# 2015 J2 League

The 2015 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (2015 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season was the 44th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 17th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season began on 8 March 2015 and ended on 23 November 2015. This was first season of J2 League as renamed from J. League Division 2.

## Clubs

Shonan Bellmare have stayed in the second division for just a year, winning promotion as the champions. Matsumoto Yamaga have spent only 3 seasons in J2 after promoted from Japan Football League in 2012, becoming the first club based in Nagano Prefecture which have promoted to the top flight. Sixth-placed Montedio Yamagata won the promotion playoffs and will return in the first division after playing in the J2 for 3 years. Tokushima Vortis were relegated from the J1 immediately after their inaugural promotion, while Cerezo Osaka and Omiya Ardija have suffered relegation respectively after five and ten years from their last presence in J2.
On the other end of the table, Zweigen Kanazawa have been promoted from 2014 J3 League as the champions of the inaugural season of the J3 League, replacing relegated Kataller Toyama.
The participating clubs are listed in the following table:
| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| Omiya Ardija | Omiya, Saitama | Relegated from J1 League in 2014 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka | Relegated from J1 League in 2014 |
| Consadole Sapporo | Sapporo, Hokkaidō | |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | Not eligible for J1 promotion |
| Mito HollyHock | Mito, Ibaraki | Not eligible for J1 promotion |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | 2014 J2 League play-off finalist |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | 2014 J2 League play-off contestant |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Takamatsu, Kagawa Kagawa | Not eligible for J1 promotion |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | All cities/towns in Gunma | Not eligible for J1 promotion |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki | |
| Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | Relegated from J1 League in 2014 |
| Yokohama FC | Yokohama, Kanagawa | |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Kanazawa | Promoted from J3 League in 2014 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of separation | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of announcement |
| Oita Trinita | Kazuaki Tasaka | 1 June | Sacked | Nobuaki Yanagida | 2 July |
| Mito HollyHock | Tetsuji Hashiratani | 7 June | Sacked | Takayuki Nishigaya | 27 June |
| Kyoto Sanga | Masahiro Wada | 10 July | Sacked | Kiyotaka Ishimaru | 10 July |
| Tochigi SC | Yuji Sakakura | 20 July | Resigned | Yasuharu Kurata | 21 July |
| Consadole Sapporo | Ivica Barbarić | 24 July | Resigned | Shuhei Yomoda | 24 July |
| Yokohama FC | Miloš Rus | 15 September | Resigned | Hitoshi Nakata | 15 September |
| Cerezo Osaka | Paulo Autuori | 17 November | Sacked | Kiyoshi Okuma | 17 November |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Asian Player | Non-Visa Foreign | Type-C Contract |
| Omiya Ardija | Carlinhos Paraiba | Mateus | Dragan Mrđa | | | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Moisés | Wellington | | Lee Kwang-seon | | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Edmílson | Magno Cruz | Pablo Felipe | Kim Jin-hyeon | | |
| Consadole Sapporo | Nildo | Paulão | Cristian Nazarit | Gu Sung-yun | Irfan Bachdim | |
| Ehime FC | Park Chan-yong | | | Gang Yoon-goo | | Park Seong-su |
| Fagiano Okayama | | | | Hwang Jin-sung | | |
| FC Gifu | Gilsinho | Henik | Leo Mineiro | | Yun Chang-su | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | | | | | | |
| Mito HollyHock | Song Ju-hun | | | Park Kwang-il | Kim Song-gi | |
| JEF United Chiba | Paulinho | Nejc Pecnik | | Kim Hyun-hun | An Byong-jun | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Adaílton | Jay Bothroyd | Krzysztof Kaminski | | | |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Allan | Evson | Andrea | Han Chang-joo | | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Anderson | Kweon Han-jin | | Kim Byeong-yeon | | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Daniel Lovinho | Ferro | Miloš Bajalica | Kim Nam-il | Hwang Te-song | |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | Acleisson | Hugo | Tanque | Yoon Young-seung | Hwang Song-su | Kaique |
| Tochigi SC | Jhonatan | Han Hee-hoon | Lee Joo-young | Park Hyung-jin | | |
| Oita Trinita | Daniel | Evandro | Paulinho | Kim Jeong-hyun | | |
| Tokyo Verdy | Alan Pinheiro | Bruno Coutinho | Weslley | Ko Kyung-joon | | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Cho Min-woo | | | Lee Yong-jae | Ri Yong-jik | |
| Tokushima Vortis | Alex | Estiven | Kim Kyung-jung | Kim Jong-min | | Son Se-hwan |
| Yokohama FC | Rok Štraus | Bae Hu-min | Park Tae-hong | Na Sung-soo | An Yong-hak | |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Jean Moser | Mendes | | Cha Young-hwan | | |

## League table

| 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 | Promotion to 2016 J1 League |
| 3 | Avispa Fukuoka (O, P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 37 | +26 | 82 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 57 | 40 | +17 | 67 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 5 | Ehime FC | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 65 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 60 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 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 for relegation playoffs |
| 22 | Tochigi SC (R) | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 39 | 64 | −25 | 35 | Relegation to 2016 J3 League |
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ The playoffs and direct exchange between J2 and J3 are subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2015 J3 League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARD | AVI | CER | CON | EHI | FAG | GIF | GIR | HOL | JEF | JÚB | KAM | ROS | SAN | SPA | TOC | TRI | VVN | VER | VOR | YFC | ZWE |
| Omiya Ardija | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Consadole Sapporo | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Ehime FC | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| FC Gifu | 0–5 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Mito HollyHock | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| JEF United Chiba | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Tochigi SC | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 5–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Oita Trinita | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 6–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–6 | 1–1 | | 2–1 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | |

## Play-offs
### J1 Promotion Playoffs

2015 J.League Road To J1 Play-Offs (2015 J1昇格プレーオフ)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1 | | | |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 0 | | | |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 0 | 3 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1 |
| | | | 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 1 |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 0 | 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 1 |
| 5 | Ehime FC | 0 | | | |

### Final

Avispa Fukuoka was promoted to J1 League.

### J3 Relegation Playoffs

2015 J2/J3 Play-Offs (2015 J2・J3入れ替え戦)
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Oita Trinita | 1–3 | FC Machida Zelvia | 1–2 | 0–1 |
Oita Trinita was relegated to J3 League. Machida Zelvia was promoted to J2 League.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jay Bothroyd | Júbilo Iwata | 20 |
| 2 | Dragan Mrdja | Omiya Ardija | 19 |
| 3 | Rui Komatsu | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 18 |
| 4 | Adailton | Júbilo Iwata | 17 |
| 5 | Masashi Oguro | Kyoto Sanga | 15 |
| 6 | Nejc Pečnik | JEF United Chiba | 14 |
| 7 | Ken Tokura | Consadole Sapporo | 13 |
| 7 | Ataru Esaka | Thespa Kusatsu | 13 |
| 7 | Shohei Kiyohara | Zweigen Kanazawa | 13 |
| 7 | Kazuki Hara | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 13 |
| 11 | Hiroaki Namba | FC Gifu | 12 |
| 11 | Kazuki Saito | Roasso Kumamoto | 12 |
| 13 | Akihiro Ienaga | Omiya Ardija | 11 |
| 13 | Kazuhisa Kawahara | Ehime FC | 11 |
| 15 | Keiya Nakami | Tochigi SC | 10 |
| 15 | Shuto Minami | Tokyo Verdy | 10 |
| 15 | Diego Forlán | Cerezo Osaka | 10 |
| 15 | Keiji Tamada | Cerezo Osaka | 10 |
Updated to games played on 23 November 2015 Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League Stats & Data - Ranking:Goals

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Cerezo Osaka | 256,880 | 17,212 | 8,047 | 12,232 | −43.4%$^†$ |
| 2 | Consadole Sapporo | 251,161 | 20,234 | 6,981 | 11,960 | +8.1%$^†$ |
| 3 | JEF United Chiba | 225,219 | 15,051 | 8,123 | 10,725 | +14.9%$^†$ |
| 4 | Júbilo Iwata | 210,865 | 13,576 | 6,946 | 10,041 | +14.4%$^†$ |
| 5 | Omiya Ardija | 199,280 | 14,410 | 5,428 | 9,490 | −12.2%$^†$ |
| 6 | Avispa Fukuoka | 183,466 | 16,676 | 4,553 | 8,736 | +72.6%$^†$ |
| 7 | Fagiano Okayama | 176,652 | 15,820 | 4,346 | 8,412 | +0.1%$^†$ |
| 8 | Oita Trinita | 158,194 | 15,152 | 4,103 | 7,533 | −10.6%$^†$ |
| 9 | Kyoto Sanga | 157,306 | 16,920 | 3,206 | 7,491 | −0.4%$^†$ |
| 10 | Roasso Kumamoto | 147,785 | 13,132 | 3,956 | 7,037 | +0.5%$^†$ |
| 11 | FC Gifu | 129,756 | 8,814 | 3,539 | 6,179 | −18.5%$^†$ |
| 12 | Tokyo Verdy | 118,751 | 16,629 | 2,691 | 5,655 | +4.1%$^†$ |
| 13 | Tochigi SC | 108,501 | 9,319 | 2,581 | 5,167 | −2.4%$^†$ |
| 14 | Yokohama FC | 107,364 | 9,663 | 2,208 | 5,113 | −0.6%$^†$ |
| 15 | Tokushima Vortis | 105,398 | 8,684 | 3,307 | 5,019 | −43.5%$^†$ |
| 16 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 106,953 | 10,184 | 2,994 | 4,931 | +1.9%$^†$ |
| 17 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 103,120 | 12,353 | 1,227 | 4,910 | +42.7%$^‡$ |
| 18 | Mito HollyHock | 101,132 | 8,391 | 2,290 | 4,816 | +1.7%$^†$ |
| 19 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 86,077 | 11,303 | 1,618 | 4,099 | +9.0%$^†$ |
| 20 | Ehime FC | 79,193 | 9,158 | 1,722 | 3,771 | −1.3%$^†$ |
| 21 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 76,824 | 10,447 | 2,152 | 3,658 | +10.3%$^†$ |
| 22 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 73,243 | 8,501 | 1,939 | 3,488 | −3.7%$^†$ |
| | League total | 3,162,194 | 20,234 | 1,227 | 6,845 | +3.9%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 23 November 2015 Source: J. League data Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J1. $^‡$ Team played previous season in J3.