106th Emperor's Cup Second Round: J1 and J2 Clubs Join 32 Knockout Matches

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, the 106th Emperor’s Cup — Japan’s national knockout championship — held its second round nationwide, with 32 matches pairing J1 and J2 clubs against the 24 survivors from the opening round. Kickoffs ran from 6:30 p.m. through 7:00 p.m. JST, turning the midweek calendar into the tournament’s busiest single day before the competition spreads across autumn and winter toward a New Year’s Day final.

For the first time in this edition, every J.League side entered the bracket. Reigning champion FC Machida Zelvia, J1 leaders Kashima Antlers, and a cluster of university and regional winners all played on the same August evening — the round Japanese football fans simply call 天皇杯 (Emperor’s Cup) second-round day.

Editor’s note: This article draws on fixture and broadcast data from the Japan Football Association (JFA), match previews from J.League, and first-round results reported by Football Channel and NHK, August 19–26, 2026.

Tournament at a glance

Item	Detail
Competition	Emperor’s Cup JFA 106th All-Japan Football Championship
Round	Second round (32 matches)
Date	Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Teams in bracket	88 entered; 56 remain after Round 2
J-League entry	All 20 J1 and 20 J2 clubs joined at this stage
Format	Single-elimination; extra time and penalties if tied after 90 minutes
Next round	Third round — September 23 and October 7, 2026
Final	January 1, 2027 (New Year’s Day)

The Emperor’s Cup is one of the few competitions where professional, semi-professional, university, and prefectural amateur sides meet in the same bracket. The winner earns a place in the AFC Champions League Two and the trophy presentation tradition at the National Stadium on 元日 (New Year’s Day).

How Round 1 set the stage

The opening round on August 19 cleared the field from 88 to 56 teams. Among the survivors:

Notable result	Score	Why it mattered
Fukushima United vs. Oyamada SC	7–0	Sent a J3 side into Round 2 with momentum to face Yokohama F. Marinos
Line Meer Aomori vs. Akita University	15–0	One of the largest margins in recent Emperor’s Cup openers
Atlético Suzuka vs. FC Basara Hyogo	1–1 (3–1 pens.)	Mie prefectural champions advanced on spot kicks
Gainare Tottori vs. Roasso Kumamoto	2–2 (6–5 pens.)	Tottori rep beat a J3 side in a penalty shootout
Yamanashi Gakuin University vs. Tokyo International University FC	1–0	University champions set up a tie with Urawa Red Diamonds
Kyoto Sangyo University vs. Kanazawa Seiryo University	4–1	Routed a university rival to meet Mito Hollyhock
Senshu University vs. Tsukuba University (amateur seed)	2–1	Kanagawa university rep advanced to face Kashiwa Reysol
Iwate Grulla Morioka vs. Sapporo University	1–0	Northern regional winner earned a date with defending champion Machida Zelvia

Several first-round ties went to extra time — including Okinawa SV’s win over Giravanz Kitakyushu and Velocronus Tsuno’s defeat of Kamatamare Sanuki — underscoring how tight the early bracket can be even before J-League clubs arrive.

Round 2 fixtures and storylines

All 32 second-round ties were scheduled across Japan on August 26. Kickoffs clustered at 18:30 and 19:00 JST, with venues ranging from Kashima’s Mercari Stadium to Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium.

Selected marquee ties

Match	Fixture	Venue	Notes
No. 25	Kashima Antlers vs. Atlético Suzuka	Mercari Stadium	J1 leaders’ cup opener against Mie prefectural winners
No. 43	Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Fukushima United	Nissan Stadium	NHK BS featured tie; Fukushima arrive after a 7–0 first-round win
No. 45	Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Yamanashi Gakuin University	Saitama Stadium	Classic pro-vs-university storyline at one of Asia’s loudest grounds
No. 41	Kashiwa Reysol vs. Senshu University	Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium	Kanagawa university champions test a J1 side in form
No. 53	FC Machida Zelvia vs. Iwate Grulla Morioka	Machida GION Stadium	Defending champions’ first defense against a regional winner
No. 44	Mito Hollyhock vs. Kyoto Sangyo University	K’s Denki Stadium	J1 hosts another university finalist from the prefectural route
No. 31	Gamba Osaka vs. Reinmeer Shiga FC	Panasonic Stadium Suita	Shiga prefectural rep visit a former Asian champion
No. 33	Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. Okinawa SV	Fukuyama Rose Stadium	J1 powerhouse meets Okinawa’s first-round survivor
No. 51	Shimizu S-Pulse vs. FC Osaka	IAI Stadium Nihondaira	J1 hosts J3 Osaka prefectural champions who beat Nara 4–1 in Round 1

J2-on-J2 and regional tests

Not every tie pitted a top-flight club against an amateur survivor. Several all-league matchups carried their own stakes:

• Consadole Sapporo vs. Ventforet Kofu (Premist Dome)
• Júbilo Iwata vs. Tegevajaro Miyazaki (Yamaha Stadium)
• Sagan Tosu vs. Kataller Toyama (Egao Kenko Stadium)
• RB Omiya Ardija vs. Vanraure Hachinohe (NACK5 Stadium Omiya)

Regional sides that earned difficult draws included Azul Claro Numazu (away at Kawasaki Frontale), Gainare Tottori (at Nagoya Grampus), and Thespakusatsu Gunma (at Tokyo Verdy).

Squad rotation and calendar pressure

August 26 fell in the middle of a congested J-League run. Clubs such as Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashima Antlers faced Emperor’s Cup duty with league fixtures within 48–72 hours, making squad rotation a tactical theme across the round.

J.League pre-match notes highlighted how managers were expected to balance cup progression against league points. Backup goalkeepers, fringe midfielders, and cup specialists often get their chance on Emperor’s Cup nights — and lower-division or university opponents frequently target those rotated lineups with high pressing from the opening whistle.

For amateur and university survivors, Round 2 represents the peak stage of their season: a sanctioned 90-minute meeting with a fully professional opponent at a J-League stadium, sometimes in front of national television cameras.

Broadcast and official coverage

The JFA confirmed a full broadcast card for Round 2. NHK BS carried Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Fukushima United from 7:00 p.m. JST. SkyPerfecTV! (Skapa!) channels — including Sports Live+ and Skachan feeds — covered additional ties such as Kashima vs. Atlético Suzuka, Urawa vs. Yamanashi Gakuin, Gamba vs. Reinmeer Shiga, and Machida vs. Iwate Grulla. Several matches were also available on JFATV, the JFA’s streaming platform.

The breadth of coverage reflects the Emperor’s Cup’s status as one of Japanese football’s shared midweek rituals — a night when results from Sapporo to Okinawa land in the same news cycle.

What comes next

Winners advance to the third round, split across September 23 (public holiday) and October 7. The bracket then goes quiet until December, when the round of 16 (December 9), quarterfinals (December 23), and semifinals (December 27) compress the remaining teams toward the January 1, 2027 final.

For clubs still in the AFC Champions League or promotion races, a long cup run can add matches at the worst possible moment — which is precisely why August’s second round often produces the giant-killing headlines that define each Emperor’s Cup edition.

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Discussion

The Emperor’s Cup is where a university squad can share a pitch with a J1 champion and a regional club can chase a headline that outlasts the season.

1. Which amateur or university survivor has the best path to an upset in Round 2?

Fukushima United, Yamanashi Gakuin, Senshu University, and FC Osaka all arrived with first-round momentum. Does any of them have the style to trouble a rotated professional lineup?

2. How much should J-League managers rotate with league games days away?

A deep cup run can build confidence — or drain a thin squad before a relegation or title battle. Where is the right line between respecting the competition and protecting the league table?

If you follow Japanese football, which Round 2 tie were you watching closest — and did the result surprise you?