The Japan Diamond Softball League (JD.League) is a Japanese women's

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

league that consists of 16 teams (8 in the East Division and 8 in the West Division). The league is the premier women's softball league in the country. The league was formed in 2022 and is headquartered in

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The JD.League is a member of the Japan Top League Alliance, which comprises the top-tier sports leagues in Japan.

Nitori Nitori Co., Ltd is a Japanese furniture and home accessories retail company headquartered in Sapporo. The company is the largest furniture and home furnishing chain in Japan. Nitori was founded in Sapporo in 1967, by the company's current Presi ...

entered into the title partnership with the JD.League, and thus the league is officially called Nitori JD.League.

History

The first national women's softball league was founded in 1968, as the Japan Softball League. In 1994, the league's First Division expanded from 8 to 12 teams and adopted a postseason with the

page playoff system The Page playoff system is a playoff format. It is used in top level competitions in softball, curling, and the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, and Bangladesh Premier League cricket tournaments, and is used widely in lower level comp ...

. Since then, this season's format was lasted until 2021, although there were minor changes. In 2021, the league announced a new top-tier women's softball league is planned for 2022, the Japan Diamond Softball League (JD.League). All 12 teams from the First Division and four teams from the Second Division, i.e., 16 teams in total joined in the new league. The other remaining teams in the Second/Third Division and several fresh teams formed the reborn Japan Softball League. The opening game of the JD.League was held between Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen and Toyota Red Terriers on March 28, 2022. Meanwhile, the Japan Softball League still exists as a de facto lower-tier league. Until now, the league is an industrial league, where most of the teams are owned by major companies and many players are their companies' employees. A player who is signing a professional contract is only a small portion.

Teams

The JD.League consists of 16 teams divided into two divisions with 8 teams each.

Format

The JD.League's regular season runs from late March to late October, with each team playing 29 games. The league's postseason tournament extends into mid-November. The league has a fixed membership like

NPB is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

and most sports leagues in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which makes it that does not use a

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

process.Regulations
JD.League

Regular season

The JD.League consists of two divisions, the East Division and the West Division, which each has 8 teams. Each team plays 21-game Division Series against the seven other teams in its division, i.e., one home series, one away series and one neutral-site series. Furthermore, each team plays 8-game Inter-division Series against each team in the other division. Following the conclusion of the 29-game regular season, seven teams (the top three teams in each division and one

wild card Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

team) advance to a postseason tournament that determine the Grand Champion.

Postseason

Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams compete in the four-round postseason tournament (the two-round Playoffs and the two-round Diamond Series) with a

single-elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

stepladder format. Each division winner directly advances to the Diamond Series. The second-place and third-place teams in each division, and the

team (either fourth-place team in each division with better winning percentages) advance to the Playoffs, that culminates in the Diamond Series. The Diamond Series is contested among the four teams (two division winners and two Playoffs winners) to determine the Grand Champion. The winner of the Diamond Series is referred to as the Grand Champion of JD.League.

Champions

Japan Softball League (1968–2021)

Until being formed the JD.League, the Japan Softball League was the top-tier league in the country from 1968 to 2021. The Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen won the most championships with 14 titles. From 2022 onwards, although the Japan Softball League is still acting, no longer it is the top-tier league.Teams
Japan Softball League * * * Runners-up are recorded only after 1994, when the postseason playoff introduction. * In 1968, 1969 and 1971 seasons, the spring (S) and autumn (A) tournament were held.

JD.League (2022–present)

Notes

References

External links

*
JD.League live stream

Japan Softball League
{{Sports leagues in Japan Women's sports leagues in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan Softball competitions in Japan Softball leagues Women's softball Sports leagues established in 2022 2022 establishments in Japan