Rock-bottom Vortis have won just once in 12 matches and are now nine points adrift of the three teams immediately above them, all of whom won.
The hosts escaped the relegation zone thanks to Takashi Usami's first-half goal and efforts from Hiroyuki Abe and Shu Kurata after the break.
Vegalta Sendai and Omiya Ardija were also victorious, leaving Vortis isolated at the bottom.
Vissel Kobe looked set to inflict another defeat on Sendai when they led 2-0 at the break, but the home side hit back in style to win a seven-goal thriller 4-3.
Wilson scored twice and, after Keijiro Ogawa had restored Kobe's lead, Yoshiaki Ota and Yuki Moto netted in the final 16 minutes to wrap up the points.
Ardija left it late to see off Tokyo as Yu Hasegawa struck in injury time to secure a 1-0 win.
Sagan Tosu are the new leaders after they took advantage of slip-ups elsewhere with a 1-0 win over Kashiwa Reysol.
Ryota Hayasaka was on target after just five minutes as Sagan replaced Urawa Reds at the summit.
The Reds could only muster a goalless draw against 10-man Ventforet Kofu, while Kashima Antlers suffered a second successive loss, going down 2-1 against Nagoya Grampus.
Elsewhere, there was last-gasp drama at Albirex Niigata as Yasuhiro Hiraoka's stoppage-time leveller for Shimizu S-Pulse was soon eclipsed by team-mate Calvin Jong-a-Pin's own-goal in a 2-1 win for the home side.
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