Japan Soccer League

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 only, 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 Ltd., Furukawa Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nissan Motors, 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.

Current J. League identity and/or standing in the Japanese football league system follows each name.

A total of 22 teams played in the JSL First Division between 1965 and 1991/92. 15 of these became professional J. League clubs; the rest were relegated to the regional leagues and/or folded.

Despite Mazda and Yomiuri's record 5 titles, Mitsubishi holds the record on points. Furukawa Electric holds the record for most seasons, all 27 the JSL played, having 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. "Current division" means standing in the Japanese league system as of 2020 season.

Points system:

In this ranking, 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss, regardless of the transition of regulation through the time as below.

• 1965–1976, 1980–1987/88: 2 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss
• 1977–1979: 4 points for a regular time, 2 for winning penalty shootout after a draw, 1 for a penalty shootout loss, 0 for a regular time loss
• 1988/89–1991/92: 3 points for a win, 1 per draw, 0 per loss

• Category:Japan Soccer League players
• Category:Japan Soccer League seasons

• Final tables from 1965 on (First Division only) at rsssf.com
• Soccerphile: History of Japanese football
• BBC Sport: "How football went Japanese"
• Contents of Domestic Competition of Football in Japan
• JSL Ganbare!