The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The stadium was founded at Kantō Mura, the redevelopment area formerly used by

United States Forces Japan is a subordinate Unified combatant command, unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. It was activated at Fuchū Air Base (Tokyo), Fuchū Air Station in Tokyo, Japan, on 1 July 1957 to replace the Far East Command (United State ...

, in March 2001. It was the first stadium in Japan that sold its

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

, which went to

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, frozen food Freezing food Food preservation, preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farm ...

Co., Inc. on a five-year, 1.2 billion

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

(about 10 million

U.S. dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) contract from March 2003 to February 2008 to name it Ajinomoto Stadium. This contract was renewed in November 2007 and extended by six years for 1.4 billion yen to February 2014; in October 2013, the second renewal extended the term to February 2019.

Overview

The stadium is the home of

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

clubs

FC Tokyo , commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. From 2025, FC Tokyo is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called ''Footb ...

and

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023. History Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the mo ...

and is used as the venue of some lower divisions of football leagues.

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

games are also held there. For the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

's national team based their training camp at Chōfu and used the stadium as a main training ground, although it did not host an actual World Cup match. The stadium is often used for non-sport events, such as concerts and

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

s. It has been used as a shelter for survivors of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

. The stadium was the rugby venue for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. During the Olympics, the stadium was known as Tokyo Stadium due to

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

's non-commercialization policy. The stadium has also been one of the venues for

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

and hosted the opening ceremony, followed by the opening match of the tournament, as well as other 7 matches including Bronze Final.

Site

The north end of the stadium adjoins the Chofu Airport, while Route 20 runs close to the south end. At the south end is the main gate, which is directly connected by a pedestrian bridge over Route 20.

Stand

The stand accommodates 49,970 and is divided into two levels; the upper level accommodates 20,600 and the lower level 29,370 (both are all-seated). On each level, the stand is divided into four sections (main, back, north and south sides). The whole of the upper level, as well as upper tiers of the lower level, is covered by roof, which is made of

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a spin-off from ...

(main and back) and

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

(both sides). The main stand houses media and hospitality boxes, VIP rooms and reception hall. Two large

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

displays are installed at both sides.

Ground

The ground was originally designed for both

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and football games. However, the construction of the supplementary ground, which is needed for compliance with 1st-grade athletic grounds in Japan, has been postponed. The management company has decided to use the ground mainly for football, and not to install a running track until the supplementary pitch has been added. Currently

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

is laid down all over the ground except the football field area, over which natural

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

is spread. Consequently, there is some room between the football pitch and the stand. In 2013, the athletics track was finally installed in order to host the

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

at the same year. However, the artificial turf is still used over the track for football matches. In order to comply with height limitation close to the airport, the pitch is sunk below the level of the land around the stadium.

2019 Rugby World Cup

Football at the Olympic Games

;Men's Tournament ;Women's Tournament

Access

* Keiō Line: 5 minutes' walk from * Seibu Tamagawa Line: 20 minutes' walk from

References

External links

* {{WikidataCoord Chōfu, Tokyo College football venues American football venues in Japan Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Rugby union in Tokyo Sports venues in Tokyo Tokyo Verdy FC Tokyo Multi-purpose stadiums in Japan Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics Sports venues completed in 2001 2001 establishments in Japan Olympic rugby venues Olympic modern pentathlon venues Ajinomoto