Seeking two tickets to join the nation's top flight in a year's time, a total of 12 teams across the nation will launch their Division Two campaigns Saturday.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima is generally regarded as the favorite for one of those slots, and will probably be joined by either Albirex Niigata, recently relegated Consadole Sapporo or Kawasaki Frontale.
One of Sanfrecce's strengths is in its young talent, many of whom play for either Japan's Under-22 or Under-20 squads. However, this will mean that the team, managed by Takeshi Ono, may be forced to play without players such as the Morisaki brothers (Kazuyuki and Koji) and Yuichi Komano when the Asian final qualifiers for the 2004 Olympics take place from the end of August through October.