2021 Japanese Regional Leagues

The 2022 Japanese Regional Leagues, the fifth tier of the Japanese association football league system, held their regular season 2021, marking the 56th edition Japanese Regional Leagues. This edition of the Regional Leagues featured 144 teams divided across nine regional leagues. The winners of the first division of each Regional League, along with three runners-up from the nine Regional Leagues (determined by criteria set by the JFA), qualified for the 2021 Japanese Regional Football Champions League. It served as a single-elimination tournament, where the winner and the runner-up of the competition could qualify either directly for the Japan Football (JFL) or through a play-off match with one of the last-placed teams in JFL standings. The decision on how the winner (and/or runner-up) would be promoted to the JFL was made by the league board.