2024 J2 League

The 2024 J2 League, also known as the 2024 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2024 明治安田J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2024 Meiji Yasuda J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is the 26th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. This will also be the tenth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.

J2 League

Season	2024
Dates	24 February – 10 November 2024
Matches played	90
Goals scored	210 (2.33 per match)
Top goalscorer	Hiiro Komori (5 goals)
Biggest home win	JEF United Chiba 8–0 Tochigi SC (3 April 2024)
Biggest away win	Roasso Kumamoto 0–6 Iwaki FC (17 March 2024)
Highest scoring	JEF United Chiba 8–0 Tochigi SC (3 April 2024)
← 2023 2025 → All statistics correct as of 20:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC).

Overview

For the first time since 2011, the number of the clubs in the league decreased from 22 to 20.^[1]

This season, there will be three automatic relegation spots to the J3 League (one more than the 2023 season) and two clubs will gain automatic promotion to the J1 League. Like last season, the winner of the J2 promotion play-off will also be promoted to the top tier.

Additionally, some J3 League clubs may not have a J2 license and may not be promoted if they finish in the top two places of the J3 League.

Schedule

The league and match format was announced on 19 December 2023. The league will begin on 23 February and end on 10 November in a round-robin format of 38 matches.^[2]

The J1 promotion play-offs will have the semi-finals on 30 November or 1 December with the final taking place on 7 December.^[3]

Changes from the previous season

Zweigen Kanazawa and Omiya Ardija were relegated to the 2024 J3 League, finishing the previous J2 League season as 21st and 22nd-placed teams, respectively.

Yokohama FC were the sole team to be relegated from the J1 League, after only one season in the top flight.

Both Machida Zelvia and Júbilo Iwata are promoted to the J1 League as champions and runners-up, respectively, of the previous J2 League season. Tokyo-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, who finished 3rd in 2023 and earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus making their first top flight appearance since 2008.

J3 winners Ehime FC and runners-up Kagoshima United were both promoted from the J3 League. 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.^[4]

Clubs

 

 

Blaublitz Akita

 

Ehime

 

Fagiano Okayama

 

Iwaki FC

 

Kagoshima United

 

Yamagata

 

Oita Trinita

 

Renofa

 

Roasso Kumamoto

 

Tokushima Vortis

 

Vegalta Sendai

 

Ventforet Kofu

 

V-Varen

 

Mito HollyHock

 

JEF United

 

Tochigi SC

 

Thespa Gunma

 

Shimizu S-Pulse

 

Fujieda MYFC

 

Yokohama FC

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Locations of the 2024 J2 League teams

Club name	Hometown	Stadium	Capacity	Previous season rank	License
Blaublitz Akita	Akita	Soyu Stadium	20,125	J2 (13th)	J1
Ehime FC	All cities/towns in Ehime^[a]	Ningineer Stadium	21,401	J3 (1st)	J1
Fagiano Okayama	All cities/towns in Okayama^[b]	City Light Stadium	20,000	J2 (10th)	J1
Fujieda MYFC	Cities/towns in Shizuoka Prefecture	Fujieda Soccer Stadium	13,000	J2 (12th)	J1
Iwaki FC	Iwaki and Futaba District, Fukushima	Hawaiians Stadium Iwaki	5,600	J2 (18th)	J1
JEF United Chiba	Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba	Fukuda Denshi Arena	18,500	J2 (6th)	J1
Kagoshima United	Kagoshima	Shiranami Stadium	19,934	J3 (2nd)	J1
Mito HollyHock	All cities/towns in central and northern Ibaraki^[c]	K's denki Stadium Mito	12,000	J2 (17th)	J1
Montedio Yamagata	All cities/towns in Yamagata^[d]	ND Soft Stadium	20,315	J2 (5th)	J1
Oita Trinita	Ōita Prefecture	Showa Denko Dome Oita	40,000	J2 (9th)	J1
Renofa Yamaguchi	All cities/towns in Yamaguchi	Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium	20,000	J2 (20th)	J1
Roasso Kumamoto	Kumamoto, Kumamoto	Egao Kenko Stadium	32,000	J2 (14th)	J1
Shimizu S-Pulse	Shizuoka	IAI Stadium Nihondaira	20,339	J2 (4th)	J1
Thespa Gunma	All cities/towns in Gunma^[e]	Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma	15,253	J2 (11th)	J1
Tochigi SC	Utsunomiya, Tochigi	Kanseki Stadium Tochigi	25,244	J2 (19th)	J1
Tokushima Vortis	Tokushima Prefecture	Pocarisweat Stadium	20,441	J2 (15th)	J1
V-Varen Nagasaki	All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture^[f]	Nagasaki Athletic Stadium	20,246	J2 (7th)	J1
Vegalta Sendai	Miyagi Prefecture	Yurtec Stadium Sendai	19,694	J2 (16th)	J1
Ventforet Kofu	All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture^[g]	Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium	17,000	J2 (8th)	J1
Yokohama FC	Kanagawa Prefecture	Mitsuzawa Stadium	15,444	J1 (18th)	J1

1. centering on Matsuyama
2. centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
3. Mito, Hitachi, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Hitachiota, Kitaibaraki, Hitachiomiya, Takahagi, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Daigo, Tokai
4. centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
5. centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
6. centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
7. centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

Personnel and kits

Club	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Main shirt sponsor
Blaublitz Akita	Ken Yoshida	Hiroto Morooka	Athleta	TDK
Ehime FC	Kiyotaka Ishimaru	Kenta Tokushige	Jogarbola	Ningineer Network
Fagiano Okayama	Takashi Kiyama	Ryo Takeuchi	Penalty	GROP
Fujieda MYFC	Daisuke Sudo	Masahiko Sugita	Gol.	Seikan Kensa Center
Iwaki FC	Yuzo Tamura	Kengo Tanaka	Under Armour	BHC
JEF United Chiba	Yoshiyuki Kobayashi	Daisuke Suzuki	Hummel	Fuji Electric
Kagoshima United	Yasuaki Oshima	Yuji Kimura	Angua	Satsuma Shimabijin
Mito HollyHock	Yoshimi Hamasaki	Koichi Murata	soccer junky	K's Holdings
Montedio Yamagata	Susumu Watanabe	Shuto Minami	Penalty	ABeam
Oita Trinita	Tomohiro Katanosaka	Arata Watanabe	Puma	Daihatsu Kyushu
Renofa Yamaguchi	Ryo Shigaki	Kota Kawano	Finta	upr
Roasso Kumamoto	Takeshi Oki	Rei Hirakawa	Puma	Hirata
Shimizu S-Pulse	Tadahiro Akiba	Yoshinori Suzuki	Puma	Suzuyo
Thespa Gunma	Tsuyoshi Otsuki	Hajime Hosogai	Kelme	Cainz
Tochigi SC	Makoto Tanaka	Sho Sato	Athleta	TKC
Tokushima Vortis	Tatsuma Yoshida	Yoichiro Kakitani	Mizuno	Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Pocari Sweat)
V-Varen Nagasaki	Takahiro Shimotaira	Hiroki Akino	Macron	Japanet
Vegalta Sendai	Yoshiro Moriyama	Yasushi Endo	Adidas	Iris Ohyama
Ventforet Kofu	Yoshiyuki Shinoda	Masahiro Sekiguchi	Mizuno	Hakubaku
Yokohama FC	Shuhei Yomoda	Gabriel	Puma	Onodera Group

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in the table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Tochigi SC	Yu Tokisaki^[5]	Resigned	6 November 2023	Pre-season	Makoto Tanaka^[6]	5 December 2023
Oita Trinita	Takahiro Shimotaira^[7]		10 November 2023		Tomohiro Katanosaka^[8]	30 November 2023
Vegalta Sendai	Takafumi Hori^[9]		13 November 2023		Yoshiro Moriyama^[10]	27 November 2023
Renofa Yamaguchi	Juan Esnáider^[11]		13 November 2023		Ryo Shigaki^[12]	5 December 2023
V-Varen Nagasaki	Fábio Carille^[13]	Contract terminated^[a]	15 February 2024		Takahiro Shimotaira^[16]	15 February 2024

1. On 19 December 2023, Carille was named Santos manager.^[14] Hours after his presentation, V-Varen Nagasaki claimed that Carille had already renewed his contract for 2024. They filed a lawsuit with FIFA,^[15] but eventually Carille's contract with Nagasaki was terminated on 15 February.

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.^[17] 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.^[18]

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Left mid-season
Blaublitz Akita
Ehime FC	Ben Duncan	Bak Keon-woo	Kang Sung-chan	Yu Ye-chan
Fagiano Okayama	Gleyson	Lucão	Gabriel Xavier	Svend Brodersen
Fujieda MYFC	Carlinhos	Anderson Chaves	Wendel
Iwaki FC	Joo Hyun-jin	Park Jun-yeong
JEF United Chiba	Dudu	Mendes	Dudu Pacheco
Kagoshima United	Ono Cholhwan
Mito HollyHock
Montedio Yamagata
Oita Trinita	Derlan	Matheus Pereira	Samuel	Kim Hyun-woo	Mun Kyung-gun
Renofa Yamaguchi	Renan	Sílvio	Kim Byeom-yong	Choi Hyung-chan
Roasso Kumamoto	Bae Jeong-min
Shimizu S-Pulse	Lucas Braga	Carlinhos Júnior	Douglas Tanque
Thespa Gunma
Tochigi SC	Rafael Costa	Origbaajo Ismaila	Kim Min-jun	Park Yong-ji
Tokushima Vortis	Tiago Alves	Elsinho	Kaique	José Aurelio Suárez
V-Varen Nagasaki	Marcos Guilherme	Matheus Jesus	Edigar Junio	Valdo	Luka Radotić	Juanma
Vegalta Sendai	Eron	Matheus Moraes
Ventforet Kofu	Adaílton	Eduardo Mancha	Fabián González	Peter Utaka	Taiga Son
Yokohama FC	Léo Bahia	Caprini	Gabriel	Yuri Lara	Phelipe	Nguyễn Công Phượng

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Shimizu S-Pulse	9	6	1	2	13	9	+4	19	Promotion to the 2025 J1 League
2	V-Varen Nagasaki	9	5	3	1	16	9	+7	18
3	Fagiano Okayama	9	5	3	1	12	7	+5	18	Qualification for the promotion play-offs
4	Yokohama FC	9	4	3	2	14	7	+7	15
5	Ventforet Kofu	9	4	2	3	12	9	+3	14
6	Blaublitz Akita	9	4	2	3	10	7	+3	14
7	Ehime FC	9	4	2	3	13	11	+2	14
8	Vegalta Sendai	9	3	5	1	8	6	+2	14
9	JEF United Chiba	9	4	1	4	21	12	+9	13
10	Iwaki FC	9	3	4	2	16	7	+9	13
11	Montedio Yamagata	9	4	1	4	10	9	+1	13
12	Renofa Yamaguchi	9	3	3	3	9	7	+2	12
13	Oita Trinita	9	3	3	3	9	8	+1	12
14	Roasso Kumamoto	9	3	2	4	12	18	−6	11
15	Tochigi SC	9	3	2	4	7	20	−13	11
16	Kagoshima United	9	2	2	5	8	17	−9	8
17	Fujieda MYFC	9	2	2	5	4	14	−10	8
18	Mito HollyHock	9	1	4	4	4	7	−3	7	Relegation to 2025 J3 League
19	Thespa Gunma	9	1	3	5	5	11	−6	6
20	Tokushima Vortis	9	1	2	6	7	15	−8	5

Updated to match(es) played on 7 April 2024. Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League, J.League Data Site
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.

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 7 April 2024^[19]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Hiiro Komori	JEF United Chiba	5
	Matheus Jesus	V-Varen Nagasaki
3	Kaina Tanimura	Iwaki FC	4
	Daiki Sato	Blaublitz Akita
	Junya Takahashi	Montedio Yamagata
	Sho Ito	Yokohama FC
	Keito Kumashiro	Roasso Kumamoto
	Shun Nagasawa	Oita Trinita

Awards

See also

• 2024 Japanese Super Cup
• 2024 Emperor's Cup
• 2024 J1 League
• 2024 J3 League

References

1. "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.
2. "２０２４明治安田Ｊ２リーグ 大会方式および試合方式について：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
3. "２０２４Ｊ１昇格プレーオフ 大会方式および試合方式について：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). 19 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
4. "２０２４Ｊリーグ クラブ編成：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). 19 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
5. "時崎監督の退任を発表【栃木】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). 7 November 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
6. "来季の新監督に田中氏が就任【栃木】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp）". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
7. "【トップチーム】下平隆宏監督退任のお知らせ". 大分トリニータ公式サイト (in Japanese). 10 November 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
8. "【トップチーム】片野坂知宏氏 監督就任のお知らせ". 大分トリニータ公式サイト (in Japanese). 30 November 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
9. "堀孝史監督 退任のお知らせ". ベガルタ仙台オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
10. "森山佳郎監督就任のお知らせ". ベガルタ仙台オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
11. "フアン エスナイデル 監督 退任のお知らせ | レノファ山口FC". RENOFA YAMAGUCHI FC (in Japanese). 13 November 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
12. "志垣 良 氏 レノファ山口FC トップチーム 監督就任のお知らせ | レノファ山口FC". RENOFA YAMAGUCHI FC (in Japanese). 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
13. "ファビオ カリーレ監督及びスタッフとの契約終了 ならびに同人らに対する国際サッカー連盟（FIFA）への提訴完了のお知らせ". 15 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
14. "Fábio Carille é apresentado como treinador do Santos: "Camisa histórica"". 20 December 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
15. "サントスFCならびにファビオ カリーレ監督等に関するFIFAへの申立てについて（1月19日時点）". 19 January 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
16. "下平 隆宏 監督就任のお知らせ". 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
17. "「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. from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
18. "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.
19. "All Positions | Goals | All clubs | MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE | 2024 Player Stats". J.LEAGUE. Retrieved 2 March 2024.

External links

• Official website on jleague.co (in English)