JAPAN
Introduction
Leagues
Japan has a very organized basketball structure at both the high school and university levels. Like baseball teams, high school basketball teams qualify for the All-Japan tournament by winning the prefecture championship. The All-Japan Basketball Tournament is held with little fanfare and media exposure, especially when compared to the baseball equivalent. Likewise, while played at most universities, basketball does not receive as much coverage as other collegiate sports such as baseball and rugby. The university basketball organization is good enough though that it is able to supply players to both the professional leagues and to the National Team pool of players.
There are two professional leagues in Japan. The Japan Basketball League (JBL) and the Basketball Japan League (bj-league) represent the two camps within basketball in Japan. Old v. New. Traditional v. Modern. Japanese v. Foreign. Corporation v. Entrepreneur. All of these struggles can be found when looking at the differences between these two leagues, and the tenuous future that exists between the two.
Sources
Asia-basket Japan Page - Good place to track day to day action for both the JBL and the bj-league.
Japan Times Basketball Articles - Great coverage of Japan hoops scene with particular focus on the bj-league.
bj-league Official Site - There is an English site available with links to all the teams' sites and some basic info about the league.
