| Season | 1981 |
|---|---|
← 1980 1982 → | |
Statistics of Japan Soccer League for the 1981 season.
Fujita Industries won their third League title.
Nippon Steel, one of eight inaugural member of the First Division in 1965 as Yawata Steel, was defeated by Second Division runner-up Nissan in the playout and relegated, never to play top flight football again. Yamaha Motors was relegated in bottom place, having won only two matches.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fujita Engineering | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 27 | Champions |
| 2 | Yomiuri | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 16 | +16 | 25 | |
| 3 | Mitsubishi Motors | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 24 | |
| 4 | Yanmar Diesel | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 22 | |
| 5 | Furukawa Electric | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 21 | |
| 6 | Honda | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 14 | |
| 7 | Hitachi | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 13 | |
| 8 | Mazda | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 13 | |
| 9 | Nippon Steel | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 11 | To promotion/relegation Series |
| 10 | Yamaha Motors | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 28 | −17 | 10 | Relegated to Second Division |
| JSL Division 1 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | JSL Division 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon Steel | 0-3 | 1-2 | Nissan Motors |
NKK and Nissan returned after two years in the second tier, NKK also grabbing the Emperor's Cup.
Kofu Club saved itself from relegation yet again by defeating NTT West Japan Kyoto, who were looking to regain their League place. Nagoya Soccer Club, an amateur outfit who never looked like League material, went back to the Tokai regional league after a single attempt.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nippon Kokan | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 26 | Promoted to First Division |
| 2 | Nissan | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 26 | To promotion/relegation Series with First Division |
| 3 | Toshiba | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 46 | 21 | +25 | 25 | |
| 4 | Tanabe Pharmaceuticals | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 11 | +24 | 22 | |
| 5 | Fujitsu | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 31 | 27 | +4 | 21 | |
| 6 | Toyota Motors | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Sumitomo | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 15 | |
| 8 | Teijin Matsuyama | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 34 | −11 | 14 | |
| 9 | Kofu Club | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 42 | −24 | 10 | To promotion/relegation Series with Regional Series |
| 10 | Nagoya S.C. | 18 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 72 | −56 | 5 | Relegated to Regional Leagues |
| JSL | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Regional Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kofu Club | 1-0 | 1-0 | NTTPC Kinki (runner-up) |