Total J. League attendance surpassed 9 million this season for the first time, the league announced Tuesday.

The three divisions combined for a total of 9,178,812 fans, an increase of 4.7 percent over last year. The league, which announces a "full house" if 80 percent of a venue's seats are accounted for, said the number of full-house crowds announced in the J1 increased from 45 to 68.

First-division attendance totaled 5,447,602, while the second-tier J2 reached 3,162,194 and the J3 attracted 569,016 fans. Including Nabisco Cup games, league attendance reached approximately 9.87 million with both the championship and J1 promotion playoffs yet to come.

"We're in sight of 10 million," league chairman Mitsuru Mirai said.