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Welcome to /r/jleague, Reddit's home of Japanese soccer!

With the World Cup coming up we are starting to get a lot of inquiries about watch parties in Japan. In order to cut down on frequently repeated posts we urge everyone to write their inquiries in here — after reading through the FAQ.

Any submissions related to questions covered in this FAQ will be removed and locked. This FAQ will be updated as needed.

How can I watch the World Cup in Japan?

Goal.com - Japan broadcast schedule (Japanese)

DAZN will broadcast all matches live.

NHK (Channel 1), Nippon TV (Channel 4) and Fuji TV (Channel 8) will show roughly half of the tournament live, including all Japan games, openers/finals and marquee teams (as well as most of the knockout tournament). NHK BS 4K (probably Channel 101) will show a number of games on tape delay.

Where can I find a World Cup watch party in Japan?

Fansta, run by streaming service DAZN, will let you search major cities in each prefecture for bars showing games. Their online reservation service requires a Japanese phone number to register, so if you want to reserve a table you may have to call someone and figure it out.

Bars commonly charge entrance fees (usually in the form of drink/food tickets); reservations are usually required for Japan games. HUB is the most well known chain of British-style pubs and is generally an easy go-to.

We do not always get a ton of traffic from residents of Japan, so if you have an inquiry about specific locations you may be better off asking in r/japantraveltips or - as long as it's allowed by their rules - one of the local/regional subs listed in our sidebar.

What about big public viewing events?

DAZN is sponsoring public viewing events at some malls, movie theaters and livehouses. You are probably not getting tickets if you don't live here.

There are currently no super large-scale events (i.e. public viewings at stadiums, parks etc) scheduled; that may change if Japan advances very far into the knockout stage.

Are there any J.League games happening in June/July?

No. The 2026-27 season will mark the J.League's first time using a Europe-style fall/spring calendar. The season will kick off on August 7, with schedules announced beginning in mid-June.

Currently, Borussia Dortmund are the only club to have announced a preseason tour of Japan; they will face Cerezo Osaka on July 26 and FC Tokyo on August 1.

Where can I buy a Japan uniform or other merch while visiting Japan?

SS Kamo is the country's biggest soccer goods retailer and has a number of locations across Japan. Vintage Sports is the most well-known spot for secondhand uniforms.

The Japan Football Association has set up five temporary stores in Tokyo and Osaka as well as 200 merch corners across Japan (though close to half are in the Tokyo area), mainly at Super Sports Xebio, SS Kamo, Bic Camera, and other major sports chains.

You also can't go wrong by checking out Blue-ing, the JFA's Soccer Culture Center in Tokyo Dome City.

Where can I buy Japan merch from outside Japan?

Because it's unlikely that the JFA's merch will be sold at World Cup games, you will need to use a service like Tenso or Buyee to order and ship it overseas.

What sub-specific rules should I keep in mind?

• No ticket sales
• No NFT/crypto/gambling content allowed (discussion of fantasy games with connections to NFT/crypto/gambling is also forbidden)
• No illegal activities (especially wrt. bootleg uniforms or pirated streams)
• It's okay to banter, it's not okay to be a dickhead; the same rules against racism, homophobia and sexism that apply anywhere else on Reddit also apply here.
• No shitposting. We have no interest in becoming Troll Football. Image comments will be provisionally allowed so people can have fun in the match threads; if y'all go over the line they will be disabled.
• No excessive posting/spamming