The 2024 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the

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 second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. It was the tenth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.

Overview

For the first time since

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, the number of the clubs in the league decreased from 22 to 20. This season, there were three automatic relegation spots to the

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan under the organization of J.League. The league is known as the for sponsorship reasons. The third-tier nation ...

(one more than the 2023 season) and two clubs gained automatic promotion to the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

. Like the previous season, the winner of the J2 promotion play-off were promoted to the top tier.

Schedule

The league and match format was announced on 19 December 2023. The league began on 23 February and ended on 10 November in a round-robin format of 38 matches. The J1 promotion play-off semi-finals took place on 1 December with the final taking place on 7 December.

Changes from the previous season

Zweigen Kanazawa Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, ''Tsuēgen Kanazawa'') is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J3 League, Japan's third tier of professional league football after ...

and

Omiya Ardija is a Japanese professional association football club based in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture. Its "hometown" (as designated by the league) is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. The team currently play in J2 League, the ...

were relegated to the

2024 J3 League The 2024 J3 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 11th season of the J3 League, the third-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2013. Overview The league continued with ...

, finishing the previous

season as 21st and 22nd-placed teams, respectively.

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 ...

were the sole team to be relegated from the

, after only one season in the top flight. Both

Machida Zelvia commonly known as is a Japanese professional football club based in Machida, Tokyo. They currently play in the J1 League, following promotion as J2 League champions in 2023. History Formation and election to the Prefectural League (1989–2 ...

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 ...

are promoted to the

as champions and runners-up, respectively, of the previous J2 League season.

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

-based Machida will make their debut in the top flight of Japanese football, while Júbilo will make their immediate comeback to the J1. Joining the duo are

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023. History Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the mo ...

, who finished 3rd in 2023 and earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus making their first top flight appearance since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. J3 winners

Ehime FC commonly known as Ehime FC (愛媛FC, ''Ehime Efu Shī'') is a professional Association football, football club based in Matsuyama, Ehime, Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture of Japan. The club currently compete in J2 League, the s ...

and runners-up Kagoshima United were both promoted from the

. Ehime are returning to the second-tier following two seasons in the J3 League and Kagoshima United will be playing only their second J2 season after five years absence. From this season, Thespakusatsu Gunma changed their name to Thespa Gunma.

Clubs

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

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. 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.

League table

Play-offs

The usual format was applied in the 2024 season. Promotion play-offs, officially called the ''2024 J.League Road To J1 Play-offs'' (), was held from the semi-finals, where the match-ups were previously semi-determined. 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 higher rank won. The rank order was: J2's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.

Semi-finals

----

Final

Season statistics

Top scorers

Awards

Monthly awards

Footnotes

References

External links

Official website
on jleague.co {{2024 in Japanese football J2 League 2

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 ...