2026–27 J2 League
Japanese association football season
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The 2026–27 J2 League is the 28th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. This is also the twelfth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.
| Season | 2026–27 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 August 2026 – May 2027 |
| Matches | 40 |
| Goals | 111 (2.78 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Carlinhos Júnior (4 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Tochigi City 5–0 Vanraure Hachinohe (15 August 2026) |
| Biggest away win | Blaublitz Akita 0–4 Kataller Toyama (15 August 2026) |
| Highest attendance | 53,973 Yokohama FC 3–1 Júbilo Iwata (16 August 2026) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,632 Vanraure Hachinohe 1–0 Blaublitz Akita (29 August 2026) |
| Total attendance | 446,225[1] |
| Average attendance | 11,161 |
2027–28 →
All statistics correct as of 29 August 2026. | |
Overview
General
This marked the first J2 League season scheduled with a summer-to-spring format with 20 teams will compete in the league – the fourteen teams from the previous season, three teams relegated from the J1 League and three teams promoted from J3 League.
Teams relegated from J1 League
Yokohama F. Marinos' victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima saw Albirex Niigata become the first team to be relegated on 25 October 2025. Albirex Niigata returned to J2 after spending three seasons in the top division.
Shonan Bellmare became the second team to be relegated after losing to Avispa Fukuoka on 26 October 2025, as Shonan Bellmare returned to J2 after spending eight seasons in the top division.[2]
Yokohama FC became the final team to be relegated after losing to Kashima Antlers on 8 November 2025, followed by Yokohama F. Marinos' victory over Kyoto Sanga the following day. Both results returned Yokohama FC to J2 after spending a season in the top division.
Teams promoted to J1 League
Mito HollyHock and V-Varen Nagasaki became the first two teams to be promoted on 29 November 2025. In the final matchweek, Mito HollyHock defeated Oita Trinita while V-Varen Nagasaki held Tokushima Vortis to a draw. This result ended a 25-season stay in J2 for Mito HollyHock and seven-seasons stay for V-Varen Nagasaki.[3][4]
The final promotion spot to J1 was secured by JEF United Chiba by defeating Tokushima Vortis in the final round of the promotion playoffs on 13 December 2025. This result saw them return to J1 after 17 seasons in the second division.[5]
Teams promoted from J3 League
Tochigi City became the first team to be promoted on 23 November 2025 after defeating Nagano Parceiro in matchweek 37. This result made it their second consecutive promotion after previously being promoted from JFL to J3. Vanraure Hachinohe became the second team to be promoted by holding Ryukyu Okinawa to a draw in the final matchweek on 29 November 2025. The last promotion slot secured by Tegevajaro Miyazaki after defeating FC Osaka in the final round of the promotion playoff on 14 December 2025.[6][7][8]
The three promoted teams will compete in J2 for the first time in their respective history.
Teams relegated to J3 League
Ehime FC became the first team to be relegated on 26 October 2025 after being defeated by Júbilo Iwata in matchweek 34 and that result ended their time in J2 for two seasons.[9]
Kataller Toyama's victory over Blaublitz Akita in the final matchweek on 29 November 2025, resulted in the relegation of Renofa Yamaguchi and Roasso Kumamoto. Renofa Yamaguchi were relegated after spending nine seasons in J2 despite a win over RB Omiya Ardija, while Roasso Kumamoto were held to a goalless draw by Ventforet Kofu resulted in their relegation after spending four seasons in J2.[10][11]
Teams
Team changes
The following teams changed division since the 2025 season.
Location and stadium
| ↓ | Relegated from the J1 League |
| ↑ | Promoted from the J3 League |
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and coaches may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | Other(s) | ||||
| Albirex Niigata | Kameda Seika | List
| |||
| Blaublitz Akita | TDK | List
| |||
| FC Imabari | Unicharm | List
| |||
| Fujieda MYFC | Touzai (H) / Fujifilm (A) | ||||
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Shiroi Koibito (H) / Ishiya (A) | ||||
| Iwaki FC | BHC | List
| |||
| Júbilo Iwata | Yamaha | List
| |||
| Kataller Toyama | YKK AP | List
| |||
| Montedio Yamagata | ABeam | List
| |||
| Oita Trinita | Oita Bank | List
| |||
| RB Omiya Ardija | Red Bull | List
| |||
| Sagan Tosu | Kimura Information Technology | ||||
| Shonan Bellmare | Fujita | List
| |||
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Ichigo | List
| |||
| Tochigi City | Nippon Rika | ||||
| Tokushima Vortis | Pocari Sweat | List
| |||
| Vanraure Hachinohe | Atmix | List
| |||
| Vegalta Sendai | Iris Ohyama | List
| |||
| Ventforet Kofu | Hakubaku | List
| |||
| Yokohama FC | Onodera Group | List
| |||
Managerial changes
Post 100 Year Vision
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanraure Hachinohe | Yuki Takahashi[32] | Resigned | 6 June 2026 | Keiji Kuraishi[33] | 9 June 2026 |
| Tokushima Vortis | Takefumi Otani[34] | Resigned | 8 June 2026 | Takafumi Yoshimoto[35] | 8 June 2026 |
| FC Imabari | Yuji Tsukada[36] | Resigned | 10 June 2026 | Abel Mourelo López[37] | 11 June 2026 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Fumitake Miura[38] | Sacked | 15 June 2026 | Tadahiro Akiba[39] | 15 June 2026 |
| RB Omiya Ardija | Mitsuhiro Toda[40] | End of interim spell | 23 June 2026 | Narcís Pèlach[41] | 24 June 2026 |
During the season
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | |||||
Foreign players
As of the 2024 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[42] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt 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 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 school in the country.[43]
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Player 9 | Former players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | ||||||||||
| Blaublitz Akita | ||||||||||
| FC Imabari | ||||||||||
| Fujieda MYFC | ||||||||||
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | ||||||||||
| Iwaki FC | ||||||||||
| Júbilo Iwata | ||||||||||
| Kataller Toyama | ||||||||||
| Montedio Yamagata | ||||||||||
| Oita Trinita | ||||||||||
| RB Omiya Ardija | ||||||||||
| Sagan Tosu | ||||||||||
| Shonan Bellmare | ||||||||||
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | ||||||||||
| Tochigi City | ||||||||||
| Tokushima Vortis | ||||||||||
| Vanraure Hachinohe | ||||||||||
| Vegalta Sendai | ||||||||||
| Ventforet Kofu | ||||||||||
| Yokohama FC |
Foreign players by confederation
Standings
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omiya Ardija | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 10 | Promotion to J1 League |
| 2 | Montedio Yamagata | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | |
| 3 | Fujieda MYFC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Qualification for the Promotion playoff |
| 4 | Albirex Niigata | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 9 | |
| 5 | Shonan Bellmare | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 8 | |
| 6 | Vegalta Sendai | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | |
| 7 | Júbilo Iwata | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | |
| 8 | Yokohama FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | |
| 9 | Kataller Toyama | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 6 | |
| 10 | Tochigi City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | |
| 11 | Vanraure Hachinohe | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 6 | |
| 12 | Sagan Tosu | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| 13 | Oita Trinita | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 14 | Blaublitz Akita | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | |
| 15 | Tokushima Vortis | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 | |
| 16 | Ventforet Kofu | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 | |
| 17 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 | |
| 18 | Iwaki FC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 3 | Relegation to the J3 League |
| 19 | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 | |
| 20 | FC Imabari | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 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 goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
Position by round
| Promotion to the J1 League | Qualification for the promotion playoff | Relegation to the J3 League |
Results
Fixtures and results
Results by round
Promotion playoff
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 highest league position are declared the winner. The rank order was: J2's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||
| 6 | |||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||
Matches
Semifinals
| 2027 | 3th-placed of J2 League | v | 6th-placed of J2 League | |
| --:-- UTC+9 |
| 2027 | 4th-placed of J2 League | v | 5th-placed of J2 League | |
| --:-- UTC+9 |
Final
| 2027 | Winner of Semifinal 1 | v | Winner of Semifinal 2 | |
| --:-- UTC+9 |
Attendances
Overall
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albirex Niigata | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a† |
| 2 | Blaublitz Akita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 3 | FC Imabari | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 4 | Fujieda MYFC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 5 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 6 | Iwaki FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 7 | Júbilo Iwata | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 8 | Kataller Toyama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 9 | Montedio Yamagata | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 10 | Oita Trinita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 11 | RB Omiya Ardija | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 12 | Sagan Tosu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 13 | Shonan Bellmare | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a† |
| 14 | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a‡ |
| 15 | Tochigi City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a‡ |
| 16 | Tokushima Vortis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 17 | Vanraure Hachinohe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a‡ |
| 18 | Vegalta Sendai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 19 | Ventforet Kofu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 20 | Yokohama FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a† |
| League total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Home match played
| Team \ Match played | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 28,949 | 18,382 | 47,331 | |||||||||||||||||
| Blaublitz Akita | 6,781 | 4,462 | 11,243 | |||||||||||||||||
| FC Imabari | 8,349 | 6,729 | 15,078 | |||||||||||||||||
| Fujieda MYFC | 10,658 | 6,100 | 16,758 | |||||||||||||||||
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 18,373 | 15,471 | 33,844 | |||||||||||||||||
| Iwaki FC | 5,575 | 4,999 | 10,574 | |||||||||||||||||
| Júbilo Iwata | 14,901 | 14,235 | 29,136 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kataller Toyama | 8,713 | 6,028 | 14,741 | |||||||||||||||||
| Montedio Yamagata | 17,289 | 12,058 | 29,347 | |||||||||||||||||
| Oita Trinita | 14,373 | 7,537 | 21,910 | |||||||||||||||||
| Omiya Ardija | 12,217 | 11,657 | 23,874 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sagan Tosu | 18,116 | 8,243 | 26,359 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shonan Bellmare | 11,583 | 11,583 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 3,561 | 2,918 | 6,479 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tochigi City | 3,430 | 3,566 | 6,996 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tokushima Vortis | 12,222 | 7,435 | 19,657 | |||||||||||||||||
| Vanraure Hachinohe | 4,088 | 4,401 | 2,632 | 11,121 | ||||||||||||||||
| Vegalta Sendai | 18,323 | 12,326 | 30,649 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ventforet Kofu | 9,857 | 7,258 | 17,115 | |||||||||||||||||
| Yokohama FC | 53,973 | 8,657 | 62,630 | |||||||||||||||||
| League total | 212,523 | |||||||||||||||||||
Source:data.j-league.or.jp
Number of teams by prefecture
See also
- 2026 Japanese Super Cup
- 2026–27 Emperor's Cup
- 2026–27 J.League Cup
- 2026–27 J1 League
- 2026–27 J3 League
- 2026–27 Japan Football League
- 2026 Japanese Regional Leagues