Fellow writer Ben Jaycock recently waxed lyrical about why so many rugby stars could not turn down the opportunity to play in Japan on the back of mid-season signings of the likes of Michael Hooper, and the confirmed additions of Mark Tele'a and Noah Lolesio already locked in for the 2025-2026 season and 5th edition of the Japan Rugby League One.
Fellow writer Ben Jaycock recently waxed lyrical about why so many rugby stars could not turn down the opportunity to play in Japan on the back of mid-season signings of the likes of Michael Hooper, and the confirmed additions of Mark Tele'a and Noah Lolesio already locked in for the 2025-2026 season and 5th edition of the Japan Rugby League One.
But this season has seen an apparent downturn in fan attendance, while too much tinkering with formats could deter fans, although there is still much to be excited about rugby in Japan.
Ben argues that the Japan Rugby League One has a lot of public interest and that more than 55,000 fans attended last year's final. Last season also saw games average 9,174 per match, which was only just behind the United Rugby Championship’s 11,070, with the English Premiership clocking in at 15,358.
The JLRO last season surpassed one million spectators in a season for the first time prior to the finals being played.
However, there has been an obvious downturn in attendance this season, and the exact reasons seem unclear, as is the season total numbers for fan attendance, but all indications suggest they are lower than last season.
There is a perceived lack of enough local Japanese talent in the Japanese teams getting game time, possibly resulting in fewer fans attending matches is being touted in some Japanese media, and the perceived offset of having so many international stars playing in Japan has not resulted in fans heading to the stadiums in droves as expected.
Eddie Jones, after the recent loss by the Japan U23 side in Australia to his former club Randwick, said, “In the (Japanese) League One, only 48 per cent of playing time is Japanese players, so there’s not a lot to pick from there. Over the last five years, Japan hasn’t been able to beat anyone above them, so we need to bring new talent through.”
Hajime Shoj,i Chief Operating Officer of Japan Rugby League One, said in the pre-season media handbook for the JRLO, “Our system ensures Japanese players are not disadvantaged for selection but gives them the opportunity to play alongside the best players in the world and learn from this experience.
The quotas provide us with the perfect balance between the pursuit of international knowledge and the development of Japanese players. They reflect the core values and experience we want Japan Rugby League One to bring to Japanese fans, and to players and fans from all around the world.”
You can read more from Dan Carter’s views and hopes for Japanese rugby.
Fumiaki “Fumi” Tanaka retired from his professional career at the end of the JRLO 2023-2024 season, and the Brave Blossom scrum half ended with 75 caps for his country.
He said previously of the impact of the JRLO, “We have so many international players coming that some of the Japanese players are missing their opportunity to play in the JRLO matches. We need to think about how we can maintain the brand because I agree that fans are expecting the Japanese players to get more game time. We can keep the balance of the international and also the local players.”
The expanded JRLO this season sees three new teams involved in Division 3 - Yakult Levins Toda, LeRIRO Fukuoka and SECOM Sayama Rugguts.
There are also plans to expand again, possibly in 2026-2027 - there may be concerns that the Japanese rugby union league competition could face some financial issues, as we have seen clubs in many countries impacted around the world.
Just in the past month, we have seen the French National Rugby League Top 14 announce a €64.50 million operating loss for the 2023-2024 season, which was the worst financial performance outside the lockdown-disrupted 2020-2021 campaign, while yet another UK-based club (Cardiff) went into financial administration, the FRR announce losses from ghosting RWC 2023, and World Rugby and Australia Rugby announces financial concerns.
The company-club linked ownership format in Japan is unique, but global financial downturns would impact them as much as anywhere.
Tinkering with formats is also something to be cautious of as we have seen the fans voice their concerns over ongoing HSBC SVNS changes, while the Champions Cup in Europe, and Super Rugby format in the past all have seen downturns in interest due to constant fiddling with formats which have made the competitions in various iterations less attractive for the fams.
This 2024-2025 JRLO season also saw the introduction of many new law changes, and watching several international rugby competitions over the same weekend, each with different law sets, is not ideal for growing the game in new markets.
The rules implemented in the JRLO this season include World Rugby’s:
20-minute red card and off-field review
Shortening the time for conversion kicks to 60 seconds
Lineouts must be formed within 30 seconds
Protection of the scrum-half at scrums, rucks and mauls
Lineout throws that are not straight but are uncontested will not be penalised
The 2024-2025 season is slightly longer at 21 weeks (including division-wide bye rounds), while the promotion/relegation ‘Replacement Battle’ series between Divisions One and Two has been downsized and will involve four teams playing home and away, as opposed to the previous six-team format.
At the other end, in Division 1, the number of participating teams in the playoff tournament will increase from four to six.
Last season, the JRLO experimented with the Cross-Border Rugby 2024, which saw some Japan Rugby League One teams face Super Rugby Pacific opposition from New Zealand and that has not been brought back this season, although it may well return.
JRLO chairman Genichi Tamatsuka said last season that the timing of the competition was “not ideal”, but he hoped it was only the beginning, and that a more suitable time frame would be created for a formal series in the future.
He also countered concerns of the impact foreign players were having and that the brand of the JRLO has risen globally, saying in 2024, “The performance of the players is evidence of how the rising level of club play in Japan is providing perfect preparation for test players of all countries. Clubs in Japan Rugby League One are exceptional in how they manage their players physically, while the competition schedule, which includes bye rounds, ensures the players are at their best for their clubs, but also ready to go when their countries call.”
This season, the UK-based Leicester Tigers signed a Performance Partnership with Japan Rugby League One club Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, which both clubs said would lead to players from both Tigers and Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars to have cross-club opportunities for loan periods to further their development, as well as sharing high-performance expertise between coaches and staff at senior and academy levels in medical, strength and conditioning, analysis, recruitment and player welfare.
From 2026-2027, Japan's League One may expand to include teams from overseas with sides from Hong Kong China and South Korea rumoured to be interested but this would require several obstacles to be removed and financial assurances put in place - but it would be beneficial for both Asian nations as they have Men’s Rugby World Cup ambitions.
Japanese women’s clubs and some university clubs share JRLO club facilities, such as the Tokyo Saknyu Phoenix women’s club and Shimizu Construction Koto Blue Sharks in the Japan Rugby League One 1st division.
This season also saw the first time that a female referee was selected to officiate in the JRLO, with the appointment of Ano Kuwai.
Finally, the Japanese National Women’s Rugby Football Championship 2025 semifinals were coupled with JRLO matches as double-headers, which did help teams get exposure to more fans and possible commercial partners.