2022 J3 League
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| Season | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12 March – 20 November |
| Champions | Iwaki FC (1st title) |
| Promoted | Iwaki FC Fujieda MYFC |
| Relegated | No relegation |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 797 (2.6 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ryo Arita (17 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Gainare Tottori 6–0 Kagoshima United (24 September) |
| Biggest away win | YSCC Yokohama 0–6 Iwaki FC (4 June) Fukushima United 0–6 Fujieda MYFC (5 June) |
| Highest scoring | Ehime FC 7–2 Gainare Tottori (14 August) |
| Longest winning run | Fujieda MYFC Kataller Toyama (6 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Iwaki FC Fujieda MYFC FC Imabari (10 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Kamatamare Sanuki (14 matches) |
| Longest losing run | YSCC Yokohama Tegevajaro Miyazaki (7 matches) |
| Highest attendance | 15,912 Matsumoto Yamaga 2–1 Nagano Parceiro (30 October) |
| Lowest attendance | 458 Vanraure Hachinohe 2–1 SC Sagamihara (15 June) |
| Total attendance | 833,042 |
| Average attendance | 2,722 |
← 2021 2023 → | |
The 2022 J3 League, referred to as the 2022 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (Japanese: 2022 明治安田生命J3リーグ, Hepburn: 2022 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J3 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 9th season of J3 League under its current name.
Iwaki FC won the J3 title for the first time in their history, in their debut campaign at the J3 League, just a year after being promoted from the JFL. They were promoted to the 2023 J2 League alongside Fujieda MYFC, who narrowly promoted with one point off the 3rd-placed team. Both teams won promotion for the J2 League for the first time.
After no relegations from the J2 League in 2020, in 2021 there were four relegations and the number of teams in the 2022 J3 League increased from 15 to 18.[1]
This is first and last season as 18 teams for 2022.
This is last season to not feature relegation in 2022. From 2023, relegation from the J3 League to the JFL will be made possible.
Changes from the previous season
| Promoted from 2021 JFL | Promoted to 2022 J2 League | Relegated from 2021 J2 League |
|---|---|---|
| Iwaki FC | Roasso Kumamoto Iwate Grulla Morioka |
SC Sagamihara Ehime FC Giravanz Kitakyushu Matsumoto Yamaga |
The 4 teams relegated from J2 League in 2021 were: SC Sagamihara, Ehime FC, Giravanz Kitakyushu and Matsumoto Yamaga.
Roasso Kumamoto and Iwate Grulla Morioka were promoted to J2 League.
Iwaki FC was promoted from 2021 JFL as champions of that division. Fukushima team are making their debut in the J3 League after obtaining a J.League License, to enable their promotion from the JFL.
Participating clubs
Foreign players
From the 2021 season onwards, there is no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad.[9] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Qatar) were exempted from these restrictions.
- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the midseason transfer window.
- Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, holds the nationality of a J.League partner nation, or is exempt from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from an approved type of school in the country.[10]
League table
Stadiums
Primary venues used in the 2022 J3 League season:
| Azul Claro Numazu | Ehime FC | Fujieda MYFC | Fukushima United | Gainare Tottori | FC Gifu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashitaka Park Stadium | Ningineer Stadium | Fujieda Soccer Stadium | Toho Stadium | Axis Bird Stadium | Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium |
| Capacity: 5,104 | Capacity: 21,401 | Capacity: 5,056 | Capacity: 6,464 | Capacity: 16,310 | Capacity: 11,999 |
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| Giravanz Kitakyushu | FC Imabari | Iwaki FC | Kagoshima United | Kamatamare Sanuki | Kataller Toyama |
| Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu | Arigato Service Dream Stadium | J-Village Stadium | Shiranami Stadium | Pikara Stadium | Toyama Stadium |
| Capacity: 15,300 | Capacity: 5,063 | Capacity: 5,063 | Capacity: 12,606 | Capacity: 22,338 | Capacity: 18,588 |
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| Matsumoto Yamaga | Nagano Parceiro | SC Sagamihara | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Vanraure Hachinohe | YSCC Yokohama |
| Sunpro Alwin | Nagano U Stadium | Sagamihara Gion Stadium | Unilever Stadium Shintomi | Prifoods Stadium | Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 15,515 | Capacity: 15,300 | Capacity: 5,354 | Capacity: 5,124 | Capacity: 15,440 |
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Season statistics
Goal contributions
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ryo Arita |
Iwaki FC | 17 |
| 2 | Kosuke Fujioka |
FC Gifu | 16 |
| 3 | Koki Arita |
Kagoshima United | 15 |
| Daichi Ishikawa |
Gainare Tottori | ||
| 5 | Yuki Okada |
Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 14 |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yudai Tokunaga |
Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 12 |
| 2 | Riku Saga |
Iwaki FC | 9 |
| 3 | Akiyuki Yokoyama |
Fujieda MYFC | 8 |
| 4 | Ikki Kawasaki |
Kamatamare Sanuki | 7 |
| Takashi Kondo |
Ehime FC | ||
| Yuji Kimura |
Kagoshima United | ||
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 8[13]
Kento Dodate (YSCC Yokohama)
- Most red cards: 1 [14]
- Naoki Sato (Azul Claro Numazu)
- Kenshiro Suzuki (Azul Claro Numazu)
- Takashi Akiyama (Fujieda MYFC)
- Nobuyuki Kawashima (Fujieda MYFC)
- Kazuki Dohana (Fukushima United)
- Takumi Baba (Gainare Tottori)
- Koshiro Itohara (Gainare Tottori)
- Takumi Fujitani (FC Gifu)
Freire (FC Gifu)- Marcus Índio (FC Imabari)
- Yuji Kimura (Kagoshima United)
Frank Romero (Kagoshima United)- Rei Yonezawa (Kagoshima United)
- Akira Ando (Matsumoto Yamaga)
- Hiroshi Azuma (Nagano Parceiro)
- Hayate Sugii (Nagano Parceiro)
- Ryoma Ishida (SC Sagamihara)
- Shunsuke Ueda (Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
- Masanobu Komaki (Vanraure Hachinohe)
- Kento Dodate (YSCC Yokohama)
- Riku Furuyado (YSCC Yokohama)
Club
- Most yellow cards: 58[15] (YSCC Yokohama)
- Most red cards: 3[16] (Kagoshima United)