Osako scored in the 27th, 49th and 90+3 minutes as Vissel Kobe moved within touching distance of a third title in four year with an emphatic 5-0 win against defending champions Kashima Antlers in the first leg of the playoffs.

The one-off competition, named the "100 Year Vision League," is held in the first half of 2026, before the Japanese domestic season starts, in parallel with top club competitions in Europe and Asia.

The 20 J1 teams were divided into two groups of 10 by region, with each team playing a total of 18 home-and-away round-robin matches to determine the standings in each group.

The ongoing playoffs pit two clubs with the same standings against each other to determine the final overall rankings from first to 20th, with no relegation.

Kobe, the 2023 and 2024 J1 winners, hosted 2025 champions Kashima after the two powerhouses topped their respective regions, and it was former Antlers striker Osako who came back to haunt his old side.

The 36-year-old curled in a 27th-minute free-kick over the wall, and doubled Kobe's lead four minutes after the break when a quick throw-in on a counter from Yoshinori Muto left Osako one-on-one with Kashima keeper Yuji Kajikawa.

Brazilian left-back Diego drilled home off the far post from the edge of the box in the 69th minute, and Ren Komatsu netted an 89th-minute penalty before Osako buried a difficult header off the post in second-half stoppage time to put the icing on the cake.

Cerezo Osaka and FC Tokyo, who finished second in their respective groups, played out a 2-2 draw, while third-place finishers Nagoya Grampus and FC Machida Zelvia also drew 2-2.

Matheus Jussa scored in the 13th minute as Chengdu Rongcheng maintained their tight grip on the Chinese Super League title race with a 1-0 win against Shandong Taishan.

The win moved Chengdu to 37 points, 13 clear of Chongqing Tonglianglong, who lost further ground following their 3-2 defeat to Beijing FC.

Dalian Yingbo also suffered a setback following a 1-0 loss to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, which left them third in the standings on 22 points.

Fourth-placed Yunnan Yukun had to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw with Wuhan Three Towns while defending champions Shanghai Port FC suffered a 3-2 defeat against Shenyang Urban, with the loss leaving them 13th in the standings.

Tainan City defeated Hang Yuan to clinch the title on the final day as they finished three points clear of their beaten opponents.

Tainan City garnered 44 points with Hang Yuen left to rue their loss. AC Taipei finished third on 39 points.

Shao Jiang defeated G. Universe 11-0 as they stayed ahead in the Macau Elite League.

The stunning result took Shao Jiang to 29 points, one ahead of Must IPO who University of Macau 2-0. Gala are four points behind Shao Jiang following their 6-3 defeat of Artilheiros.