| Season | 1971 |
|---|---|
← 1970 1972 → | |
Japan Soccer League
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yanmar Diesel | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 22 | Champions |
| 2 | Mitsubishi Motors | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 18 | |
| 3 | Nippon Steel | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 18 | |
| 4 | Hitachi | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 18 | |
| 5 | Furukawa Electric | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 15 | |
| 6 | Toyo Industries | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 17 | −6 | 10 | |
| 7 | Nippon Kokan | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 23 | −12 | 8 | To promotion/relegation Series |
| 8 | Nagoya Mutual Bank | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 43 | −33 | 3 |
Source: [citation needed]
Promotion/relegation Series
editNagoya Mutual Bank lost its place in the League for a second time, this time to Towa Real Estate, which would become one of the biggest names in Japanese football as Fujita Engineering and Bellmare Hiratsuka, currently known as Shonan Bellmare.
| JSL | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Senior Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon Kokan | 2–2 | 0–0 | Tanabe Pharmaceutical (Cup runner-up) |
| Nagoya Mutual Bank | 0–0 | 0–1 | Towa Real Estate (Cup winner) |
Towa RE promoted, Nagoya Mutual Bank relegated; NMB resigned from JSL instead of forming Second Division.