Daisuke Nasu and Sho Naruoka had given the hosts a useful lead at the interval but Kashima fought back in the second period.

Gilton reduced the arrears in the 52nd minute before Koji Nakata squared the contest 16 minutes later. Brazilian striker Marquinhos then netted the winner four minutes from time.

Nagoya Grampus were pegged back three times by Shimizu S-Pulse as Kashima's two closest rivals played out an entertaining 3-3 draw.

Nagoya took the lead after just nine minutes when Keiji Tamada capitalised on Mu Kanazaki's flick but the visitors levelled 11 minutes later when Jungo Fujimoto's deflected cross came back off the post and Norwegian Frode Johnson headed home.

Nagoya retook the lead on the stroke of half-time through Tamada's second of the game, who then wasted a glorious chance to complete his hat-trick on the hour mark when he blasted a penalty over the bar.

The miss proved all the more costly eight minutes later as Shinji Okazaki rifled home Shimizu's second but Nagoya took the lead for a third time when Kanazaki found the back of the net following a powerful run.

However, Eddy Bosnar's close-range header in the 79th minute ensured the points were shared. Shimizu remain second while Nagoya stay third, four points behind Kashima.

Cerezo Osaka lie fourth after second-half goals from Adriano, Taka Inui and Hiroshi Kiyotake were enough to see off Montedio Yamagata, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima climbed above Urawa Reds and into fifth as Tomoaki Makino's 72nd-minute goal was enough to edge past the Saitama-based club.

Finally, Takashi Amano's last-minute goal saw Yokohama F. Marinos down Gamba Osaka while Albirex Niigata won 3-2 at Vegalta Sendai thanks to Marcio Richardes' hat-trick.