The Chiba Jets, coming off a mediocre 18-34 inaugural season, are jumping ship to the JBL's re-branded top league for the 2013-14 campaign.
According to news reports, the Jets will be joined by the eight current JBL squads, a pair of JBL2 teams (Hyogo Storks and Daytrick Ibaraki) and a new Kumamoto-based franchise in the new JBL.
Jets spokesperson Yuki Makihira confirmed that team president Shinji Shimada, who took over in the middle of the team's first season, made the "final decision" to defect from the bj-league on Friday.