E-commerce company Mercari takes majority stake in Asian champs Kashima

strange for j league to accept such a sale. Mercari can only hope to become profitable in Japan but the declining population and worsening economy makes that unlikely. Sumitomo has much deeper pockets. The team might go down with the company.

As Mr. Maes says this seems to be a strange decision indeed, both by Sumitomo and the J.League. While it's not unheard of for a founding sponsor to sell, it may well spell doom for the Antlers. Just look at what happened to Tokyo Verdy after Yomiuri pulled the plug; once the top team in J.League, they now struggle to attract 5,000 people to a home game.