The 2026–27 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Teams Team changes The following teams changed division since the 2025 season. + To J2 League Relegated from J1 League Yokohama FC Shonan Bellmare Albirex Niigata Promoted from J3 League Tochigi City Vanraure Hachinohe Tegevajaro Miyazaki+ From J2 League Promoted to J1 League Mito HollyHock V-Varen Nagasaki JEF United Chiba Relegated to J3 League Renofa Yamaguchi Roasso Kumamoto Ehime FC
Location and stadium
Team Location Stadium Capacity 2025 season License Albirex Niigata↓ Niigata Denka Big Swan Stadium41,684 20th in J1J1 Blaublitz Akita Akita Soyu Stadium18,560 14th in J2J1 FC Imabari Imabari ASICS Satoyama Stadium5,316 11th in J2J1 Fujieda MYFC Fujieda Fujieda Soccer Stadium10,057 15th in J2J1 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Sapporo Sapporo Dome38,794 12th in J2J1 Iwaki FC Iwaki Hawaiians Stadium Iwaki5,066 9th in J2J1 Júbilo Iwata Iwata Yamaha Stadium15,156 5th in J2J1 Kataller Toyama Toyama Toyama Athletic Stadium18,588 17th in J2J1 Montedio Yamagata Tendō ND Soft Stadium20,638 10th in J2J1 Oita Trinita Ōita Crasus Dome Oita31,997 16th in J2J1 RB Omiya Ardija Saitama NACK5 Stadium Omiya15,491 6th in J2J1 Sagan Tosu Tosu Ekimae Real Estate Stadium20,805 8th in J2J1 Shonan Bellmare↓ Hiratsuka Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka15,380 19th in J1J1 Tegevajaro Miyazaki↑ Shintomi Ichigo Miyazaki Shintomi Football Stadium5,354 4th in J3J2 Tochigi City↑ Tochigi City Football Station5,129 1st in J3J2 Tokushima Vortis Naruto Pocari Sweat Stadium17,924 4th in J2J1 Vanraure Hachinohe↑ Hachinohe Prifoods Stadium5,124 2nd in J3J2 Vegalta Sendai Sendai Yurtec Stadium Sendai19,694 7th in J2J1 Ventforet Kofu Kōfu JIT Recycle Ink Stadium15,853 13th in J2J1 Yokohama FC↓ Yokohama NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium15,454 18th in J1J1
↓ 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 Yuzo Funakoshi Michael Fitzgerald Adidas Kameda Seika Blaublitz Akita Ken Yoshida Hiroto Morooka Athleta TDK FC Imabari Yoshikiyo Kuboyama Taiga Son, Yuki Kajiura, Takafumi Yamada, Edigar Junio, Yoshiaki Komai Asics Unicharm Fujieda MYFC Tomoaki Makino Keita Matsuda Gol. Touzai (H) / Fujifilm (A) Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Kenta Kawai Shota Nishino Mizuno Shiroi Koibito (H) / Ishiya (A) Iwaki FC Kazuaki Tasaka Ryota Nagaki Under Armour BHC Júbilo Iwata Tadahiro Akiba Kensuke Fujiwara Admiral Yamaha Kataller Toyama Ryo Adachi Tsubasa Yoshihira Goldwin YKK AP Montedio Yamagata Akinobu Yokouchi Shoma Doi Penalty ABeam Oita Trinita Shuhei Yomoda Keigo Sakakibara Puma Oita Bank RB Omiya Ardija Narcís Pèlach Gabriel Adidas Red Bull Sagan Tosu Akio Kogiku Kenta Nishizawa New Balance Kimura Information Technology Shonan Bellmare Tetsu Nagasawa Kazuki Dohana Umbro Fujita Tegevajaro Miyazaki Yuji Okuma Koji Okumura ZOZO Ichigo Tochigi City Naoki Imaya Ryo Okui Luxperior Nippon Rika Tokushima Vortis Takafumi Yoshimoto Ken Iwao Mizuno Pocari Sweat Vanraure Hachinohe Keiji Kuraishi Shoma Takayoshi Hummel Atmix Vegalta Sendai Yoshiro Moriyama Masahiro Sugata Adidas Iris Ohyama Ventforet Kofu Hiroki Shibuya Miki Inoue Mizuno Hakubaku Yokohama FC Daisuke Sudo Katsuya Iwatake Puma Onodera Group
Managerial changes Post 100 Year Vision Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of arrivalVanraure HachinoheYuki TakahashiResigned6 June 2026Keiji Kuraishi9 June 2026Tokushima VortisTakefumi OtaniResigned8 June 2026Takafumi Yoshimoto8 June 2026FC ImabariYuji TsukadaResigned10 June 2026Abel Mourelo López11 June 2026Júbilo IwataFumitake MiuraSacked15 June 2026Tadahiro Akiba15 June 2026RB Omiya ArdijaMitsuhiro TodaEnd of interim spell23 June 2026Narcís Pèlach24 June 2026
During the season Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of arrivalIwaki FCYuzo TamuraMutual agreement7 September 202618thKazuaki Tasaka9 September 2026FC ImabariAbel Mourelo LópezSacked21 September 202620thYoshikiyo Kuboyama21 September 2026
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. 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.
TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Player 8Player 9Former players Albirex Niigata Jason Geria Danilo Gomes Iury Castilho Matheus Moraes Noam Baumann Michael Fitzgerald Blaublitz Akita FC Imabari Edigar Junio Gabriel Gomes Wesley Tanque Aleksandar Paločević Lee Young-jun Taiga Son Fujieda MYFC Wigi Kanemoto Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Mário Sérgio Vini Peixoto Kinglord Safo Amadou Bakayoko Kim Geon-ung Park Min-gyu Itthimon Tippanet Supachok Sarachat Teerapat Pruetong Iwaki FC Jeon Seo-ho Joo Hyun-jin Júbilo Iwata Danilo Cardoso Iago Teles João Victor Matheus Peixoto Yuri Lara Kataller Toyama Jung Woo-young Kang Min-woo Kim Tae-won Koh Bong-jo Montedio Yamagata Thalisson Lee Dong-hee Oita Trinita Matheus Pereira Patrick Verhon Mun Kyung-gun RB Omiya Ardija Tom Glover Carlinhos Júnior Gabriel Kauã Diniz Mauricio Caprini Suphanat Mueanta Sagan Tosu Park Ho-min Shonan Bellmare Arthur Silva Fabián González Tegevajaro Miyazaki Lee Chung-won Tochigi City Aidan Simmons Joe Caletti Pedro Augusto Byron Vásquez Matej Jonjić Tokmac Nguen Kim Jin-hyeon Tokushima Vortis Kaique Mafaldo Lucas Barcellos Thonny Anderson Lawrence Izuchukwu Kang Young-kwang Vanraure Hachinohe Kaung Zan Mara Vegalta Sendai Gustavo Mateus Moraes Han Ho-gang Ventforet Kofu Holneiker Mendes Michele Staccioli Lee Min-ki Yokohama FC Adaílton João Paulo Lukian
Foreign players by confederation Foreign players by confederation AFC (4), (1), (19), (4) CAF (1), (1), (1) CONCACAF (1) CONMEBOL (31), (1), (1) OFC (1) UEFA (1), (1), (1), (1),
Standings League table
Position by round
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
Matches Semifinals
Final
Attendances Overall
Home match played Team \ Match played1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Total 28,949 18,382 17,298 20,708 16,730 102,067 6,781 4,462 4,693 4,078 10,847 4,560 35,421 8,349 6,729 6,153 4,360 25,591 10,658 6,100 4,774 6,065 5,653 33,250 18,373 15,471 8,168 15,017 8,590 65,619 5,575 4,999 4,368 5,586 20,528 14,901 14,235 9,958 11,086 50,180 8,713 6,028 5,872 4,977 25,590 17,289 12,058 9,849 9,648 10,124 58,968 14,373 7,537 7,914 8,263 6,095 44,182 12,217 11,657 10,771 9,653 44,298 18,116 8,243 9,578 7,147 43,084 11,583 9,069 6,515 27,167 3,561 2,918 2,981 2,743 2,412 14,615 3,430 3,566 4,246 2,820 14,062 12,222 7,435 4,942 5,392 29,991 4,088 4,401 2,632 2,990 2,424 2,556 19,091 18,323 12,326 13,499 14,828 58,976 9,857 7,258 9,289 9,197 6,253 41,854 53,973 8,657 5,823 7,870 76,323League total 830,857 Source:data.j-league.or.jp
Awards Monthly MVP MonthPlayerClubAugust Carlinhos JúniorFWRB Omiya Ardija
Goal of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Kaiga MurakoshiMFTegevajaro Miyazaki
Young Player of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Yuto KunitakeMFKataller Toyama
Save of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Kai Chidi KitamuraTokushima Vortis
Manager of the Month MonthManagerClubAugust Tomoaki MakinoFujieda MYFC
Number of teams by prefecture Number Prefecture Team(s)2Shonan Bellmare and Yokohama FCFujieda MYFC and Júbilo Iwata1Blaublitz AkitaVanraure HachinoheFC ImabariIwaki FCHokkaido Consadole SapporoVegalta SendaiTegevajaro MiyazakiAlbirex NiigataOita TrinitaSagan TosuOmiya ArdijaTochigi CityTokushima VortisKataller ToyamaMontedio YamagataVentforet Kofu
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
References