Faced with an ever-shifting series of threats to its competitive calendar from the COVID-19 pandemic, the J. League announced on Thursday that it will suspend relegation for the 2020 season while allowing teams in the second and third divisions to fight for top-tier promotion.
All 56 J. League clubs agreed to the extraordinary move in a meeting of the league's executive committee earlier in the day.
League chairman Mitsuru Murai told a news conference that the decision was made in order to encourage players competing under difficult circumstances while not punishing clubs for events out of their control, such as quarantines or closed-door matches.