Coronavirus Outbreak: Japan's J-League set to resume without fans after PM Shinzo Abe lifts state of emergency, says report

Japan’s top-flight football league is ready to resume its season within weeks of the country’s pro baseball league starting play. The J-League is expected to officially announce its plans on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_8413441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  With empty stands to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, Yokohama F. Marinos and Vissel Kobe play in their J-League’s Super Cup match on 8 February 2020. AP[/caption] Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that league matches will resume on 27 June or 4 July. The agency offered the dates and cited unnamed sources. The resumption will be without fans. That is also the plan when baseball begins play on 19 June. Japan’s two big sports league are able to resume after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a state of emergency on Monday. The J-League started its season on 21 February but was forced to stop play a few days later. Baseball’s regular season had not yet begun. Kyodo reports the J-League will try to limit travel, with plans for teams in the same geographical region playing each other.