Japanese Non-league Football News

There was just one game in the infuriatingly-scheduled Tohoku League Division 2 (North) over the weekend, relegated side Morioka Zebra winning their first match of the new season against Vanraure Hachinohe...

Sun 04 May: Morioka Zebra 3-2 Vanraure Hachinohe

Newly-promoted Viancone Fukushima got a terrific start to life in Division 1 of the Tohoku League, winning their first match 2-0 against Furukawa Battery... but the shock of the Japanese Regional League season so far came at Grulla Morioka, where the hot favourites to retain their championship were held 1-1 by last season's Division 2 (North) title winners, FC Akita Cambiare...

Sun 04 May: Furukawa Battery 0-2 Viancone Fukushima
Sun 04 May: Grulla Morioka 1-1 FC Akita Cambiare

1. NEC Tokin 3 (+5)
2. FC Primeiro 3 (+3)
3. Sendai Nakata Club 3 (+3)
4. Viancone Fukushima 3 (+2)
5. Grulla Morioka 1 (-)
6. FC Akita Cambiare 1 (-5)
7. Wiese Shiogama 0 (-3)
8. Furukawa Battery 0 (-5)

In the only Shikoku League match of the weekend, Kamatamare Sanuki won their game in hand against Ehime Shimanami to storm back to the top of the standings...

Sun 04 May: Ehime Shimanami 0-6 Kamatamare Sanuki

1. Kamatamare Sanuki 12 (+29)
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2. Tokushima Vortis 2nd 10 (+24)
3. Sanyo Electric Tokushima 8 (+3)
4. Nangoku Kochi 7 (+9)
5. Ehime Shimanami 5 (-5)
6. Ventana AC 1 (-12)
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7. Showa Club 1 (-20)
8. Tokushima Comprille SC 0 (-28)

Ain Food cracked first in the battle at the top of the Kansai League Division 1. They only drew at FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 and so have fallen two points behind leaders Banditonce Kakogawa, 6-1 winners over Sanyo Electric Sumoto... Kobe FC 1970 won the clash between the bottom two teams to leapfrog Hannan University...

Sat 03 May: Diablossa Takada FC 1-2 AS Laranja Kyoto
Sat 03 May: FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 1-1 Ain Food
Sat 03 May: Kobe FC 1970 2-0 Hannan University
Sat 03 May: Sanyo Electric Sumoto 1-6 Banditonce Kakogawa

1. Banditonce Kakogawa 12 (+16)
2. Ain Food 10 (+8)
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3. FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 7 (-)
4. AS Laranja Kyoto 6 (+1)
5. Sanyo Electric Sumoto 6 (-4)
6. Diablossa Takada FC 3 (-2)
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7. Kobe FC 1970 3 (-9)
8. Hannan University 0 (-10)

The Kansai League Division 2 continues to look as if it will be one of the closest-fought of all the Regional Leagues this year... ex-Shiga Prefectural League sides Shiga FC and Biwako SC Hira now occupy the automatic promotion places, although only on goal difference from both Kyoto Shiko Club and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe... at the other end of the table, Hermano Osaka and Riseisha FC have yet to get off the mark...

Sat 03 May: Biwako SC Hira 3-1 Kyoto Shiko Club
Sat 03 May: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe 4-3 Renaiss Health & Medical College

Sun 04 May: Hermano Osaka 1-5 Shiga FC
Sun 04 May: Riseisha FC 1-3 FC Glaspo Kashiwara

1. Shiga FC 9 (+8)
2. Biwako SC Hira 9 (+3)
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3. = Kyoto Shiko Club 9 (+2)
3. = Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe 9 (+2)
5. Renaiss Health & Medical College 6 (+6)
6. FC Glaspo Kashiwara 6 (-)
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7. Riseisha FC 0 (-9)
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8. Hermano Osaka 0 (-12)

There was a double-header of fixtures over Saturday and Sunday of the holiday weekend in the Chugoku League. Previous front-runners Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku were without a game and Renofa Yamaguchi took full advantage to move top, following wins over Mazda SC and Hitachi Manufacturing Kasado... Dezzolla Shimane - the former FC Central Chugoku - are second, despite having only drawn with newcomers FC Ube Yahhh-man... in fact Yamaguchi's Ube and the other team promoted from the Prefectural Leagues, NTN Okayama, are both putting up a good showing in their first ever Regional League campaign...

Sat 03 May: FC Ube Yahhh-man 5-0 JFE Steel Western Japan Fukuyama
Sat 03 May: Hitachi Manufacturing Kasado 1-2 Dezzolla Shimane
Sat 03 May: Mazda SC 1-2 Renofa Yamaguchi
Sat 03 May: NTN Okayama 1-0 Hiroshima Fujita SC

Sun 04 May: FC Ube Yahhh-man 1-1 Dezzolla Shimane
Sun 04 May: Hiroshima Fujita SC 3-0 Mazda SC
Sun 04 May: Renofa Yamaguchi 6-2 Hitachi Manufacturing Kasado

1. Renofa Yamaguchi 10 (+6)
2. Dezzolla Shimane 7 (+1)
3. Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku 6 (+7)
4. NTN Okayama 6 (+2)
5. FC Ube Yahhh-man 5 (+5)
6. Hiroshima Fujita SC 3 (-1)
7. Hitachi Manufacturing Kasado 3 (-4)
8. Mazda SC 3 (-8)
9. JFE Steel Western Japan Fukuyama 0 (-8)