Junya Tanaka and Hideaki Kitajima scored first-half goals Saturday to give first-placed Kashiwa Reysol a 2-0 win over Yokohama F Marinos in the J-League.
Tanaka opened the scoring with a left-foot shot from 11 meters in the 25th minute and Kitajima doubled the lead 10 minutes later with a header.
Kashiwa improved to 22 points after nine games, four points ahead of second-placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima, which beat Albirex Niigata 1-0 on Hisato Sato's late winner.
Elsewhere, Cerezo Osaka beat winless Avispa Fukuoka 3-0 with goals from Rodrigo Pimpao, Shu Kurata and Hiroshi Kiyotake.
Keiji Tamada scored in the 89th minute as champions Nagoya Grampus defeated Jubilo Iwata 1-0.
Shinzo Kuroki and Daiki Iwamasu scored in the first half to lead Kashima Antlers to a 2-0 win over Montedio Yamagata.
Mike Havenaar scored his fifth goal of the season in the second half to help Ventforet Kofu earn a 2-2 draw with Kawasaki Frontale.
Third-placed Vegalta Sendai and Vissel Kobe played to a 1-1 draw while Urawa Reds and Omiya Ardija finished 2-2.
