Toru Oniki has been named Manager of the Month for February and March after Kawasaki Frontale started the season with 16 points from their first seven matches to begin the season.

Oniki, who has guided Frontale to four of the last five Meiji Yasuda J1 League titles, is no stranger to Manager of the Month honors for his terrific work, but this season has challenged him in some new ways. Reo Hatate became the latest Frontale player to leave for Europe, an especially difficult loss after Ao Tanaka and Kaoru Mitoma left last summer, and Oniki has had to rebuild his machine in ways unlike ever before.

In the opening stage of the season, Oniki has managed his new-look Frontale beautifully. They assembled four clean sheets in February and March and scored multiple goals in five of six matches. Oniki has been widely regarded as one of the best managers on the continent for years and that was on full display to begin the campaign.

Manager of the Month in J2 went to Yokohama FC’s Shuhei Yomoda, who led his team to the top of the table. Yomoda’s team took 19 of a possible 21 points in February and March, led by a dynamic attack that averaged two goals per game.

In J3, Manager of the Month honors were given to Fukushima United’s Toshihiro Hattori. The newly appointed Fukushima boss led his team to three wins from three matches to start the season, out-scoring opponents by a devastating 8-2 margin.