Sam Robson and Scott McIntyre guest to review the week's two J1 matchdays.
We begin with Sunday's top of the table clash between Hiroshima and Kawasaki, and discuss the outlook for both teams moving forward (to 15:20), then move on to FC Tokyo's recent struggles, Sapporo's staying power, and round up the results for the rest of the teams in the top half, with a special mention for Kashima as they set out to conquer Asia (to 41:35).
Then we turn our attention to the 'wrong end' of the table, beginning with Nagoya's stunning winning streak, but then a bleaker outlook for current relegation zone occupants Tosu, Gamba Osaka and Nagasaki, with an obligatory Yokohama chat thrown in at no extra charge (to 1:21:50). We finish off with a quick check on Japan at the Asian Games and the Women's Under 20 World Cup, with the briefest of J2 updates right at the end.
Follow my guests on twitter:
Scott - @mcintinhos
Sam - @FRSoccerSam