2024 J2 League
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| Season | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 February – 10 November 2024 |
| Champions | Shimizu S-Pulse 1st J2 League title |
| Promoted | Shimizu S-Pulse Yokohama FC Fagiano Okayama |
| Relegated | Tochigi SC Kagoshima United Thespa Gunma |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 946 (2.49 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Hiiro Komori (23 goals) |
| Biggest home win | JEF United Chiba 8–0 Tochigi SC (3 April 2024) |
| Biggest away win | Roasso Kumamoto 0–6 Iwaki FC (17 March 2024) |
| Highest scoring | JEF United Chiba 8–0 Tochigi SC (3 April 2024) |
| Highest attendance | 55,598 Shimizu S-Pulse 1–1 Yokohama FC (28 September 2024)[1] |
| Lowest attendance | 1,255 Thespa Gunma 0–2 Oita Trinita (3 April 2024)[1] |
| Total attendance | 2,913,415 [2] |
| Average attendance | 7,667 [3] |
← 2023 2025 →
All statistics correct as of 17:00, 10 November 2024 (UTC). | |
The 2024 J2 League, also known as the 2024 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2024 明治安田J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2024 Meiji Yasuda J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. It was the tenth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.
For the first time since 2011, the number of the clubs in the league decreased from 22 to 20.[4]
This season, there were three automatic relegation spots to the J3 League (one more than the 2023 season) and two clubs gained automatic promotion to the J1 League. Like the previous season, the winner of the J2 promotion play-off were promoted to the top tier.
Schedule
Changes from the previous season
Zweigen Kanazawa and Omiya Ardija were relegated to the 2024 J3 League, finishing the previous J2 League season as 21st and 22nd-placed teams, respectively.
Yokohama FC were the sole team to be relegated from the J1 League, after only one season in the top flight.
Both Machida Zelvia and Júbilo Iwata are promoted to the J1 League as champions and runners-up, respectively, of the previous J2 League season. Tokyo-based Machida will make their debut in the top flight of Japanese football, while Júbilo will make their immediate comeback to the J1. Joining the duo are Tokyo Verdy, who finished 3rd in 2023 and earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus making their first top flight appearance since 2008.
J3 winners Ehime FC and runners-up Kagoshima United were both promoted from the J3 League. Ehime are returning to the second-tier following two seasons in the J3 League and Kagoshima United will be playing only their second J2 season after five years absence.
From this season, Thespakusatsu Gunma changed their name to Thespa Gunma.[7]
Clubs
Foreign players
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shimizu S-Pulse (C, P) | 38 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 82 | Promotion to the 2025 J1 League |
| 2 | Yokohama FC (P) | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 76 | |
| 3 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 74 | 39 | +35 | 75 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Montedio Yamagata | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 66 | |
| 5 | Fagiano Okayama (O, P) | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 65 | |
| 6 | Vegalta Sendai | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 64 | |
| 7 | JEF United Chiba | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 61 | |
| 8 | Tokushima Vortis | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 55 | |
| 9 | Iwaki FC | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 54 | |
| 10 | Blaublitz Akita | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 54 | |
| 11 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 53 | |
| 12 | Roasso Kumamoto | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 46 | |
| 13 | Fujieda MYFC | 38 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 46 | |
| 14 | Ventforet Kofu | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 54 | 57 | −3 | 45 | |
| 15 | Mito HollyHock | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 44 | |
| 16 | Oita Trinita | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 43 | |
| 17 | Ehime FC | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 41 | 69 | −28 | 40 | |
| 18 | Tochigi SC (R) | 38 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 33 | 57 | −24 | 34 | Relegation to the 2025 J3 League |
| 19 | Kagoshima United (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 35 | 59 | −24 | 30 | |
| 20 | Thespa Gunma (R) | 38 | 3 | 9 | 26 | 24 | 62 | −38 | 18 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Play-offs
The usual format was applied in the 2024 season. Promotion play-offs, officially called the 2024 J.League Road To J1 Play-offs[A] (Japanese: 2024 J1昇格プレーオフ), was held from the semi-finals, where the match-ups were previously semi-determined. Based on the J2 placements at the end of the regular season, the third-placed team played against the sixth-placed, while the fourth-placed team played against the fifth-placed. The winners of the semi-finals played the final, with the winners promoted to the J1.
If a match was tied in the play-offs, the team with the higher rank won. The rank order was: J2's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.[34]
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 3 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 1 | |||||||
| 6 | Vegalta Sendai | 4 | |||||||
| 5 | Fagiano Okayama | 2 | |||||||
| 6 | Vegalta Sendai | 0 | |||||||
| 4 | Montedio Yamagata | 0 | |||||||
| 5 | Fagiano Okayama | 3 | |||||||
Semi-finals
Final
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 10 November 2024[35]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hiiro Komori |
JEF United Chiba | 23 |
| 2 |  Matheus Jesus |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 18 |
| Kaina Tanimura |
Iwaki FC | ||
| 4 | Ken Yamura |
Fujieda MYFC | 16 |
| 5 | Edigar Junio |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 15 |
| 6 | Adaílton |
Ventforet Kofu | 14 |
| 7 | Hiroto Iwabuchi |
Fagiano Okayama | 13 |
| Motohiko Nakajima |
Vegalta Sendai | ||
| 9 | Marcos Guilherme |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 12 |
| Koya Kitagawa |
Shimizu S-Pulse |
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Monthly MVP | Goal of the Month | Young Player of the Month | References | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| February/March | Takashi Kiyama |
Fagiano Okayama | Gleyson |
Fagiano Okayama | Matheus Jesus |
V-Varen Nagasaki | Hayato Tanaka |
V-Varen Nagasaki | [36][37][38][39] |
| April | Takahiro Shimotaira |
V-Varen Nagasaki | Koya Kitagawa |
Shimizu S-Pulse | Kento Hashimoto |
Tokushima Vortis | Tsubasa Kasayanagi |
V-Varen Nagasaki | [40][41][42][43] |
| May | Yoshiro Moriyama |
Vegalta Sendai | Motohiko Nakajima |
Vegalta Sendai | Shinya Yajima |
Shimizu S-Pulse | Harumi Minamino |
Tochigi SC | [44][45][46][47] |
| June | Shuhei Yomoda |
Yokohama FC | Akito Fukumori |
Yokohama FC | Taishi Taguchi |
JEF United Chiba | Yusei Ozaki |
Ehime FC | [48][49][50][51] |
| July | Kosaku Masuda |
Tokushima Vortis | Ryota Nagaki |
Tokushima Vortis | Ken Yamura |
Fujieda MYFC | Kota Kawano |
Renofa Yamaguchi | [52][53][54][55] |
| August | Shuhei Yomoda |
Yokohama FC | Shoma Doi |
Montedio Yamagata | Pereira |
Oita Trinita | Kenshin Yasuda |
Oita Trinita | [56][57][58][59] |
| September | Susumu Watanabe |
Montedio Yamagata | Hiiro Komori |
JEF United Chiba | Daiki Watari |
Tokushima Vortis | Taisei Abe |
V-Varen Nagasaki | [60] |
| October | Yoshiyuki Kobayashi |
JEF United Chiba | Matheus Jesus |
V-Varen Nagasaki | Ken Yamura |
Fujieda MYFC | Toua Suenaga |
Renofa Yamaguchi | [61] |
| November/December | Tadahiro Akiba |
Shimizu S-Pulse | Leo Takae |
Montedio Yamagata | Daichi Ishikawa |
Roasso Kumamoto | Yusei Yashiki |
Oita Trinita | [62] |