“Karoshi” is often a term used in Japanese society to define the overworking that marks every day life in Japan. But that doesn’t have to happen just there and because of work. It can happen also because you feel you owe it to someone: your peers, your nation or community, or yourself. Sometimes you don’t where to draw the line. That’s where the story starts to define the actual state of J. League Regista.
We could say we have three different eras of this project. The first one saw the great Stuart Smith developing this project as a side gig of J-Talk Podcast. It was a nice intent, with the aim of developing themes and topics that wouldn’t have found space in the main podcast. The person writing this article featured in that project as an episodic writer, covering things that otherwise he wouldn’t have covered.
That’s where Phase 2 was born. When Stuart didn’t have the forces anymore, the man behind this project try to bring it back from a possible death. It worked – J. League Regista grew through #JThoughts, GIFs over the incredible actions from Japan, and many, many articles, covering both the past and the future of this marvellous league. We didn’t shy from talking of JFL, Mito HollyHock or derbies in J3.
Nevertheless, this intertwined with a lot of things happening in my (and our) life. The pandemic. One job to retain away from home. The loss of it because of political decisions. Unemployment in a foreign country at the peak of the COVID-19 era. The loneliness derived from not seeing your dear ones for almost a year. Another job, another ride. Then two jobs to maintain everything afloat.
This gig couldn’t survive. I couldn’t. In March, I was already late to my usual schedule. Then health problems intervened, rightly derived from this karoshi-esque regime of life to the point of feeling death nearby for the first time. It took me a bit to recover, but everything requires time for proper healing. And this means I’m still behind my usual schedule.
The easy instinct could be giving up: why push through? 5 years after the takeover in July 2018, we’re in a world where Japanese football has (luckily!) way more representation compared to when that second era of this project started. There are so many good projects blossoming, from Balón de Japón to Shogun Soccer, not forgetting scouts and fans growing around the world. And J. League took note if there are YouTuber like Maxwell doing voiceover work for the league.
Nevertheless, giving up this project would also mean another thing: saying goodbye to a part of me. And in this time of changes already happening in my life, I can’t afford that. I don’t want to. I don’t want to negotiate a completely new identity for myself but rather sharpen one that’s more fitting for my current life. And losing the train of development sailing from the J.League fan station would be a shame.
While Japanese players are populating Europe more and more, something else happened as well: after a pitiful takeover, Twitter is on his way to dying. Elon Musk seems more eager of transforming the app into a sort of “WeChat” rather than leave the app successful as it was. “X” won’t be the same container we’ve used to know in the last 15 years. So it’s time to look to other ventures.
But to do so, and assess which resources are the best, time might be needed. A proper rethink will produce a third era of JLR. An era where the website thrives more on other platforms, with a different form, but keeping the focus on stories of different ratios – I’m sorry, an article over a J3 new team will always be interesting for me.
I just need to find a new shape. And then a new era will be able to start. JLR isn’t dead, but needs a proper revival. If you’ve been a fan, please stay tuned. Like Koji Homma’s retirement, that can wait.
J. League Regista 
Thank you for this site, I have read on/off since the pandemic. Your stories on the lesser known aspects of j league are very enjoyable. I also had a health scare and it’s ongoing. Like you said, during my ongoing recovery, the lesson I learned the most is “it’s as much that you don’t do, as you do do.”Arigato from Berkshire, England. 🙂 I wish you well with your health.
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Hello there! Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for your support – we always liked to tell more about the J.League world. Arigatou!
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