEF United was the only one never to be relegated to the Second Division and kept this distinction until 2009.
JSL played its final season in 1991/92 and the J.League began play in 1993. Top nine JSL clubs, (along with the independent Shimizu S-Pulse) became the original J.League members. The others except Yomiuri Junior who merged with their parent club Yomiuri Club joined the newly formed Japan Football League.
Champions
Division 1
All clubs are listed under the names they were using in 1991–92, when the league ceased to exist. Clubs in italic no longer exist. Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Runners-up seasons Yomiuri FC 5 3 1983, 1984, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1991–92 1979, 1981, 1989–90 Mazda SC 5 1 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 1969 Mitsubishi Motors 4 6 1969, 1973, 1978, 1982 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 Yanmar Diesel 4 4 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980 1968, 1972, 1978, 1982 Fujita SC 3 1 1977, 1979, 1981 1980 Nissan Motor 2 4 1988–89, 1989–90 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92 JR East Furukawa 2 1 1976, 1985 1967 Hitachi 1 1 1972 1973 Yamaha Motor 1 0 1987–88 NKK SC 0 3 1985, 1986–87, 1987–88 Nippon Steel Yawata 0 2 1965, 1966 All Nippon Airways SC 0 1 1988–89
Division 2
All clubs are listed under the names they were using in 1991–92, when the league ceased to exist. Clubs in italic no longer exist. Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Runners-up seasons Yomiuri FC 1974, 1977 1975, 1976 Sumitomo Metal 1984, 1986 1983, 1991–92 Toshiba SC 1979, 1988–89 1982 Honda Motors 1978, 1980 NKK SC 1981, 1983 Toyota Motor 1972 1986, 1989–90 Fujitsu 1976 1974, 1980 Tanabe Pharmaceutical 1975 1972 Yamaha Motor 1982 1979 Matsushita Electric 1985 1987 All Nippon Airways SC 1987 1984 Hitachi 1990–91 1988–89 Eidai Industries 1973 Mitsubishi Motors 1989–90 Fujita SC 1991–92 Nissan Motor 0 3 1977, 1978, 1981 Mazda SC 1985, 1990–91 Kofu SC 1973
League Cup See JSL Cup.
Konica Cup See Konica Cup (football).
All-time JSL member clubs
Current J.League identity (in bold if competing in any J. League division) and/or standing in the Japanese football league system follows each name.
Original clubs Furukawa Electric (1965–1992), became JEF United Chiba Hitachi SC (1965–1992), became Kashiwa Reysol Mitsubishi Motors (1965–1992), became Urawa Red Diamonds Toyota Industries (1965–1968, 1972–1973), became Toyota Industries SC Nagoya Mutual Bank (1965–1966, 1968–1971), became Nagoya WEST FC Yanmar Diesel (1965–1992), became Cerezo Osaka Toyo Industries / Mazda (1965–1992), became Sanfrecce Hiroshima Yawata Steel / Nippon Steel (1965–1991), became Nippon Steel Yawata SC, defunct
Other First Division Clubs In order of their promotion to the top-flight: Nippon Kokan (Nippon Steel Piping) / NKK SC (1967–1992), defunct Towa Real Estate / Fujita Industry / Fujita (1972–1992), became Shonan Bellmare Toyota Motor (1972–1992), became Nagoya Grampus Tanabe Pharmaceutical (1972–1992), became Tanabe Mitsubishi Pharma SC, defunct Eidai Industries (1972–1977), became Eidai SC, defunct Fujitsu SC (1972–1992), became Kawasaki Frontale Yomiuri FC (1972–1992), became Tokyo Verdy Nissan Motor (1976–1992), became Yokohama F. Marinos Yamaha Motor (1979–1992), became Júbilo Iwata Honda (1975–1992), became Honda FC Sumitomo Metal (1973–1992), became Kashima Antlers Yokohama Tristar / All Nippon Airways SC (1983–1992), became Yokohama Flügels, defunct Matsushita Electric (1984–1992), became Gamba Osaka Toshiba (1978–1992), became Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Notable Second Division clubs Many of these clubs would only be promoted to the top-flight after the J.League was created. Kofu Club (1972–1992), became Ventforet Kofu Kyoto Shiko Club (1972–1978, 1988–1992), became Kyoto Sanga. Note that phoenix Kyoto Shiko Club was formed in 1993 and now competes in the Kansai Soccer League. Kawasaki Steel (1986–1992), became Vissel Kobe NTT Kanto (1987–1992), became Omiya Ardija Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1990–1992), became Tokushima Vortis Tokyo Gas (1992), became FC Tokyo Chūō Bohan (Central Crime Prevention, 1992), became Avispa Fukuoka TDK SC (1985–1987), became Blaublitz Akita
All-time JSL First Division table A total of 22 teams played in the JSL First Division between 1965 and 1991–92. Fifteen of these became professional J.League clubs; the rest were relegated to the regional leagues and/or folded.
Despite Mazda and Yomiuri's record five titles, Mitsubishi holds the record on points. Furukawa Electric holds the record for most seasons, all 27 the JSL played, never been relegated.
Name changes made outside First Division play and following the advent of the J.League system are not mentioned; see individual club pages for more information. All statistics are within JSL First Division play except for "Current division" and "Tier", which denote standing in the Japanese league system as of 2023 season. Pos.ClubSeasonsPtsGPWDLGFGAGDBestfinishCurrent divisionTier1Mitsubishi26 7504602111171326825071751stJ1 League12Furukawa277314822031221577055961091stJ2 League23Yanmar 267034601951181476795701091stJ1 League14Hitachi2454341615190175581608-271stJ1 League1Mazda 22543376149961315264241021stJ1 League16Fujita18520340144881084953721231stJ1 League17Yomiuri 1450328014471654812861951stJ2 League28NKK2139637898102178404601-1972nddefunct–9Nippon Steel 1738527411055109433406272nddefunct–10Nissan123842441095778315284311stJ1 League111Yamaha 1132222686647625524961stJ2 League212Honda 11289226727381251267-163rdJFL413ANA5139110382547131145-142nddefunct–14Matsushita 5128110313544122152-305thJ1 League115Toyota 8105156243399128363-2355thJ1 League116Toshiba 382661925227276-44thJ1 League117Eidai369541912236783-165thdefunct–18Sumitomo3606615153650101-5110thJ1 League119Nagoya Bank 638849116476210-1346thAichi Prefectural D3920Fujitsu 22836610203267-359thJ1 League121Toyota ALW 32042483038112-746thAichi Prefectural D1722Tanabe 14181116751-4410thdefunct–
In this ranking, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss, regardless of the transition of regulation through the time as follows: 1965–1976, 1980 to 1987–88: 2 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss. 1977–1979: 4 points for a regulation time win, 2 for winning penalty shoot-out after a draw, 1 for a penalty shoot-out loss, 0 for a regulation time loss. 1988–89 to 1991–92: 3 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.
Topscorers Japan Soccer League Division 1 YearLeading goalscorer Goals Mutsuhiko Nomura (Hitachi) 15 Aritatsu Ogi (Toyo Industries) 14 Takeo Kimura (Furukawa Electric ) 15 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel ) 14 Hiroshi Ochiai (Mitsubishi Motors) 12 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) 16 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) 11 Akira Matsunaga (Hitachi SC) 12 Akira Matsunaga (Hitachi SC) 11 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) 21 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) 17 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) 15 Carvalho (Fujita Industries) 23 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) Carvalho (Fujita Industries) 15 Ruy Ramos (Yomiuri) 14 Hiroyuki Usui (Hitachi SC) 14 Hiroshi Yoshida (Furukawa Electric) 14 Hiroyuki Usui (Hitachi SC) 13 Ruy Ramos (Yomiuri) 10 Tetsuya Totsuka (Yomiuri) 14 Hiroshi Yoshida (Furukawa Electric) 16 Toshio Matsuura (NKK SC) 17 Toshio Matsuura (NKK SC) 11 Adílson (Yamaha Motors) 11 Renato (Nissan Motors) 17 Tetsuya Totsuka (Yomiuri) Tsuyoshi Kitazawa (Honda Motors) Renato (Nissan Motors) 10 Toninho (Yomiuri SC) 18
Japan Soccer League Division 2 YearLeading goalscorer Goals Akio Okuda (Dainichi Nippon Electric Cable) 14 Michiaki Nakamura (Yongdae Industry) 21 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri SC) 13 Toshiki Okajima (Yomiuri SC) 21 Toshiki Okajima (Yomiuri SC) 15 Toshiki Okajima (Yomiuri SC) 11 Atsuto Kazuno (Kofu club) 12 Michiaki Nakamura (Toshiba Horikawa Town) 15 Shiro Higuchi (Honda Motor) 11 Kazutaka Oishi (Toshiba) 18 Kazutaka Oishi (Toshiba) 11 Toshio Matsuura (Nippon Kokan) 18 Kazuhiro Mogi (Sumitomo Metals) 11 Hiroyasu Yamamoto (Matsushita Electric) 9 Kazuhiro Mogi (Sumitomo Metals) 11 Takanori Wada (Kawasaki Steel Mizushima) 14 Carbanesse (Toshiba) 11 Masahiro Fukuda (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 36 Wagner Lopes (Hitachi) 33 Zico (Sumitomo Metals) 21
Assists Japan Soccer League Division 1 YearLeading assister Assists Takayuki Kuwata (Toyo Kogyo) 7 Saburo Kawabuchi (Furukawa Electric) 9 Ryuichi Sugiyama (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 8 Ryuichi Sugiyama (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 11 Terunori Miyamoto (Nippon Steel) 8 Ryuichi Sugiyama (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 10 Daishiro Yoshimura (Yanmar) 8 Michiaki Nakamura (Yongdae Industry) 10 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) Akio Tanabe (Furukawa Electric) 9 George Kobayashi (Yanmar Diesel) Kazumi Takada (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 7 Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel) George Kobayashi (Yanmar Diesel) Hiroji Imamura (Yanmar Diesel) 7 Yoshikazu Nagai (Furukawa Electric) 8 Higa Seihan (Fujita Industries) Mitsuru Komaeda (Fujita Industries) Shinichi Yasuhara (Toyo Kogyo) Yoshikazu Nagai (Furukawa Electric) 7 Gyro (Yomiuri Club) 9 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri Club) Ruy Ramos (Yomiuri Club) 9 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri Club) 9 Yoshikazu Nagai (Furukawa Electric) 7 Kazuo Ozaki (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 8 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri Club) 10 Kazushi Kimura (Nissan Motors) 12 Tomoyasu Asaoka (Nippon Kokan) 11 Takashi Mizunuma (Nissan Motors) 17 Hiroshi Nagatomi (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) 11 Masahiro Wada (Matsushita Electric) 9 Ruy Ramos (Nissan Motors) Messias (Honda FC)10 Tetsuya Totsuka (Yomiuri) Tsuyoshi Kitazawa (Honda Motors) Renato (Nissan Motors) 10 Jorginho Putinatti (Toyota Motor SC) 12
Japan Soccer League Division 2 YearLeading assister Assists Masanobu Izumi (Toyota Motor Corporation) 7 Michiaki Nakamura (Yongdae Industry) 10 Nao Sekiguchi (Sumitomo Metals) 8 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri SC) 7 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri SC) 7 George Yonashiro (Yomiuri SC) 10 Yasuo Hoshino (Toshiba Horikawa Town) 11 Toshiaki Taki (Yanmar) 11 Miyoshi Akiyama (Yomiuri Club) 8 Akifumi Fukuda (Sumitomo Metals) 8 Atsushi Uchiyama (Yamaha Motor) Ryoichi Kawakatsu (Toshiba) Masaaki Kato (Toshiba) 9 Kinya Yamamoto (Nippon Kokan) Toshio Matsuura (Nippon Kokan) 6 Nippon Kokan (Tanabe Pharmaceutical) 12 Ryoji Taguchi (Toyota Motor Corporation) 7 Junichi Kawasaki (Sumitomo Metals) 12 Choi Deokju (Matsushita Electric) 16 Perez (Toshiba) 9 Osamu Hirose (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)25 Shinji Kobayashi (Kofu club) 14 Pita (Fujita) 12
Awards Best player