2026–27 J1 League
The 2026–27 J1 League will be the 34th season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This is the 12th season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1 and the first to have encompassed two calendar years, having switched from the single-year season format.
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2026–27 J1 League
The 2026–27 J1 League will be the 34th season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This is the 12th season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1 and the first to have encompassed two calendar years, having switched from the single-year season format.
Kashima Antlers are the defending champions, having won a record-extending ninth J.League title on the last matchday of the 2025 season. It was their record-breaking ninth top flight title, their first trophy since winning the 2018 AFC Champions League, and the first league title since (/wiki/2016J1League).
Overview
2026–27 J1 League
This is the first J.League season played in two calendar years from summer to spring, having always played in a whole calendar year from late winter to early winter since its inaugural season in (/wiki/1993J.League).
Changes from the previous season
2026–27 J1 League
There were three teams relegated to the 2026–27 J2 League. Yokohama FC, Shonan Bellmare, and Albirex Niigata, were relegated as they finished 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively in the 2025 season, ending their one, eight, and three-year stays in the top flight respectively.
Three teams were promoted from the 2025 J2 League: Mito HollyHock, who won the title and will play top flight football for the first time ever and second team from Ibaraki Prefecture in J1 League, V-Varen Nagasaki, who finished second, will play only its second ever season in the J1 after seven seasons playing in the J2 League, and JEF United Chiba, who finished third and won the play-offs to play their first season in the top tier since their most recent relegation in (/wiki/2008J.LeagueDivision1).
Clubs
2026–27 J1 League
<table><thead><tr><th>Club</th><th>Location</th><th>Stadium</th><th>Capacity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Kashima Antlers</td><td>Ibaraki Prefecture</td><td>Kashima Soccer Stadium</td><td>39,095</td></tr><tr><td>Mito HollyHock</td><td>K's denki Stadium Mito</td><td>10,152</td></tr><tr><td>Urawa Red Diamonds</td><td>Saitama Prefecture</td><td>Saitama Stadium 2002</td><td>62,040</td></tr><tr><td>JEF United Chiba</td><td>Chiba Prefecture</td><td>Fukuda Denshi Arena</td><td>19,470</td></tr><tr><td>Kashiwa Reysol</td><td>Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium</td><td>15,109</td></tr><tr><td>FC Tokyo</td><td>Tokyo</td><td>Ajinomoto Stadium</td><td>47,851</td></tr><tr><td>Tokyo Verdy</td></tr><tr><td>Machida Zelvia</td><td>Machida GION Stadium</td><td>15,320</td></tr><tr><td>Kawasaki Frontale</td><td>Kanagawa Prefecture</td><td>Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu</td><td>26,827</td></tr><tr><td>Yokohama F. Marinos</td><td>Nissan Stadium</td><td>71,624</td></tr><tr><td>Shimizu S-Pulse</td><td>Shizuoka Prefecture</td><td>IAI Stadium Nihondaira</td><td>19,594</td></tr><tr><td>Nagoya Grampus</td><td>Aichi Prefecture</td><td>Toyota Stadium</td><td>42,753</td></tr><tr><td>Kyoto Sanga</td><td>Kyoto Prefecture</td><td>Sanga Stadium by Kyocera</td><td>21,269</td></tr><tr><td>Gamba Osaka</td><td>Osaka Prefecture</td><td>Panasonic Stadium Suita</td><td>39,694</td></tr><tr><td>Cerezo Osaka</td><td>Yodoko Sakura Stadium</td><td>24,481</td></tr><tr><td>Vissel Kobe</td><td>Hyōgo Prefecture</td><td>Noevir Stadium Kobe</td><td>27,974</td></tr><tr><td>Fagiano Okayama</td><td>Okayama Prefecture</td><td>JFE Harenokuni Stadium</td><td>15,479</td></tr><tr><td>Sanfrecce Hiroshima</td><td>Hiroshima Prefecture</td><td>Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima</td><td>28,407</td></tr><tr><td>Avispa Fukuoka</td><td>Fukuoka Prefecture</td><td>Best Denki Stadium</td><td>21,546</td></tr><tr><td>V-Varen Nagasaki</td><td>Nagasaki Prefecture</td><td>Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank</td><td>20,268</td></tr></tbody></table>
Personnel and kits
<table><thead><tr><th>Club</th><th>Manager</th><th>Captain</th><th>Kit manufacturer</th><th>Kit sponsors</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Main</td><td>Other(s)</td></tr><tr><td>Avispa Fukuoka</td><td>Shinya Tsukahara (interim)</td><td>Tatsuki Nara</td><td>Yonex</td><td>Shin Nihon Seiyaku</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Cerezo Osaka</td><td>Arthur Papas</td><td>Shunta Tanaka</td><td>Mizuno</td><td>Yanmar</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Fagiano Okayama</td><td>Takashi Kiyama</td><td>Ryo Takeuchi</td><td>Penalty</td><td>GROP</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>FC Tokyo</td><td>Rikizo Matsuhashi</td><td>Kei Koizumi</td><td>New Balance</td><td>Tokyo Gas</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Gamba Osaka</td><td>Jens Wissing</td><td>Takashi Usami</td><td>Hummel</td><td>Panasonic</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>JEF United Chiba</td><td>Yoshiyuki Kobayashi</td><td>Daisuke Suzuki</td><td>Hummel</td><td>Fuji Electric</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Kashima Antlers</td><td>Toru Oniki</td><td>Gaku Shibasaki</td><td>Nike</td><td>LIXIL</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Kashiwa Reysol</td><td>Ricardo Rodríguez</td><td>Tomoya Inukai</td><td>Yonex</td><td>Hitachi</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Kawasaki Frontale</td><td>Shigetoshi Hasebe</td><td>Yasuto Wakizaka</td><td>Puma</td><td>Fujitsu</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Kyoto Sanga</td><td>Cho Kwi-jae</td><td>Sota Kawasaki</td><td>Puma</td><td>Kyocera</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Machida Zelvia</td><td>Go Kuroda</td><td>Gen Shoji</td><td>Adidas</td><td>CyberAgent</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Mito HollyHock</td><td>Daisuke Kimori</td><td>Takeshi Ushizawa</td><td>Soccer Junky</td><td>K's Holdings</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Nagoya Grampus</td><td>Mihailo Petrović</td><td>Ryuji Izumi</td><td>Mizuno</td><td>Toyota GR Yaris</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Sanfrecce Hiroshima</td><td>Bartosch Gaul</td><td>Sho Sasaki</td><td>Nike</td><td>EDION</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Shimizu S-Pulse</td><td>Takayuki Yoshida</td><td>Koya Kitagawa</td><td>Puma</td><td>Suzuyo (Home & Away) / Star Micronics (Third)</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Tokyo Verdy</td><td>Hiroshi Jofuku</td><td>Koki Morita</td><td>Athleta</td><td>Nicigas</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Urawa Red Diamonds</td><td>Maciej Skorża</td><td>Takahiro Sekine</td><td>Nike</td><td>Polus</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Vissel Kobe</td><td>Michael Skibbe</td><td>Tetsushi Yamakawa</td><td>Asics</td><td>Rakuten Mobile</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>V-Varen Nagasaki</td><td>Takuya Takagi</td><td>Hiroki Akino</td><td>Fanatics</td><td>Japanet</td><td>List</td></tr><tr><td>Yokohama F. Marinos</td><td>Hideo Ōshima</td><td>Takuya Kida</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Nissan</td><td>List</td></tr></tbody></table>
League table
2026–27 J1 League
<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification or relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Avispa Fukuoka</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Cerezo Osaka</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Fagiano Okayama</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Gamba Osaka</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>JEF United Chiba</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Kashima Antlers</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Kashiwa Reysol</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Kawasaki Frontale</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Machida Zelvia</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Mito HollyHock</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Nagoya Grampus</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Kyoto Sanga</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Sanfrecce Hiroshima</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Shimizu S-Pulse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>FC Tokyo</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Tokyo Verdy</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Urawa Red Diamonds</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>V-Varen Nagasaki</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Relegation to the J2 League</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>Vissel Kobe</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Yokohama F. Marinos</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>