Kashima Antlers suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Kawasaki Frontale on Friday as the away side won its third straight and moved above the reigning champs ahead of the weekend fixtures.
Kashima, which fell from the top of the table last weekend, started the day a point behind leaders Urawa Reds and Gamba Osaka, but goals from Hiroyuki Abe, Tatsuya Hasegawa and a third from Kyohei Noborizato after the break saw Kawasaki move level on points with the top two.
Kashima had the first three chances of the game, all falling to Yuma Suzuki, but the striker scuffed his shot from a close range in the fifth minute, sent his header just wide in the 12th minute and had a shot saved from a point-blank range from a corner in the 19th minute before Abe scored at the other end.