2023 J2 League
The 2023 J2 League, also known as the 2023 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2023 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2023 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, will be the 25th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999.
| Season | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 February – 12 November |
| Matches played | 77 |
| Goals scored | 173 (2.25 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ryo Watanabe (5 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Roasso Kumamoto 3–0 Omiya Ardija (5 March) Machida Zelvia 3–0 Mito HollyHock (12 March) Fagiano Okayama 3–0 Zweigen Kanazawa (12 March) Zweigen Kanazawa 5–2 Renofa Yamaguchi (19 March) Omiya Ardija 3–0 Oita Trinita (25 March) Tokyo Verdy 3–0 Roasso Kumamoto (25 March) |
| Biggest away win | Fujieda MYFC 0–5 Tokyo Verdy (19 March) |
| Highest scoring | Zweigen Kanazawa 5–2 Renofa Yamaguchi (19 March) |
| Longest winning run | Machida Zelvia (6 matches; From 26 Feb to present) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Machida Zelvia (7 matches; From 19 Feb to present) |
| Longest winless run | 3 teams (7 matches; From 19 Feb to present) |
| Longest losing run | Montedio Yamagata (5 matches; From 4 Mar to present) |
| Highest attendance | 22,937 Júbilo Iwata 2–2 Shimizu S-Pulse (18 March) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,020 Fujieda MYFC 0–1 Blaublitz Akita (25 February) |
| Total attendance | 525,380 |
| Average attendance | 6,823 |
← 2022 2024 →
All statistics correct as of 2 April 2023. | |
Overview
This is the last season to be played with 22 participating clubs, as the number of clubs will be reduced to 20 from the 2024 season.[1]
FC Ryukyu and Iwate Grulla Morioka were relegated to the 2023 J3 League, finishing the previous J2 League season as 21st and 22nd-placed team, respectively.
Relegated from J1, both Shimizu S-Pulse and Júbilo Iwata were the only Shizuoka-based J1 teams last season. Now, they return to J2 after spending six and one season, respectively, at the top flight.
J3 winners Iwaki FC and runners-up Fujieda MYFC were both promoted from the J3 League. Both teams will make their debut in J2 League, with Iwaki being promoted to the J2 just a season after being promoted to J3.
For the first time ever since the 2004 season, three teams from the same prefecture will participate in the J2 League, as Shimizu S-Pulse, Júbilo Iwata and Fujieda MYFC are all based on Shizuoka Prefecture.
Participating clubs
- centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
- Mito, Hitachi, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Hitachiota, Kitaibaraki, Hitachiomiya, Takahagi, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Daigo, Tokai
- centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
- centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
- centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
- centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
- centering on Kanazawa, Nonoichi, Kahoku, Tsubata, Tsubata
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
| JEF United Chiba | Yoon Jong-hwan | Contract expiration | Pre-season | — | Yoshiyuki Kobayashi | Pre-season | [2] | ||
| Júbilo Iwata | Hiroki Shibuya | Contract expiration | Pre-season | — | Akinobu Yokouchi | Pre-season | [3] | ||
| Machida Zelvia | Ranko Popovic | Contract expiration | Pre-season | — | Go Kuroda | Pre-season | [4] | ||
| Tokushima Vortis | Dani Poyatos | Resigned | Pre-season | — | Beñat Labaien | Pre-season | [5] | ||
| Ventforet Kofu | Tatsuma Yoshida | Contract expiration | Pre-season | — | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | Pre-season | [6] | ||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Zé Ricardo | Sacked | 3 April 2023 | 19th | Tadahiro Akiba | 3 April 2023 | [7] | ||
| Montedio Yamagata | Peter Cklamovski | Sacked | 4 April 2023 | 18th | Susumu Watanabe | 4 April 2023 | [8] | ||
Foreign players
As of the 2023 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.[9] 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.[10]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machida Zelvia | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 19 | Promotion to the 2024 J1 League |
| 2 | Tokyo Verdy | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 16 | |
| 3 | Oita Trinita | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 16 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Ventforet Kofu | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 14 | |
| 5 | Blaublitz Akita | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 12 | |
| 6 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 11 | |
| 7 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 11 | |
| 8 | Fagiano Okayama | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | |
| 9 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 10 | |
| 10 | Omiya Ardija | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | |
| 11 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 9 | |
| 12 | Fujieda MYFC | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 9 | |
| 13 | Júbilo Iwata | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 8 | |
| 14 | Roasso Kumamoto | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 8 | |
| 15 | Iwaki FC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 | |
| 16 | Vegalta Sendai | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 8 | |
| 17 | Mito HollyHock | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 7 | |
| 18 | Montedio Yamagata | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 6 | |
| 19 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | |
| 20 | Tochigi SC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 5 | |
| 21 | JEF United Chiba | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | Relegation to 2024 J3 League |
| 22 | Tokushima Vortis | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 |
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.
Play-offs
The usual format will be applied on the 2023 season. Promotion play-offs will be held from the semi-final stage, where the match-ups are previously semi-determined. Based on the J2 placements at the end of the regular season: The 3rd-placed team plays against the 6th-placed, while the 4th-placed team plays against the 5th-placed. The winners of the semi-finals will play the Promotion Play-offs Final, with who ever wins being promoting to the J1.
Should a match be tied at any of the play-off matches, the team with the best placement will qualify for the next stage. The placement order currently is: J2 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place.
For the 2023 season, three teams will be promoted to the 2024 J1 League. There will not be relegation playoffs between J1 and J2.
Season statistics
- As of 2 April 2023.
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ryo Watanabe |
Fujieda MYFC | 5 |
| 2 | Hiiro Komori |
JEF United Chiba | 4 |
 Juanma Delgado |
V-Varen Nagasaki | ||
| 4 | Many players | 3 | |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryo Sato |
Thespakusatsu Gunma | 4 |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mitchell Duke |
Machida Zelvia | 3 |
| Yasuhito Endo |
Júbilo Iwata | ||
| Tojiro Kubo |
Fujieda MYFC | ||
| Fumiya Takayanagi |
Omiya Ardija | ||
| Yuhi Takemoto |
Roasso Kumamoto | ||
 Peter Utaka |
Ventforet Kofu | ||
| 8 | Many players | 2 | |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[13] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentaro Kakoi |
Blaublitz Akita | 5 |
| William Popp |
Machida Zelvia | ||
 Matheus Vidotto |
Tokyo Verdy | ||
| 4 | Shuichi Gonda |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 3 |
| Takashi Kasahara |
Omiya Ardija | ||
| Konosuke Nishikawa |
Oita Trinita | ||
Player
- Most yellow cards: 3[14]
- Caio César (V-Varen Nagasaki)
- Rimu Matsuoka (Roasso Kumamoto)
- Rikiya Motegi (Omiya Ardija)
- Hiroki Noda (Montedio Yamagata)
- Masahiko Okuyama (Machida Zelvia)
- Masahiko Sugita (Fujieda MYFC)
- Most red cards: 1 [15]
- Kazuki Tanaka (JEF United Chiba)
- Rimu Matsuoka (Roasso Kumamoto)
- So Nakagawa (Júbilo Iwata)
Kim Tae-hyeon (Vegalta Sendai)- Niki Urakami (Omiya Ardija)
References
- "League Structure and Competition Format from 2024 Season Unify the number of clubs in each category to 20 League Cup changed to a knockout competition with participation of all J1, J2 and J3 clubs". Japan Professional Football League. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- "小林 慶行 監督の就任内定について" (in Japanese). 1 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "横内 昭展監督 就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- "黒田剛 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "ベニャート ラバイン氏 新監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 9 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- "篠田 善之氏 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- "秋葉 忠宏 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- "トップチーム監督交代のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- "「ホームグロウン制度」の導入と「外国籍選手枠」の変更について". J.LEAGUE.jp. Archived from the original on 2018-12-23.
- "プロサッカー選手の契約、登録および移籍に関する規則" (PDF). jfa.jp.
- "Goals". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "Assists". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "Clean Sheets (GK)". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "J2 2022 Yellow cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "J2 2022 Red Cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "Club yellow cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- "Club red cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
External links
- Official website on jleague.co (in English)
