The second-placed Reds closed the gap on leaders Gamba Osaka, who beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-1, to two points after ending a run of four games without a win in all competitions.

Table-topping Gamba edged out Kashiwa courtesy of goals from Brazilian striker Bare and midfielder Takahiro Futagawa

The Reds opened the scoring at the Toyota Stadium when Brazilian Nene rose highest at the far post to head home Ponte's corner.

Nagoya struck back nine minutes before the break, Norwegian striker Frode Johnsen converting Shohei Abe's cross, but the Reds snatched all three points as Washington collected Ponte's pass and beat three defenders before netting the winner.

"It was important for us to pick up three points after having drawn in the previous matches," said Reds boss Holger Osieck.

"Grampus are a side who can surprise their opponents and we played well and showed good concentration for the full 90 minutes. I'm happy with our team's performance."

Elsewhere, 10-man Kawasaki Frontale slipped to third in the table after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Oita Trinita.

Oita took a 27th minute lead through Augusto before Frontale forward Juninho was sent off after collecting a second yellow card.

Juninho had earlier been booked after he appearred to strike out at Oita's Yuki Fukaya, who was pulling his shirt.

Serginho completed the scoring for Oita five minutes after the break as the home side collected just their third win of the season to move up to 14th in the table.

Elsewhere, Brazilian forward Ueslei struck a stunning hat-trick as Sanfrecce Hiroshima claimed a 3-1 victory over JEF United Chiba, while Albirex Niigata battled to a 1-1 draw with Kashima Antlers.

Daisuke Tomita's strike fired Omiya Ardija off the foot of the table following a 1-0 win over Yokohama FC, while Shimizu S-Pulse played out a goalless draw with Ventfore Kofu.