Coronavirus:Japan lifts relegation in football for 2020

By Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) - No teams will relegate to a lower division in the Japanese football leagues for the 2020 season.

The J.LEAGUE said on its website on Thursday that it lifted the relegation rule for the J1, J2 and J3 divisions in the 2020 season, changing the league format over the negativities caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Japan's league authority also said that there will be no promotion in top-tier J1 league but only two clubs can promote from J2 to J1 and two others from J3 to J2.

Separately, the football matches in Japan were extended to be suspended until at least April 3.

"We may face circumstances or unfairness when we resume, such as in the use of home stadiums, tight schedules and in difference in # of home/away matches," said the J.LEAGUE chair, Mitsuru Murai.

Murai added that the decision about the new relegation rule was unanimously taken.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has since spread to at least 160 countries and territories.

Out of more than 240,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 10,000, and over 86,000 have recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

Japan has reported 33 deaths and 943 affected people so far.