The earth-shattering offshore quake struck Japan on Friday and resulted in thousands of deaths and unimaginable devastation in the country.

According to reports, the first and second division clubs held a meeting at the J.League's headquarters in Tokyo Tuesday and agreed to rule out matches scheduled for April 2 and 3.

"I knew right away this was no ordinary earthquake," Kashima Antlers president Shigeru Ibata told the Kyodo news agency.

"There's no telling when we can restart the league again. The situation is getting worse by the day.

"Most of the people on the committee agree that the first week of April is already out of the question."

Ibata also pointed out the existing power shortage, saying it wouldn't be appropriate to use electricity to hold football games under the current circumstances.

"Whether we play at night and use the floodlights or not, an enormous amount of electricity is used to host one match," he added.

"In these circumstances when we're short on electricity, it wouldn't be right to be playing.

"It's about timing. There will come a time when we start up again, to help get the country back on its feet through sports. But now is clearly not the time."