The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (2016 明治安田生命J3リーグ) was the 20th season of the third tier in Japanese football, and the 3rd season of the professional J3 League.
Clubs
To participate, a club must have held an associate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2015, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation license issued by the J.League Council. The J.League has confirmed the following clubs participating in the 2016 J3 season: Club nameHome townNotesBlaublitz AkitaAll cities/towns in AkitaCerezo Osaka U23Osaka, OsakaNew club, ineligible for J2 promotionFukushima UnitedFukushimaGainare TottoriAll cities/towns in TottoriGamba Osaka U-23Suita, Osaka, OsakaNew club, ineligible for J2 promotionGrulla MoriokaMorioka, Iwate Kagoshima United Kagoshima, KagoshimaPromoted from 2015 JFLKataller ToyamaAll cities/towns in ToyamaEligible for J2 promotionFujieda, ShizuokaNaganoEligible for J2 promotionAll cities/towns in OkinawaSagamihara, KanagawaTochigi SCTochigi, TochigiRelegated from 2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotionFC Tokyo U23TokyoNew club, ineligible for J2 promotionOita TrinitaŌitaRelegated from 2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotionYSCC YokohamaYokohama, Kanagawa
Competition rules For this season, the league is played in two rounds (home-and-away), each team playing a total of 30 matches.
Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Also for this season, three foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from the ASEAN partner country of J.League or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3 substitutes will be allowed in a game. The three under-23 clubs can have up to three overage players and one of them must be a goalkeeper.
Promotion and relegation Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of the Japan Football League in recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange with the 22nd placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with the 21st placed J2 club. If either or both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, the playoffs and/or direct exchange will not be held in accordance with the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs. Also, if an under-23 squad finishes in either one of the top 2 or both positions, the next-placed, promotion-eligible club takes automatic promotion to J2. Another next-placed eligible club will contest the playoff if any under-23 club occupies third to fourth place or both and the J3 champion is eligible for promotion.
No relegation to the JFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by the J.League for J3 participation and finish within the top 4 of the JFL.
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerDate of separationManner of departureIncoming managerDate of announcement Grulla Morioka Naoki Naruo 18 November 2015 Retired Akihiko Kamikawa 18 November 2015 Tochigi SC Yasuharu Kurata 11 December 2015 Contract expired Yuji Yokoyama 11 December 2015 Gainare Tottori Masanobu Matsunami 22 November 2015 Contract expired Tetsuji Hashiratani 13 December 2015 Nagano Parceiro Hajime Eto 1 December 2015 Contract expired Fumitake Miura 14 December 2015 FC Ryukyu Norihiro Satsukawa 31 October 2015 Contract expired Kim Jong-song 14 December 2015 SC Sagamihara Yoshika Matsubara 3 December 2015 End of caretaker spell Norihiro Satsukawa 26 December 2015 Kataller Toyama Shigeo Sawairi (GM) – End of caretaker spell Yasutoshi Miura 26 December 2015 Oita Trinita Nobuaki Yanagida 7 December 2015 Resigned Tomohiro Katanosaka 4 January 2016 FC Tokyo U23 Takayoshi Amma 26 July 2016 Promoted to first team coach Tadashi Nakamura 26 July 2016 SC Sagamihara Norihiro Satsukawa 18 August 2016 Resigned Sotaro Yasunaga 20 August 2016
League table
Results
Top scorers RankScorerClubGoals1 Noriaki FujimotoKagoshima United FC2 Yusuke GotoOita Trinita3 Keita TanakaFC Ryukyu4 Yuichiro EdamotoFujieda MYFC5 Tsugutoshi OishiTochigi SC 11 Yu In-sooFC Tokyo U-237 Ritsu DoanGamba Osaka U-23 10 Kazushi MitsuhiraOita Trinita9 Taku UshinohamaGrulla Morioka 9 Hiroki HiguchiFukushima United FC
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016Source: J.League Data
Attendances
References