The J. League will resume on 23 April chairman Kazumi Ohigashi confirmed after the competition was suspended following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan on 11 March.

However games involving Kashima Antlers, Vegalta Sendai and Mito Hollyhock - all of whom suffered damage to their home grounds and club facilities - may be rescheduled or played at a neutral venue.

All games in April will take place during the day to save electricity, a measure that may be extended throughout the season. The north-east of the country including the Greater Tokyo area are suffering electricity shortages in the aftermath of the disaster.

We came to a conclusion unanimously that 23 April will be the best.
Kazumi Ohigashi, J.League chairman

"We came to a conclusion unanimously that 23 April will be the best," said Ohigashi. "We, the league, had a second idea of resuming in a month's time [at the end of April] but that would make our calendar tighter and we also considered the demands of electricity and the physical condition of our players in summer time."

The games initially scheduled for the period 12 March to 17 April - five rounds in the first division and six rounds in the second division - will be played in July, which had originally been earmarked as a month-long break due to Japan's national team commitments. The J. League Cup games on 6-7 April were also rescheduled for later in the season.