As dwindling attendance figures raise concerns over the future of Japan's only professional soccer league, one local Tokyo team busily preparing to join the new second division of the J. League next year is hoping that careful management will ensure its success.
Attendance at soccer matches here has declined, and most teams, both professional and nonprofessional, have been suffering from significant losses. Shimizu S-Pulse, the Shizuoka-based J. League team, went virtually bankrupt last year, as did Saga-based Tosu Futures, which was in the country's top nonprofessional league, the Japan Football League, and was aiming to go pro.
Average attendance per J. League game nearly halved from its 1994 peak of 19,600 to 10,100 in 1997, as the "soccer boom" that followed the league's inauguration in 1992 cooled off. Although the figure, apparently boosted by World Cup fever, has recovered somewhat this year, to 12,824 so far, some observers are worried that the effects won't last long after the world soccer festival ends.