‘J. League Sustainability Activation Project’ Launched Using 370 Million Yen Grant From The Nippon FoundationThe Nippon Foundation partners with J. LEAGUE in the field of sustainability

This partnership is between The Nippon Foundation, which has been supporting the building of networks to address social issues for more than 60 years, and J. League, which launched J. League Climate Action in 2023 to work together with stakeholders in the communities of each of the league’s 60 teams to change people’s daily behavior and revitalize local communities. By combining both organizations’ networks and expertise, The Nippon Foundation and J. League are promoting the creation of a sustainable society.

As a first step in the partnership, J. League will use a 370 million yen grant from The Nippon Foundation to launch the J. League Sustainability Activation Project. All of the J. League’s 60 clubs are supporting and promoting climate-related action. Each club is also preparing to participate in the Sport Positive Leagues (SPL) framework to comprehensively quantify, follow progress, and determine the future of these initiatives, aiming for full-fledged entry for the entire league in January 2026 to point the way toward a sustainable future.

For the media announcement of the project’s launch, a signing ceremony for the agreement between The Nippon Foundation and J. League for cooperation in the field of sustainability was held at 1:00 pm on May 9 at The Nippon Foundation’s head office in Tokyo. The first part of the ceremony featured remarks by J. League Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura, The Nippon Foundation Vice President Jumpei Sasakawa, and J. League Corporate Executive Officer  (in charge of sustainability) Takayuki Tsujii. Mr. Nonomura explained that J. League has two primary aims – the development of clubs in local communities and the building of clubs that are able to compete internationally. The effects of climate change over the medium to long term are very significant, and have a direct connection to players’ performance. This makes it necessary not only to address climate change, but also for the J. League as a whole to address head-on how to minimize its effects in a fundamental way. He emphasized that this partnership with The Nippon Foundation was a major first step that demonstrates the importance J. League places on this effort, and demonstrates the partnership’s significance.

Mr. Sasakawa expressed his hope that the partnership with J. League would make it possible to use the power of sport to address the complex social issues of childhood poverty, disparities in experiences, and handicaps and diversity, as well as natural disasters and climate change. He also noted that J. League has a network of fans and communities across Japan, while The Nippon Foundation has strengths in funding and support. He expressed his hope that working closely together in concrete activities would lead to a multifaceted approach to the realization of a sustainable society, including support for children in challenging circumstances, responses to increasingly frequent natural disasters, and addressing problems like climate change.

Mr. Tsujii spoke more specifically about the initiatives in the field of climate change to be pursued as the first step of the partnership and expressed his hopes for specific measures and the future of the sports world. This will include J. League’s introduction as the first Asian participant in Sport Positive Leagues from 2026, which will work to visualize and promote each club’s responses to climate change.

Sport Positive Leagues (SPL) is an international initiative to quantify environmental sustainability activities pursued through sport, to facilitate the monitoring of their progress, and to set future targets. The initiative started with England’s Premier League in 2019 and is expanding to major European soccer leagues, with current participants including Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1, and the English Football League (EFL). Clubs in the participating leagues collect data from the effects of a wide range of activities that relate to environmental performance in the context of sport to monitor their measures to address climate change in 12 major areas. These activities include energy efficiency at match venues and facilities, use of renewable energy, recycling and waste reduction, management of CO2 emissions in fan and player transport, and local environmental education involving players. The results are then quantitatively analyzed using SPL’s proprietary scoring system, and a total score is assigned using weighted categories like energy, waste materials, and transportation. Scores are then presented as a league table matrix format that is familiar to sports fans, showing the standing of each participating club. This data-driven approach makes it possible to visualize environmental activities, while releasing scores promotes the sharing of best practices and encourages clubs to pursue higher targets. This approach of using sports as a way to address climate change is receiving international attention.

“HEROs Sportsmanship for the future” is a platform for expanding the scope of addressing social issues. By having athletes pursue activities that contribute to society, the project uses sport as a way to connect people and create interest that leads to action. The project aims to expand common interest and joint activities, and by increasing the number of people engaged in addressing social issues, to create a global society in which actions that contribute to society are seen as being a matter of course.

J. League was established on May 15, 1993, as Japan’s professional football league with the three-fold mission of “Raising the level of Japanese football,” “Fostering the development of Japan’s sporting culture,” and “Contributing to international friendship and exchange.” J. league was established as a subsidiary organization of the Japan Football Association (JFA), which is a member of the global Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It represents the highest level of professional football in Japan and is organized using a pyramid structure.
J. league began with 10 clubs (representing eight prefectures) and has grown nationwide to encompass 60 clubs (representing 41 prefectures) as of 2025.