New JRLO Player Eligibility Rules For 2026/2027 Season – What Do They Actually Mean?

Reporting in the media caused a flurry of speculation about what new JRLO player eligibility rule changes the Japan Rugby League One will be bringing in. On 13th May 2025, the league confirmed it has decided to change the player category registration classification from the 2026-27 season, which is intended to promote more local Japanese talent.

JRLO chief operating officer Shoji Hajime is expected to speak to the media over the coming weeks as JRLO announced the changes on Tuesday, 13th May 2025, after the regular season had completed. He did say at the announcement, “No players are being shut out. We are looking to reset the balance in favour of a bit more towards Japanese players.”

This follows The Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Cully reporting a story on 19 April that JRLO has developed a proposal that could see clubs being required to field at least eight players with ‘Japanese blood’, which was then picked up by several media.

As part of the review of its rules for JLRO player registration comes a desire to give more young Japanese players an opportunity to play without damaging the integrity of the competition as a means to continue to attract world-class players and coaches, while “increase their motivation to participate in the sport, thereby contributing to an increase in the number of players in Japan and the overall spread and development of rugby in Japan.”

Photo Credit – JRLO / Toyota Verblitz

The final decisions have been made in consultation with the clubs in Japan.

In the confirmation announced by the Japan Rugby League One, they announced that the new category is for “players who have spent at least six years in Japan during the nine-year compulsory education period in elementary and junior high schools in Japan, regardless of nationality. The regulations regarding the number of match entries and simultaneous participation in categories B and C under the previous category system will remain basically unchanged.”

The changes mean there will be an onus on the clubs to be better in their selection of non-test capped foreigners they recruit and to ensure they recruit better current & active Japan-eligible test players. There has been a belief (wrongly or rightly) that Japan was a place where many players arguably past their best could go to and pick up decent pay in an arguably less physical league

Promoting and encouraging opportunities from within is hardly new in the world if sports and the cricket IPL in India have already implemented such measures, while football clubs often use the model, it is also arguably more cost-effective. The new Indian Rugby Premier League (RPL), due to launch in June 2025, also has clear guidelines on each franchise player’s quotes for local and international players.

Current JRLO Player Eligibility Squad Criteria 2025 

It is important to highlight that there have been rules in place about the makeup of the squads in the JRLO. Under the current League One rules, players can register in Category A even if they are not from Japan if they fulfil certain conditions, such as being continuously registered with a Japanese team for four years. 

Photo Credit – JRLO / Suntory Sungoliath

Currently, non-Japanese players are divided into three categories: Category A, where they are mainly eligible to represent Japan; Category B, where they are expected to be eligible to represent Japan; and Category C, where they have mainly been selected for other national or regional teams. 

• Cat-A (Capped or eligible for Japan National Team) – Match Registration: At least 17 players in the matchday squad, and 11 must be on the field of play.
• Cat-B  The limit for the number of registered players (up to 6 in the matchday squad) and the number of players on the pitch is 4 or fewer.
• Cat-C Not eligible for Japan – such as capped for other national teams – Match Registration: Up to 3 in the matchday squad and must be 3 or fewer players on the field of play at any time.

*A combined total of six Category B and C players can be named in a matchday squad.

Of the 30 players who started in last season’s play-off final between Brave Lupus Tokyo and Saitama Wild Knights, about half were from overseas. Even if you look at some stats this season in JRLO Division 1 (and these are selective), 9/10 of the top lineouts were won by non-Japan-born players (some are Brave Blossom capped and eligible), while 8/10 with the most tackles are the same.

• In the 2024/2025 JRLO Division 1, nearly 20% of all players were either non-Japanese Category A players, non-Japanese in Category B were 5.8%, and 2.8 % for Category C.
• In Division 2, there are thought to be nearly 15% of foreign test players.

What Are The Changes For The 2026/2027 Season

Photo Credit – JRLO / Canon Eagles

The new changes to come into effect for the 2026/2027 JRLO season see Category A split into ‘A-1’ and ‘A-2’.

• Cat-A-1 players have to have lived in Japan for more than six of the nine years of compulsory education (elementary and junior high school). An exception can be made for A-1 if the player has played 30 or more games for the Japan men’s national team. The limit for the number of registered players (minimum 14 in the matchday squad) and the number of players on the pitch is 8.
• Cat-A-2 is for players who have been continuously registered with a Japanese team for 48 months (4 years). (There is also some wording alluding to “preferential treatment for players who have made a significant contribution to the Japanese national team.) The limit for the number of registered players (up to 9 in the matchday squad) and the number of players on the pitch is 7 or fewer.
• Cat-B (Can be eligible for Japan national team when qualify for Cat A-2) – The limit for the number of registered players (up to 6 in the matchday squad) and the number of players on the pitch is 4 or fewer.
• Cat-C (Other than Cat-A and Cat-B), such as capped for other national teams. – Match Registration: Up to 3 in the mathday squad, and must be 3 or fewer players on the field of play at any time.

Category A currently requires at least 11 players to play in a match at the same time, but under the new system, there will be at least eight players in A-1 alone. 

As an example. Michael Leitch, under the new system, would be treated as an A-1 under the exception rule of playing at least 30 games for the national team. New Zealand-born Warner Deans has only played 21 representative games and will be classified as A-2. Overseas players who have gained Japanese nationality will also be treated as A-2 if they do not meet the conditions. 

In discussions about the new system, there were also comments that the annual salaries of players from overseas aiming for Category A status were on the rise, and that too many overseas players would make the league less exciting.

The changes could mean there is a possibility that promising young overseas players will not choose to go to Japan. But a JRLO official said that, ‘There are many players from overseas who have a strong desire to play in Japan. On the other hand, we need to increase the opportunities for Japanese players to play. It is difficult to strike a balance.”

(The information below is based on what we have seen from transitions in Japanese from the JRLO, and we will amend this accordingly if any errors have been made)

Photo Credit – JRLO

New Development JRLO Tournament To be Introduced – 2025

Japan Rugby League One also announced a new tournament aimed at developing players from September to October 2025. JRLO teams will be divided into East, Central and West divisions based on their respective team bases and compete against each other.

The maximum number of players that can be registered per match in this tournament is 30, of which at least 5 players who have played in 15 or fewer official League One matches must be registered.

With 20 clubs involved, each club will play two matches against a different club in the area (one of which will be hosted by each club).

End of Season 2025 JRLO Player Exodus

The end of the regular season has seen the JRLO clubs start to announce the players who will be leaving them, and the list is lengthy, with more names to be added by the conclusion of the final games over the coming weeks.

Some standout confirmed international names departing the clubs and JRLO include:

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars – 20 players, including Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lewis Chessum (was a season-only transfer), and Curtis Rona.
• Toyota Verblitz – 9 players, including: Michael Hooper and Joseph Manu (including some staff and management)
• Kintetsu Liners – 18 players, including: Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Semisi Masirewa

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