After prevailing through a litany of restrictions and logistical hurdles to complete the 2020 season, fans might have hoped that the J. League would have an easier time preparing for the 2021 campaign.
The novel coronavirus pandemic, now in its second year, had other plans.
With COVID-19 still far from contained in Japan — which registered its 5,000th death from the virus last weekend — the J. League’s offseason has been fraught with uncertainty and rattled by positive tests across more than a dozen clubs.