COVID-19 has already had an outsized effect on Asian soccer, forcing the relocation of a women's Olympic qualifying group to Australia from Wuhan, China, as well as the rescheduling and then postponement of Asian Champions League games involving Chinese clubs.
In South Korea, fans attending ACL games were asked to fill out forms detailing their recent travel histories and health conditions and walk past a temperature-measuring camera. According to local newspaper Chosun, a male FC Tokyo fan who reported recent travel to Singapore and Malaysia was taken to a local hospital after registering a fever of 38 degrees Celsius.
With the virus' exposure limited in Japan thus far, the J. League has not been as affected as other neighboring competitions. That's not stopping the league — which distributed disposable masks to members of the media covering last Saturday's Super Cup — or its clubs from taking precautions.