Half of Japan's football fans may have been sporting a wry smile on Saturday night. The other half are Urawa fans, and they were no doubt bemoaning Urawa's most recent 1-0 loss to Kashima Antlers in front of 62,123 fans at Saitama Stadium; a result that once again throws the title race wide open.

Cynical keyboard warriors like myself could perhaps be forgiven a bout of Schadenfreude after Urawa's German coach Holger Osieck was quick to point out how many players he was missing through injury in the wake of the defeat. Far be it for Urawa to ever admit being outplayed - they've been one of the most boring teams in Japanese football all season, preferring to wear down their opponents and grind out results instead.

Last season Urawa played a swashbuckling style under popular coach Guido Buchwald. The former German international tipped his hat and bid adieu to take over at 2.Bundesliga club Alemannia Aachen last January, and the red half of Saitama has seen their previous attacking style replaced with clinical (i.e. boring) efficiency under ex-Canada coach Osieck.

At any rate, perhaps the J-League was hoping that Urawa would wrap up the title at Saitama Stadium after all? Referee Kenji Ogiya had apparently already ordered his "Urawa - 2007 Champions" commemorative t-shirt - he sent off both Toru Araiba and Yuji Funayama for no apparent reason other than that they play for Kashima. It wasn't enough, as the nine-men Antlers held on for a famous 1-0 win.

If Kashima beat Shimizu S-Pulse at Kashima Stadium next weekend and Urawa fail to beat Yokohama FC at Nissan Stadium, then it is Kashima - and not Urawa, who will be crowned 2007 J-League champions. Of course, with 50,000 Urawa fans likely to outnumber the "home" fans by about ten thousand to one, there's more chance of me being picked for The Socceroos then there is of Yokohama FC beating Urawa. Still, stranger things have happened... like Urawa failing to win the league title at Saitama Stadium, for example.

Kashima Stadium will be packed next weekend as well, but one thing is for sure - there's no way they'll be outdancing the Yajima Fan Club! Shimizu experienced a bizarre afternoon at Nihondaira Stadium last Saturday. They went behind to an absolute peach of a goal from striker Seiichiro Maki, who if memory serves me correctly, last scored around the time that the Ice Age ended.

Jungo Fujimoto took it upon himself to level up proceedings, dancing passed two defenders before smashing an unstoppable drive that Tomonori Tateishi barely saw as it flashed into the net. Referee Hajime Matsuo then took centre stage, sending off United defender Daisuke Saito for a bookable offence after just eighteen minutes. Saito was the last man when he clipped Korean star Cho Jae-Jin's heel, but the decision to hand Saito a straight red card may have been slightly harsh - his collision with Jae-Jin looked accidental. Nevertheless Matsuo should be applauded for applying the letter of the law, when too often J-League referees have turned a blind eye to goalscoring opportunities being blatantly denied.

The send off left United to battle on with ten men, but it failed to hinder one of the goals of the season. On sixty-four minutes, JEF United defender Nenad Djordevic spotted Shimizu goalkeeper Yohei Nishibe off his line. As the ball broke to him in midfield, the Serb simply hammered a shot in on goal, and the 18,577 fans in attendance watched breathlessly as Djordevic's strike from inside his own half sailed over Nishibe's head and into the net. The Yajima Fan Club was not impressed!

Elsewhere Omiya Ardija virtually guaranteed their top flight status with a 2-1 win away at neighbours FC Tokyo, with defender Leandro challenging Nenad Djordevic in the Goal Of The Season stakes with a stunning, solo stoppage time winner. Ventforet Kofu were relegated after losing 2-1 away at Kashiwa Reysol, and for all the obvious refereeing vendettas against them, sceptics will point to the fact that Kofu have scored only 33 goals in 33 games - despite employing more strikers than I do bad metaphors. Sanfrecce Hiroshima will almost certainly play J2 side Kyoto Sanga FC in the promotion/relegation playoff match, but all eyes will be on Yokohama and Kashima next weekend, where either the Reds or the Antlers will be crowned 2007 J-League champions.

Kashiwa Reysol in first? Jubilo Iwata coming last? There's nothing like the opening day of the season to expose all your shortcomings as a pundit!

Last week I suggested that FC Tokyo and Jubilo Iwata were two teams to watch out for. I was certainly watching, as both teams were smashed on the opening day of the season. With regard to FC Tokyo, it was a case of "same old, same old," as they conceded four goals to a rampant Sanfrecce Hiroshima. FC Tokyo scored two themselves, but they seem to struggle with the concept of outscoring their opponents, in order to secure all three points. It was interesting to note that one of their big-name signings from last season, Sota Hirayama, finally cracked a place in the starting line-up, while Costa Rican World Cup star Paulo Wanchope warmed the bench. I guess that means that Wanchope should expect to make his FC Tokyo debut around the year 2008 - watch this space, he could be primed for a cracking start to his Tokyo career in about twelve months time.

Jubilo Iwata, meanwhile, seemed to be suffering from shock in their match against Kashiwa Reysol. Kashiwa employed some interesting tactics, which seemed mainly to revolve around kicking wildly at any Jubilo opponent within a ten metre radius. That opened up a lot of space for Kashiwa...since Jubilo were reluctant to go anywhere near the ball, and they exploited it by scoring four goals, to Jubilo's somewhat paltry none. At one stage I thought the fourth official should have run on and handed a pair of boxing gloves to Masahiro Koga and Norihiro Nishi, especially since Nishi looked like one of the few Jubilo players who was willing to duke it out! Kashiwa travel to Sanfrecce Hiroshima this weekend, which means that Kazuyuki Toda's eyes have probably already started to glaze over. Whatever odds you can get in Vegas on Toda being sent off, I think you should take them!

All eyes this weekend will of course be on Japan's second largest city, Yokohama. It's been eight years since Yokohama Flügels were "absorbed" into the Yokohama Marinos, sparking the wrath of the Flügels' support. Instead of sitting around and pining for days gone by, the Flügels fans did what any normal, slightly-insane football fan what do - they started their own club. Fast forward to March 10, 2007 and Yokohama FC are making their top-flight home debut at Mitsuzawa Stadium. Who should be their worthy opponents? Why none other than Yokohama F. Marinos, of course! Expect a positively nuclear reaction from the Yokohama FC fans, when the F. Marinos players step onto the pitch. Keep an eye on Yokohama FC's Tatsuhiko Kubo as well - he smashed home a 35 yard piledriver against Urawa Reds last weekend, as you do, and he joined Yokohama FC from...you guessed it, F. Marinos.

I myself will be delivering my own, somewhat warbled reactions, from JEF United's brand-spanking-new Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba. Okay, so the stadium is a couple of years old now, but at least it was built in the last three hundred years, unlike some other stadiums in Japan. JEF United were beaten 2-0 by Nagoya last weekend (remember how I said that that match could be really interesting? It wasn't!) and now they're under a bit of pressure, as they take on Shimizu S-Pulse in their first home match of the season. While I wouldn't like to suggest that JEF United Chairman Takahiro Yodogawa is trigger happy, I certainly get the feeling that coach Amar Osim could be headed for the unemployment office sooner, rather than later, if United don't take something from this match.

So there you have it. Lots of interesting things happening in the J-League, but if you have any sense, you probably won't take my word for it!

Wow, sorry for the cryptic Raised Fist title. Who would have thought that a kid who wears glasses listens to dodgy Swedish metalcore?

But moving right along, the J-League is indeed back and just like those breakdown-crushing, bicep-rippling Swedes, it may or may not be stronger than ever. FC Tokyo and Jubilo Iwata are certainly stronger, although ironically Tokyo strengthened by signing some of Jubilo's surplus requirements for this season. In Takashi Fukunishi (and to a lesser extent, Takayuki Chano), FC Tokyo may finally find some of the leadership and experience that they lacked last season. Yet in cutting loose the aforementioned Fukunishi and Chano (as well as Toshihiro Hattori and Hiroshi Nanami), Jubilo may free up room in their squad for several of their promising youngsters to come through. It worked last season with Yoshiaki Ota, and it could reap even bigger rewards this season.

Elsewhere, Urawa are still licking their wounds from a 4-0 thrashing handed out by Gamba Osaka in the Super Cup last weekend. Urawa may have been missing a few players through injury - including 2006 J-League MVP Marcus Tulio Tanaka, but given that they've assembled a squad that is the envy of every other J-League team, one couldn't help but notice the muffled cheers of joy from fans of every other J-League club, at the spanking handed out by Gamba. Spare a thought for Urawa's cross-town rivals Omiya Ardija though - they take on a potentially rampant Gamba on Saturday evening. (Actually spare a thought for last season's J2 champions Yokohama FC. They take on a potentially vengeful Urawa in their first ever top flight match!).

Kashiwa Reysol take on Jubilo on Sunday afternoon, but I reckon a far more interesting match-up takes place between Nagoya Grampus Eight and JEF United, in a match that could be billed as "the battle of the biggest mid-table clubs." Nagoya have the explosive Frode Johnsen up front, and his duel with JEF United's new Serbian defender Nenad Dordevic could prove fascinating. Whoever losses this match could be in for a nightmare season.

Personally, I'll be at Nihondaira Stadium this weekend, and it looks like I won't be the only one. As of writing, there were just 1,000 tickets left for Shimizu S-Pulse's clash with promoted outfit Vissel Kobe. The visitors can expect a hostile atmosphere (well, as hostile as Japanese crowds get) at a packed Nihondaira, and they'll have their hands full containing the likes of Fujimoto, Hyodo and co. Not to mention new signings Akinori Nishizawa and Fernandinho.

That's right kids, the J-League is back! And I for one, couldn't be happier.

Don't let the snappy title fool you. This is no laughing matter. Yuki Abe has moved to Urawa Reds. And the fate of the entire Universe may rest upon his shoulders.

Not really, although a lot of people here in Japan were kind of disappointed that Yuki Abe has joined the dark side, setting a record for the highest fee paid for a Japanese player in a domestic transfer in the process. It's not that they begrudge Abe success - after eight years at JEF United, you could hardly begrudge the man anything - it's just that some J-League fans are claiming that Urawa are strengthening their team, by dismantling others. Hey, if it works for Chelsea, it could work anywhere!

After virtually single-handedly (or should that be, single-footedly?) firing JEF United to successive League Cup crowns, Yuki Abe virtually WAS the team at JEF United. His sale may have raised around $US3 million dollars, but it has left United without their talisman. Curiously, they've chosen to remedy this by getting rid of half their squad, although the fact that most of those players were entirely useless was probably a solid basis for doing so.

In other news, there have been several more juicy transfers in the J-League so far. Paulo Wanchope to FC Tokyo! Takayuki Suzuki to Yokohama F. Marinos! Yoshito Okubo to Vissel Kobe! The entire Jubilo Iwata over-30's brigade to another team! None of these matter. No, my friends...the only transfer that matters, is former Espanyol and Bolton striker Akinori Nishizawa's move to Shimizu S-Pulse.

It seems that the S-Pulse management have heeded my calls to get rid of Marquinhos. That's probably because I persisted in making those calls about five metres away from the S-Pulse bench. Marquinhos will be diving and writhing in agony for Kashima Antlers next season - just his fifth club in his long and loyal six year career in the J-League so far. He will be replaced by none other than Nishizawa himself, a player that struck fear into the hearts of every fan sitting in Row F last season, with his wayward finishing and strange hairstyles.

Fear not, Akinori. I have faith. And what's more, I don't even sit in Row F.