J2 League
Appearance
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) |
| Number of teams | 22 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | J1 League |
| Relegation to | JFL (2012) J3 League (since 2013) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Emperor's Cup |
| Current champions | Matsumoto Yamaga (2018) |
| Most championships | Consadole Sapporo (3 titles) |
| TV partners | DAZN |
| Website | Official Website |
| Current: 2019 J2 League | |


The J2 League (Japanese: J2リーグ, Hepburn: J2 Rīgu) or simply J2 is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ, Nihon Puro Sakkā Rīgu) and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life and it is thus officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 明治安田生命J2リーグ). Until the 2014 season it was named the J.League Division 2.
Timeline
[change | change source]| Year | Important Events | # J2 Clubs |
Prom. Slots |
Rel. Slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |
|
10 | 2 | 0 |
| 2000 |
|
11 | 2 | 0 |
| 2001 |
|
12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2002 |
|
12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003 | 12 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2004 |
|
12 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2005 |
|
12 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2006 |
|
13 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2007 | 13 | 2.5 | 0 | |
| 2008 |
|
15 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2009 |
|
18 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 |
|
19 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011 |
|
20 | 3 | 0 |
| 2012 |
|
22 | 3 | 1 |
| 2013 |
|
22 | 3 | 0.5 |
| 2014 |
|
22 | 3 | 1.5 |
| 2015 |
|
22 | 3 | 1.5 |
| 2016 |
|
22 | 3 | 1.5 |
| 2017 |
|
22 | 3 | 2 |
| 2018 |
|
22 | 2.5 | 2 |
Participating clubs (2019)
[change | change source]| Club name | Year joined | Seasons in J2 |
Based in | First season in D2 |
Seasons in D2 |
Current spell in D2 |
Last spell in top flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 1999 | 6 | Niigata & Seiro, Niigata | 1998 | 7 | 2018– | 2004–2017 |
| Omiya Ardija | 1999 | 8 | Saitama, Saitama | 1987/88 | 18 | 2018– | 2016–2017 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1996 (J) | 13 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka | 1991/92 | 17 | 2017– | 2016 |
| Ehime FC | 2006 | 12 | All cities/towns in Ehime | 2006 | 12 | 2006– | – |
| Fagiano Okayama | 2009 | 9 | All cities/towns in Okayama | 2009 | 9 | 2009– | – |
| FC Gifu | 2008 | 10 | All cities/towns in Gifu | 2008 | 10 | 2008– | – |
| Mito HollyHock | 2000 | 18 | Mito, Ibaraki | 1997 | 20 | 2000– | – |
| JEF United Chiba | 1993 (J) | 8 | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | 2010 | 8 | 2010– | 1965–2009 |
| Kagoshima United FC | 2016 (J3) | 1 | Kagoshima, Kagoshima | 2019 | 1 | 2019– | – |
| Montedio Yamagata | 1999 | 15 | All cities/towns in Yamagata | 1994 | 20 | 2016– | 2015 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | 2015 (J3) | 2 | All cities/towns in Yamaguchi | 2016 | 2 | 2016– | – |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1995 (J) | 2 | Kashiwa, Chiba | 1987/88 | 8 | 2019– | 2011–2018 |
| FC Ryukyu | 2013 (J3) | 1 | Okinawa, Okinawa | 2019 | 1 | 2019– | – |
| Kyoto Sanga | 1996 (J) | 11 | Southwestern cities in Kyoto | 1972 | 24 | 2010– | 2008–2010 |
| Tochigi SC | 2009 | 8 | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | 2009 | 8 | 2018– | – |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 2013 | 5 | All cities/towns in Nagasaki | 2013 | 5 | 2019– | 2018 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1999 | 12 | All cities/towns in Yamanashi | 1972 | 37 | 2018– | 2013–2017 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 1993 (J) | 11 | Tokyo | 1972 | 17 | 2009– | 2008 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 2005 | 11 | All cities/towns in Tokushima | 1990/91 | 19 | 2015– | 2014 |
| Yokohama FC | 2001 | 16 | Yokohama, Kanagawa | 2001 | 16 | 2008– | 2007 |
| Machida Zelvia | 2012 | 2 | Machida, Tokyo | 2012 | 3 | 2016– | – |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | 2014 (J3) | 3 | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | 2015 | 3 | 2015– | – |
Promotion playoff results
[change | change source]| Season | First semi-final (3rd vs 6th) | Second semi-final (4th vs 5th) | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Kyoto Sanga 0–4 Oita Trinita | Yokohama FC 0–4 JEF United Chiba | Oita Trinita 1–0 JEF United Chiba |
| 2013 | Kyoto Sanga 0–0 V-Varen Nagasaki | Tokushima Vortis 1–1 JEF United Chiba | Kyoto Sanga 0–2 Tokushima Vortis |
| 2014 | Not held | Júbilo Iwata 1–2 Montedio Yamagata (6th) | JEF United Chiba 0–1 Montedio Yamagata |
| 2015 | Avispa Fukuoka 1–0 V-Varen Nagasaki | Cerezo Osaka 0–0 Ehime FC | Avispa Fukuoka 1–1 Cerezo Osaka |
| 2016 | Matsumoto Yamaga 1–2 Fagiano Okayama | Cerezo Osaka 1–1 Kyoto Sanga | Cerezo Osaka 1–0 Fagiano Okayama |
| 2017 | Nagoya Grampus 4–2 JEF United Chiba | Avispa Fukuoka 1–0 Tokyo Verdy | Nagoya Grampus 0–0 Avispa Fukuoka |
| 2018 | Tokyo Verdy (6th) 1–0 Omiya Ardija (5th) | Tokyo Verdy (6th) 1–0 Yokohama FC (3rd) | Júbilo Iwata 2–0 Tokyo Verdy |
| Season | First round | Second round | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Montedio Yamagata (3rd) 2–0 Omiya Ardija (6th) Tokushima Vortis (4th) 1–1 Ventforet Kofu (5th) |
Tokushima Vortis 1–0 Montedio Yamagata | Shonan Bellmare 1–1 Tokushima Vortis |
| 2022 | Fagiano Okayama (3rd) 0–3 Montedio Yamagata (6th) Roasso Kumamoto (4th) 2–2 Oita Trinita (5th) |
Roasso Kumamoto 2–2 Montedio Yamagata | Kyoto Sanga 1–1 Roasso Kumamoto |
| 2023 |
- Results
| Club | Participated | Winners | Runners-up | Seasons participated |
Winning seasons | Runner-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerezo Osaka | 2 |
1 |
1 |
2015, 2016 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2 |
1 |
1 |
2015, 2017 | 2015 | 2017 |
| Montedio Yamagata | 2 |
1 |
0 |
2014, 2016 | 2014 | |
| Tokushima Vortis | 1 |
1 |
1 |
2013 | 2013 | 2019 |
| Oita Trinita | 1 |
1 |
0 |
2012 | 2012 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | 1 |
1 |
0 |
2017 | 2017 | |
| JEF United Chiba | 4 |
0 |
2 |
2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 | 2012, 2014 | |
| Kyoto Sanga | 3 |
0 |
1 |
2012, 2013, 2016 | 2013 | |
| Tokyo Verdy | 1 |
0 |
1 |
2017 | 2018 | |
| Yokohama FC | 1 |
0 |
0 |
2012 | ||
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 1 |
0 |
0 |
2013 | ||
| Júbilo Iwata | 1 |
0 |
0 |
2014 | ||
| Ehime FC | 1 |
0 |
0 |
2015 | ||
| Fagiano Okayama | 1 |
0 |
0 |
2016 | ||
Stadiums (2019)
[change | change source]Primary venues used in the J2 League:
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ Orlowitz, Dan (13 December 2011). "Japan's J-League officially admits Matsumoto Yamaga and Machida Zelvia into 2012 season". Goal. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
Other websites
[change | change source]- http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/sportsjapan/archives201209110600.html Archived 2014-05-26 at the Wayback Machine