2025 Emperor's Cup
The 2025 Emperor's Cup or the JFA 105th Japan Football Championship was the 105th edition of the annually known contested cup. It featured 88 teams representing the prefectural football associations, university football federation, J1 League and the J2 League.
Vissel Kobe were the title holders, winning the 2024 final against Gamba Osaka, just before becoming J1 League champions, winning the domestic double. They joined the competition along other J1 and J2 League teams in the second round. They were beaten in the final by Machida Zelvia, who won their first ever major title.
Due to the participation of Urawa Red Diamonds in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, they were given automatic qualification to the [|Round of 16] of the Emperor's Cup, as the Club World Cup takes place between June and July, just when the rest of the J1 League teams are participating in the second and third round of the Emperor's Cup.
Calendar
The schedule for the first round to the Round of 16 was announced on 4 February 2025.| Round | Date | Backup date | Matches | Clubs | New entries this round |
| First round | 24–25 May | 28 May | 27 |
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| Second round | 11 June | 18 June | 32 | 60 → 30 | |
| Third round | 16 July | 23 July | 15 | 30 → 15 | None |
| Round of 16 | 6 August | 13 August | 8 | 16 → 8 | |
| Quarter-finals | 27 August | 10 September | 4 | 8 → 4 | None |
| Semi-finals | 16 November | – | 2 | 4 → 2 | None |
| Final | 22 November | – | 1 | 2 → 1 | None |
Qualifying rounds
As the norm, only J1 and J2 League clubs qualify directly for the first round. All the teams from lower divisions who wants to qualify to the Emperor's Cup, have to undergo a prefectural qualification, with regulations and schedules varying from one association to another. In total, there are 47 prefectural cup qualifications, with the winners of each prefectural cup earning their right to play in the Emperor's Cup, with all of them assigned to start the competition in the first round.In bold, it will be displayed the teams that won each final, and not necessarily the home team. All the matches are played on a neutral venue.
Participating clubs
[J1 League]
All teams playing in the 2024 J1 League join the competition in the second round, except 2025 FIFA Club World Cup participants Urawa Red Diamonds, who join in the Round of 16.[J2 League]Out of 20 participating teams in the 2025 J2 League, 14 join the competition in the second round. Six teams join the tournament in the first round: the three worst-ranked non-relegated 2024 J2 League teams and those promoted from the 2024 J3 League.
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