2015 in Japanese football

2015 season
← 2014 2016 →

Japanese football in 2015.

J1 League

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the Clausura title, accumulating the most points in the overall table and thus getting a bye to the Championship final, where they met third-place Gamba Osaka, who had defeated Apertura champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the semifinal. Hiroshima won the two-legged final for their eighth overall Japanese title, regaining the record position they had set in 1970 and which they had held until the old Japan Soccer League folded.

Shimizu S-Pulse was relegated to the second tier for the first time, after being one of the co-founders of the J. League back in 1993 (a placement that was deemed questionable in many quarters due to their lack of JSL record). Following after cameo appearances were Montedio Yamagata, in their fourth season, and Matsumoto Yamaga, who was debuting in the top flight only four years after being promoted from what was the third tier at the time, the Japan Football League.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C) 34 23 5 6 73 30 +43 74 Champions League group stage and J.League Championship Final
2 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 21 9 4 69 40 +29 72 Champions League group stage and J.League Championship 1st Round
3 Gamba Osaka 34 18 9 7 56 37 +19 63
4 F.C. Tokyo 34 19 6 9 45 33 +12 63 Champions League qualifying play-off1
5 Kashima Antlers 34 18 5 11 57 41 +16 59
6 Kawasaki Frontale 34 17 6 11 62 48 +14 57
7 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 15 10 9 45 32 +13 55
8 Shonan Bellmare 34 13 9 12 40 44 −4 48
9 Nagoya Grampus 34 13 7 14 44 48 −4 46
10 Kashiwa Reysol 34 12 9 13 46 43 +3 45
11 Sagan Tosu 34 9 13 12 37 54 −17 40
12 Vissel Kobe 34 10 8 16 44 49 −5 38
13 Ventforet Kofu 34 10 7 17 26 43 −17 37
14 Vegalta Sendai 34 9 8 17 44 48 −4 35
15 Albirex Niigata 34 8 10 16 41 58 −17 34
16 Matsumoto Yamaga (R) 34 7 7 20 30 54 −24 28 Relegation to 2016 J2 League
17 Shimizu S-Pulse (R) 34 5 10 19 37 65 −28 25
18 Montedio Yamagata (R) 34 4 12 18 24 53 −29 24
Updated to match(es) played on 28 November 2015. Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League Standings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.

1 The winner of the 2015 Emperor's Cup will also qualify for the Group Stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League. Since the Emperor's Cup winner will have already qualified to the Group Stage as the league champion or runners-up - the final Group Stage spot will be awarded to the third-placed team, and the Qualifying Play-off spot will be awarded to the fourth-placed team.

J2 League

Omiya Ardija won the title and returned to the top flight at the first attempt. Júbilo Iwata followed after two years of second-tier football. In the playoffs, Avispa Fukuoka survived the final against fourth-placed Cerezo Osaka with a draw and was promoted, putting an end to four years of second-tier wilderness.

At the bottom, Tochigi SC were relegated after 6 years in the second division, while Oita Trinita had the most shocking downfall, being a former J. League Cup winner and having played first-tier football only two seasons before, and losing a test-match series to Machida Zelvia.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Omiya Ardija (C, P) 42 26 8 8 72 37 +35 86 Promotion to 2016 J1 League
2 Júbilo Iwata (P) 42 24 10 8 72 43 +29 82
3 Avispa Fukuoka (O, P) 42 24 10 8 63 37 +26 82 Qualification to promotion playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
4 Cerezo Osaka 42 18 13 11 57 40 +17 67
5 Ehime FC 42 19 8 15 47 39 +8 65
6 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 15 15 12 42 33 +9 60
7 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 18 5 19 59 58 +1 59
8 Tokyo Verdy 42 16 10 16 43 41 +2 58
9 JEF United Chiba 42 15 12 15 50 45 +5 57
10 Consadole Sapporo 42 14 15 13 47 43 +4 57
11 Fagiano Okayama 42 12 18 12 40 35 +5 54
12 Zweigen Kanazawa 42 12 18 12 46 43 +3 54
13 Roasso Kumamoto 42 13 14 15 42 45 −3 53
14 Tokushima Vortis 42 13 14 15 35 44 −9 53
15 Yokohama FC 42 13 13 16 33 58 −25 52
16 Kamatamare Sanuki 42 12 15 15 30 33 −3 51
17 Kyoto Sanga 42 12 14 16 45 51 −6 50
18 Thespakusatsu Gunma 42 13 9 20 34 56 −22 48
19 Mito HollyHock 42 10 16 16 40 47 −7 46
20 FC Gifu 42 12 7 23 37 71 −34 43
21 Oita Trinita (R) 42 8 14 20 41 51 −10 38 Qualification to relegation playoffs[lower-alpha 2]
22 Tochigi SC (R) 42 7 14 21 39 64 −25 35 Relegation to 2016 J3 League
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2015. Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League Standing
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion playoffs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
  2. ↑ The playoffs and direct exchange between J2 and J3 are subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2015 J3 League.

J3 League

Only one season after being promoted from the fourth-tier JFL, Renofa Yamaguchi won the third tier at the first attempt. Machida Zelvia settled for second place but won the test match series easily against a crestfallen Oita Trinita.

There was no relegation from this division, but the Japan Football Association folded the U-22 team.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Renofa Yamaguchi (C, P) 36 25 3 8 96 36 +60 78 Promotion to 2016 J2 League
2 Machida Zelvia (P) 36 23 9 4 52 18 +34 78 Qualification to J2 League promotion playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
3 Nagano Parceiro 36 21 7 8 46 28 +18 70
4 SC Sagamihara 36 17 7 12 59 51 +8 58
5 Kataller Toyama 36 14 10 12 37 36 +1 52
6 Gainare Tottori 36 14 8 14 47 41 +6 50
7 Fukushima United 36 13 10 13 42 48 −6 49
8 Blaublitz Akita 36 12 9 15 37 40 −3 45
9 FC Ryukyu 36 12 9 15 45 51 −6 45
10 Fujieda MYFC 36 11 4 21 37 61 −24 37
11 Grulla Morioka 36 8 11 17 36 47 −11 35
12 J.League U-22 Selection 36 7 7 22 28 71 −43 28 Folded by JFA after the season.
13 YSCC Yokohama 36 7 6 23 24 58 −34 27
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2015. Source: JLeague.jp
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.

Japan Football League

Vanraure Hachinohe won the Apertura title and an entry to the 2015 Emperor's Cup but fell in the Clausura stage to eventual winner Sony Sendai as well as to Kagoshima United, who won fourth-place overall, good enough for promotion to the J3 League.

There was no relegation, but SP Kyoto FC withdrew after the season. They will be replaced by Regional Promotion Series finalists ReinMeer Aomori and Briobecca Urayasu.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Sony Sendai (C) 30 21 8 1 48 21 +27 71
2 Vanraure Hachinohe 30 17 8 5 36 21 +15 59
3 Honda FC 30 21 5 4 73 22 +51 68
4 Kagoshima United (P) 30 18 6 6 46 25 +21 60 Promotion to 2016 J3 League
5 Azul Claro Numazu 30 16 6 8 36 28 +8 54
6 SP Kyoto FC 30 14 8 8 51 26 +25 50 Withdrawn
7 Nara Club 30 13 7 10 33 28 +5 46
8 FC Osaka 30 13 5 12 45 35 +10 44
9 Honda Lock 30 11 7 12 31 37 −6 40
10 Verspah Oita 30 10 7 13 40 47 −7 37
11 MIO Biwako Shiga 30 9 7 14 36 41 −5 34
12 Tokyo Musashino City 30 8 6 16 31 40 −9 30
13 Maruyasu Okazaki 30 6 3 21 27 61 −34 21
14 Ryutsu Keizai Dragons 30 6 3 21 27 62 −35 21
15 Fagiano Okayama Next 30 6 2 22 25 59 −34 20
16 Tochigi Uva 30 5 4 21 29 61 −32 19
Updated to match(es) played on 15 November 2015. Source: JFL website (Japanese)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
Winners of each stage will be ranked 1st and 2nd based on the championship results regardless of their total points.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.

References

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