The 2020 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league started on 21 February 2020. For this season, the league was planned to have a season break to avoid a clash with

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

due to be starting from June to August, as the Olympics were postponed by a year.

Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On 25 February, all J.League matches until March 15 were postponed in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until 29 March. On 19 March, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season. On 25 March, a further announcement declared that the league would be suspended from 3 April to 6 May. On 3 April, a decision to start over the official game schedule, which aimed to gradually resume J3 from 25 April, J2 from 2 May, and J1 from 9 May. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, but it would resume it at least one month later and later in the month. On 29 May, the J.League announced a resumption of matches on 27 June. On 9 June, the league issued a further announcement about the schedule of the 2020 season. On 15 June, a new announcement about the New dates was published. The first 2 rounds of matches in each league (J2 2nd-3rd series) were held without spectators. After 10 July, as a rule, the maximum number of people was 5,000 (stadiums with lower capacity were those with less than 50% of the capacity of people, and forbade away supporters). After August, the maximum stadium capacity was 50%, and it would be a “high alert spectator match”. After the 11th J.League extraordinary executive committee on 20 July, it was announced that the "super strict alert audience game" would be extended to 10 August in view of the spread of coronavirus infection.

Clubs

After spending only one season in J2,

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo ...

were crowned champions and were promoted to

2020 J1 League The 2020 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was sixth season of J1 League as rena ...

along with the runners-up

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...

. The

2019 J3 League The 2019 J3 League, referred to as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 6th season of J3 League under its current name. Clubs 2018 season saw two teams promoted to J2 League: FC Ryukyu won the championship by nine points over second-place ...

champions Giravanz Kitakyushu and runners-up

Thespakusatsu Gunma , formerly is a professional Association football, football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club currently play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional football. History The club was founded in ...

entered the league as the promoted teams, replacing Kagoshima United and

FC Gifu Football Club Gifu (フットボールクラブ岐阜, ''Futtobōrukurabu Gifu''), abbreviated as is a Japanese football club based in Gifu, capital of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. They play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional ...

who were relegated to 2020 J3 League. Those teams that qualified for promotion playoffs in 2019 were unable to defeat their opponent and thus remained in the 2020 season. Giravanz Kitakyushu returned to J2 after spending three seasons in J3, while

return after spending two seasons. Meanwhile, Matsumoto Yamaga and

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

joined the 2020 J2 League as relegated teams from

2019 J1 League The 2019 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the J1 League – the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992. This was fifth season of J1 League as re ...

having placed 17th and 18th respectively.

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

Foreign players

As of 2020 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 mid-season transfer window.

League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues, such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the

2021 J1 League The 2021 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was seventh season of J1 League as re ...

, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the

2021 J2 League The 2021 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 23rd season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. The league started on 27 February 2021 and ended ...

(subject to licensing regulations). It was also announced that the J1/J2 play-offs would not be held.

Positions by round

Top scorers

Source:

Attendances

References

External links

Official website
JLeague.jp {{Japanese Club Football, group=second J2 League

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...