2026–27 J1 League
34th season of the J1 League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026–27 J1 League is the 34th season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This is the 12th season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1 and the first to have encompassed two calendar years, having switched from the single-year season format.
Kashima Antlers are the defending champions, having won a record-extending ninth J.League title on the last matchday of the 2025 season. It was their record-breaking ninth top flight title, their first trophy since winning the 2018 AFC Champions League, and the first league title since 2016.[2]
Overview
Changes from the previous season
Three teams were relegated to the 2026–27 J2 League. Yokohama FC, Shonan Bellmare, and Albirex Niigata, were relegated as they finished 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively in the 2025 season, ending their one, eight, and three-year stays in the top flight respectively.
Three teams were promoted from the 2025 J2 League: Mito HollyHock, who won the title and play top flight football for the first time ever and second team from Ibaraki Prefecture in J1 League, V-Varen Nagasaki, who finished second, play only its second ever season in the J1 after seven seasons playing in the J2 League, and JEF United Chiba, who finished third and won the play-offs to play their first season in the top tier since their most recent relegation in 2008.
Clubs
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yokohama F. Marinos |  Hideo Ōshima |
Sacked | 3 June 2026[4] | Pre-season |  Steve Corica |
21 June 2026[5] |
| Kyoto Sanga | Tatsuma Yoshida |
End of interim spell | 7 June 2026[6] |  Ranko Popović |
8 June 2026[7] | |
| Urawa Reds | Tatsuya Tanaka |
16 June 2026 |  Cho Kwi-jae |
16 June 2026[8] | ||
| Cerezo Osaka | Arthur Papas |
Resigned | 3 July 2026[9] |  Pablo Machín |
3 July 2026[10] | |
| Gamba Osaka |  Jens Wissing |
Resigned | 10 July 2026 [11] | Tomokazu Myojin |
18 July 2026 [12] | |
Foreign players
From the 2019 season, there are no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad.[13] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia) were exempted from these restrictions.
- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season 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.[14]
Foreign players by confederation
| Foreign players by confederation | |
|---|---|
| AFC | Australia (7),  China (2),  Malaysia (1),  Philippines (1), South Korea (15), |
| CAF |  Ivory Coast (1),  Nigeria (1),  Togo (1),  Tunisia (1) |
| CONCACAF |  Jamaica (1),  United States (1) |
| CONMEBOL |  Brazil (50),  Colombia (1) |
| UEFA |  Belgium (1),  Croatia (1),  Denmark (2), Germany (3),  Israel (2),  Kosovo (1),  Poland (1),  Portugal (1), Serbia (3), Spain (3),  Sweden (1),  Turkey (1) |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage |
| 2 | Kashima Antlers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Avispa Fukuoka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Fagiano Okayama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | JEF United Chiba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Kashiwa Reysol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Machida Zelvia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Mito HollyHock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Nagoya Grampus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Kyoto Sanga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | FC Tokyo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | Tokyo Verdy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | Vissel Kobe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 19 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0 | |
| 20 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0 |
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 goals scored; 7) Fewer disciplinary points.
Results
See also
- 2026 Japanese Super Cup
- 2026–27 Emperor's Cup
- 2026–27 J.League Cup
- 2026–27 J2 League
- 2026–27 J3 League
- 2026–27 Japan Football League
- 2026 Japanese Regional Leagues