# 2022 J3 League

The 2022 J3 League, referred to as the 2022 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (Japanese: 2022 明治安田生命J3リーグ, Hepburn: 2022 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J3 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 9th season of J3 League under its current name.
Iwaki FC won the J3 title for the first time in their history, in their debut campaign at the J3 League, just a year after being promoted from the JFL. They were promoted to the 2023 J2 League alongside Fujieda MYFC, who narrowly promoted with one point off the 3rd-placed team. Both teams won promotion for the J2 League for the first time.

## Overview

After no relegations from the J2 League in 2020, in 2021 there were four relegations and the number of teams in the 2022 J3 League increased from 15 to 18.
This is first and last season as 18 teams for 2022.
This is last season to not feature relegation in 2022. From 2023, relegation from the J3 League to the JFL will be made possible.

## Changes from the previous season

| Promoted from 2021 JFL | Promoted to 2022 J2 League | Relegated from 2021 J2 League |
| Iwaki FC | Roasso Kumamoto Iwate Grulla Morioka | SC Sagamihara Ehime FC Giravanz Kitakyushu Matsumoto Yamaga |
The 4 teams relegated from J2 League in 2021 were: SC Sagamihara, Ehime FC, Giravanz Kitakyushu and Matsumoto Yamaga.
Roasso Kumamoto and Iwate Grulla Morioka were promoted to J2 League.
Iwaki FC was promoted from 2021 JFL as champions of that division. Fukushima team are making their debut in the J3 League after obtaining a J.League License, to enable their promotion from the JFL.

## Participating clubs

| Club name | Home town | Stadium | Capacity | Last season | Licence |
| Azul Claro Numazu | Numazu | Ashitaka Stadium | 5,104 | J3 (14th) | J3 |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | Ningineer Stadium | 21,401 | J2 (20th) Relegated | J1 |
| Fujieda MYFC | Cities/towns in Shizuoka Prefecture | Fujieda Soccer Field | 13,000 | J3 (10th) | J2 |
| Fukushima United | Fukushima | Toho Stadium | 21,000 | J3 (5th) | J1 |
| Gainare Tottori | All cities/towns in Tottori | Axis Bird Stadium | 16,033 | J3 (12th) | J2 |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium | 26,109 | J3 (6th) | J1 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu | 15,066 | J2 (21st) Relegated | J1 |
| FC Imabari | Imabari | Arigato Service Dream Stadium | 5,241 | J3 (11th) | J2 |
| Iwaki FC | Iwaki and Futaba District, Fukushima | Arigato Service Dream Stadium | 5,000 | Promoted from JFL (champions) | J2 |
| Kagoshima United | Kagoshima | Shiranami Stadium | 19,934 | J3 (7th) | J1 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | All cities/towns in Kagawa | Pikara Stadium | 30,099 | J3 (15th) | J2 |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns in Toyama | Toyama Athletic Stadium | 28,494 | J3 (5th) | J1 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Cities/towns in Nagano | Sunpro Alwin | 20,396 | J2 (22nd) Relegated | J1 |
| Nagano Parceiro | Nagano | Nagano U Stadium | 15,491 | J3 (9th) | J2 |
| SC Sagamihara | Sagamihara | Gion Stadium | 15,300 | J2 (19th) Relegated | J2 |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Miyazaki & Shintomi, Miyazaki | Unilever Stadium Shintomi | 5,357 | J3 (3rd) | J3 |
| Vanraure Hachinohe | Eastern cities/towns in Aomori | Prifoods Stadium | 5,200 | J3 (13th) | J2 |
| YSCC Yokohama | Yokohama | Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,454 | J3 (8th) | J2 |
* ↑ centering on Matsuyama
* ↑ Fujieda, Shimada, Yaizu, Makinohara, Yoshida, Kawanehonmachi
* ↑ centering on Tottori, Yonago, Kurayoshi, Sakaiminato
* ↑ centering on Gifu
* ↑ centering on Takamatsu, Marugame
* ↑ centering on Toyama
* ↑ Matsumoto, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Omachi, Ikeda, Ikusaka, Minowa, Asahi
* ↑ Hachinohe, Towada, Gonohe, Sannohe, Takko, Hashikami, Nanbu, Shingo, Oirase, Misawa, Shichinohe, Rokunohe, Tohoku, Noheji, Yokohama, Rokkasho

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Azul Claro Numazu | Kazuhito Mochizuki (caretaker) | Takuya Sugai | Penalty |
| Ehime FC | Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Takanori Maeno | Mizuno |
| Fujieda MYFC | Daisuke Sudo | Masahiko Sugita | Gol. |
| Fukushima United | Toshihiro Hattori | Hiroto Morooka | Hummel |
| Gainare Tottori | Kim Jong-song | Koki Ishii | Soccer Junky |
| FC Gifu | Yuji Yokoyama | Yōsuke Kashiwagi | Razzoli |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kenichi Amano | Taiga Maekawa | Penalty |
| FC Imabari | Kazuaki Hashikawa | Keishi Kusumi | Asics |
| Iwaki FC | Hiromasa Suguri | Yuto Yamashita | Under Armour |
| Kagoshima United | Naoto Otake | Kenta Hirose | Angua |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Toshihiro Nishimura | Takaharu Nishino | Athleta |
| Kataller Toyama | Michiharu Otagiri | Yohei Nishibe | Goldwin |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Hiroshi Nanami | Hayumu Tanaka | Adidas |
| Nagano Parceiro | Yuki Richard Stalph | Takuma Mizutani | Penalty |
| SC Sagamihara | Norihiro Satsukawa | Hiroki Mizumoto | Gol. |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Yasushi Takasaki | Kenji Dai | Yonex |
| Vanraure Hachinohe | Ryo Shigaki | Naoyuki Yamada | Hummel |
| YSCC Yokohama | Kei Hoshikawa | Kento Dodate | Bonera |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Exit date | Position | Incoming | Incoming date | Incoming date | Ref. |
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Announced on | Departed on | Position | Incoming | Announced on | Arrived on | Ref. |
| FC Gifu | Toshiya Miura | Resigned | 5 May 2022 | 5 May 2022 | 14th | Yuji Yokoyama | 5 May 2022 | 6 May 2022 | |
| SC Sagamihara | Takuya Takagi | Sacked | 20 May 2022 | 20 May 2022 | 15th | Norihiro Satsukawa | 23 May 2022 | 24 May 2022 | |
| YSCC Yokohama | Kenji Nakada | Sacked | 25 May 2022 | 25 May 2022 | 18th | Kei Hoshikawa | 26 May 2022 | 26 May 2022 | |
| Vanraure Hachinohe | Masahiro Kuzuno | Sacked | 13 June 2022 | 13 June 2022 | 17th | Ryo Shigaki | 13 June 2022 | 13 June 2022 | |
| Azul Claro Numazu | Masataka Imai | Sacked | 23 August 2022 | 23 August 2022 | 17th | Kazuhito Mochizuki | 23 August 2022 | 23 August 2022 | |
| Kataller Toyama | Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Sacked | 19 September 2022 | 19 September 2022 | 5th | Michiharu Otagiri | 19 September 2022 | 19 September 2022 | |

## Foreign players

From the 2021 season onwards, there is no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Qatar) were exempted 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, holds the nationality of a J.League partner nation, 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 an approved type of school in the country.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 |
| Azul Claro Numazu | Hadi Fayyadh | Bùi Ngọc Long | Nguyễn Văn Sơn | Nguyễn Ngọc Hậu | | |
| Ehime FC | | | | | | |
| Fujieda MYFC | Kauan | Pedro Henrique | | | | |
| Fukushima United | | | | | | |
| Gainare Tottori | Mun In-ju | | | | | |
| FC Gifu | Freire | Henik | Ono Cholhwan | | | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | | | | | | |
| FC Imabari | Marcus Índio | Mohamed Adam | Park Soo-bin | Lee Do-hyung | Ralf Seuntjens | Filip Piszczek |
| Iwaki FC | | | | | | |
| Kagoshima United | Weslley | Frank Romero | | | | |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Ismael Dunga | | | | | |
| Kataller Toyama | Arthur Silva | Gabriel Nascimento | Luís Henrique | Matheus Leiria | Chen Binbin | |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Lucão | Paulinho | Víctor Ibáñez | | | |
| Nagano Parceiro | Ryu Nugraha | Kim Min-ho | | | | |
| SC Sagamihara | Eduardo Kunde | Agenor | | | | |
| Tegevajaro Miyazaki | | | | | | |
| Vanraure Hachinohe | | | | | | |
| YSCC Yokohama | Au Yeung Yiu Chung | Han Yong-gi | Shunkun Tani | Promise Ugochukwu | Loris Tinelli | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Iwaki FC (C, P) | 34 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 72 | 23 | +49 | 76 | Promotion to the J2 League |
| 2 | Fujieda MYFC (P) | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 58 | 29 | +29 | 67 | Promotion to the J2 League |
| 3 | Kagoshima United | 34 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 66 | |
| 4 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 66 | |
| 5 | FC Imabari | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 60 | |
| 6 | Kataller Toyama | 34 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 60 | |
| 7 | Ehime FC | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 52 | |
| 8 | Nagano Parceiro | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 52 | |
| 9 | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 46 | |
| 10 | Vanraure Hachinohe | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 43 | |
| 11 | Fukushima United | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 42 | |
| 12 | Gainare Tottori | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 55 | 56 | −1 | 41 | |
| 13 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 40 | |
| 14 | FC Gifu | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 37 | |
| 15 | Azul Claro Numazu | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 31 | |
| 16 | YSCC Yokohama | 34 | 8 | 4 | 22 | 25 | 66 | −41 | 28 | |
| 17 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 27 | 49 | −22 | 27 | |
| 18 | SC Sagamihara | 34 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 25 | |
* ↑ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.
* 1 2 The team hold neither a J1 nor J2 license, and so are ineligible for promotion to the J2 League.

## Stadiums

Primary venues used in the 2022 J3 League season:
| Azul Claro Numazu | Ehime FC | Fujieda MYFC | Fukushima United | Gainare Tottori | FC Gifu |
| Ashitaka Park Stadium | Ningineer Stadium | Fujieda Soccer Stadium | Toho Stadium | Axis Bird Stadium | Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium |
| Capacity: 5,104 | Capacity: 21,401 | Capacity: 5,056 | Capacity: 6,464 | Capacity: 16,310 | Capacity: 11,999 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | FC Imabari | Iwaki FC | Kagoshima United | Kamatamare Sanuki | Kataller Toyama |
| Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu | Arigato Service Dream Stadium | J-Village Stadium | Shiranami Stadium | Pikara Stadium | Toyama Stadium |
| Capacity: 15,300 | Capacity: 5,063 | Capacity: 5,063 | Capacity: 12,606 | Capacity: 22,338 | Capacity: 18,588 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Nagano Parceiro | SC Sagamihara | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Vanraure Hachinohe | YSCC Yokohama |
| Sunpro Alwin | Nagano U Stadium | Sagamihara Gion Stadium | Unilever Stadium Shintomi | Prifoods Stadium | Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 15,515 | Capacity: 15,300 | Capacity: 5,354 | Capacity: 5,124 | Capacity: 15,440 |

## Season statistics
### Goal contributions
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ryo Arita | Iwaki FC | 17 |
| 2 | Kosuke Fujioka | FC Gifu | 16 |
| 3 | Koki Arita | Kagoshima United | 15 |
| 3 | Daichi Ishikawa | Gainare Tottori | 15 |
| 5 | Yuki Okada | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 14 |

#### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Yudai Tokunaga | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | 12 |
| 2 | Riku Saga | Iwaki FC | 9 |
| 3 | Akiyuki Yokoyama | Fujieda MYFC | 8 |
| 4 | Ikki Kawasaki | Kamatamare Sanuki | 7 |
| 4 | Takashi Kondo | Ehime FC | 7 |
| 4 | Yuji Kimura | Kagoshima United | 7 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 8
** Kento Dodate (YSCC Yokohama)
* Most red cards: 1
** Naoki Sato (Azul Claro Numazu)
** Kenshiro Suzuki (Azul Claro Numazu)
** Takashi Akiyama (Fujieda MYFC)
** Nobuyuki Kawashima (Fujieda MYFC)
** Kazuki Dohana (Fukushima United)
** Takumi Baba (Gainare Tottori)
** Koshiro Itohara (Gainare Tottori)
** Takumi Fujitani (FC Gifu)
** Freire (FC Gifu)
** Marcus Índio (FC Imabari)
** Yuji Kimura (Kagoshima United)
** Frank Romero (Kagoshima United)
** Rei Yonezawa (Kagoshima United)
** Akira Ando (Matsumoto Yamaga)
** Hiroshi Azuma (Nagano Parceiro)
** Hayate Sugii (Nagano Parceiro)
** Ryoma Ishida (SC Sagamihara)
** Shunsuke Ueda (Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
** Masanobu Komaki (Vanraure Hachinohe)
** Kento Dodate (YSCC Yokohama)
** Riku Furuyado (YSCC Yokohama)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 58 (YSCC Yokohama)
* Most red cards: 3 (Kagoshima United)

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Monthly MVP | Monthly MVP | Goal of the Month | Goal of the Month | References |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | References |
| February/March | Toshihiro Hattori | Fukushima United | Hiroki Higuchi | Fukushima United | Kazaki Nakagawa | FC Imabari | |
| April | Hiroshi Nanami | Matsumoto Yamaga | Ayumu Yokoyama | Matsumoto Yamaga | Yuya Takazawa | Giravanz Kitakyushu | |
| May | Naoto Otake | Kagoshima United | Koki Arita | Kagoshima United | Yuki Oshitani | Fujieda MYFC | |
| June | Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Kataller Toyama | Hiroto Iwabuchi | Iwaki FC | Yohei Ono | Kataller Toyama | |
| July | Daisuke Sudo | Fujieda MYFC | Tojiro Kubo | Fujieda MYFC | Daisuke Matsui | YSCC Yokohama | |
| August | Hiromasa Suguri | Iwaki FC | Ryo Arita | Iwaki FC | Shota Suzuki | Iwaki FC | |
| September | Daisuke Sudo | Fujieda MYFC | Kei Uchiyama | Fujieda MYFC | Loris Tinelli | YSCC Yokohama | |
| October/November | Hiromasa Suguri | Iwaki FC | Ryo Arita | Iwaki FC | Marcus Índio | FC Imabari | |