100th publication of Soccer Magazine
　Soccer Magazine celebrates its 100th publication in this month. The first edition was issued in June, 1966 as the first commercial football magazine in Japan and has been issued every month for the seven years and three months. Extra editions have been published thirteen times during this period. At this time especially, the puplisher and editors would like to express their thanks to all readers, and to those who have co-operated to produce the magazine.

　The fifth regional league
　Following the start of the regional league in the CHUGOKU region, in the western part of the Japanese mainland, another league has been founded in KYUSHU, the far western part of Japan. The KYUSHU League is composed of seven clubs from five cities. This is the fifth regional league in Japan.

　Japaneese League 1973
　Football spectators in Japan have been able to enjoy league matches under flood lighting this season. The ninth season of the enlarged Japanese Soccer League opened on July 20, and three stadiums were equipped with lighting facilities before the start of the season. Then the twenty eight games were scheduled as night games in July, August and September.
　For the past eight years, the league season has been split into two halves : the first half from April to June, and the second half from September to November, with an interval in summer. Consequently until now, few of the games have been played under flood lighting.
　This year, the league season of the first division will last from July till early December for twenty consecutive weeks. It is the first experience for Japanese league clubs to have matches week after week over such a long period, and so the important factor in winning the championship from now on seems to be keeping a team fit throughout the season.
　Hitachi F.C. of Tokyo, which won the cup and league double last season is the leading favorite for the championship this year. The players are comparatively young and they have had a lot of hard practice in spring and summer. Their famous "running soccer" has the potential to endure the hard schedule and they won their first match of the season against Nihon Kokan of Yokohama.
　Yanmar Diesel of Osaka is the second favourite. Their ace striker, Kunishige Kamamoto, had been absent from the national team after the World Cup preliminary tournament in Seoul in May because of his ankle injury. However he appeared in the opening game against Toyo Kogyo of Hiroshima showing his unwilting fitness and skill to help win the game by the score of four to one.
　Two clubs which were promoted from the second division will have a hard season this year. Some have expressed the fear that it was too early to increase the number of clubs in the first division from eight to ten, for many second division teams are not strong enough to face first division oppositions.

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