Fallen Japanese giants Jubilo Iwata announced the appointment of Minoru Kimura as new club chairman on Wednesday.

The 60-year-old will replace current chairman Yoshiro Takahira, who will step down from the MEIJI YASUDA J2 League side’s board of directors at a shareholder meeting later in June.

“Let’s return to J1 and bring back a strong Jubilo Iwata,” Kimura said in a statement issued through the club.

“I hope to work hard so that all of us can experience the club ideals of joy and passion together.”

The three-time J.League champions and all-round most successful Japanese side in Asian club football competition suffered the ignominy of relegation in 2013.

Jubilo narrowly missed getting back into the top-flight after a season down, eventually losing the promotion play-offs after finishing fourth under ex-playing icon Hiroshi Nanami.