# 2018 J2 League

The 2018 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (2018 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season was the 47th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 20th season since the establishment of J2 League.

## Clubs

The participating clubs are listed in the following table:
| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seirō, Niigata | Relegated from J1 |
| Omiya Ardija | Saitama | Relegated from J1 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka City, Fukuoka | |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Takamatsu, Kagawa | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | |
| Machida Zelvia | Machida, Tokyo | |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Central cities/towns in Nagano | |
| Mito HollyHock | Mito, Ibaraki | |
| Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata | |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita | |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | All cities/towns in Yamaguchi | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto | |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Promoted from J3 |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | |
| Ventforet Kofu | All Yamanashi Prefecture | Relegated from J1 |
| Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | |
| Yokohama FC | Yokohama, Kanagawa | |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Kanazawa | |
* ↑ centering on Matsuyama
* ↑ centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
* ↑ centering on Gifu
* ↑ Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyōtanabe, Mukō, Nagaokakyō, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba
* ↑ Matsumoto, Nagano, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Ōmachi, Ikeda
* ↑ centering on Yamagata, Tendō, Tsuruoka
* ↑ centering on Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, Sanyoonoda, Ube
* ↑ centering on Tokushima, Naruto, Mima, Matsushige, Itano, Aizumi, Kitajima
* ↑ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Albirex Niigata | Masakazu Suzuki | Ryota Isomura | Adidas |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Masami Ihara | Hisashi Jogo | Yonex |
| Ehime FC | Shuichi Mase | Kazuhisa Kawahara | Mizuno |
| Fagiano Okayama | Tetsu Nagasawa | Kohei Kiyama | Penalty |
| FC Gifu | Takeshi Oki | Yuto Ono | New Balance |
| JEF United Chiba | Juan Esnáider | Naoya Kondo | Kappa |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Makoto Kitano | Kazumasa Takagi | ATHLETA |
| Kyoto Sanga | Takanori Nunobe | Yuta Someya | Wacoal |
| Machida Zelvia | Naoki Soma | Ri Han-jae | SVOLME |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Yasuharu Sorimachi | Masaki Iida | Adidas |
| Mito HollyHock | Shigetoshi Hasebe | Junya Hosokawa | GAViC |
| Montedio Yamagata | Takashi Kiyama | Takumi Yamada | New Balance |
| Oita Trinita | Tomohiro Katanosaka | Akira Takeuchi | Puma |
| Omiya Ardija | Masatada Ishii | Kosuke Kikuchi | Under Armour |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Masahiro Shimoda | Hidetoshi Miyuki | Finta |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Hiroki Shibuya | Akihiro Sato | Puma |
| Tochigi SC | Yuji Yokoyama | Koji Hirose | ATHLETA |
| Tokushima Vortis | Ricardo Rodríguez | Ken Iwao | Mizuno |
| Tokyo Verdy | Miguel Ángel Lotina | Akira Ibayashi | ATHLETA |
| Ventforet Kofu | Tatsuma Yoshida | Hideomi Yamamoto | Mizuno |
| Yokohama FC | Edson Tavares | Kensuke Sato | SOCCER JUNKY |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Masaaki Yanagishita | Tomonobu Hiroi | Adidas |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Ventforet Kofu | Tatsuma Yoshida | 30 April 2018 | Nobuhiro Ueno | 30 April 2018 |
| Kyoto Sanga | Takanori Nunobe | 11 May 2018 | Boško Gjurovski | 11 May 2018 |
| Ehime FC | Shuichi Mase | 15 May 2018 | Kenta Kawai | 15 May 2018 |
| Albirex Niigata | Masakazu Suzuki | 8 August 2018 | Koichiro Katafuchi | 22 August 2018 |

## Foreign players

The total number of foreign players is restricted to five per club. Clubs can register up to four foreign players for a single match-day squad, of which a maximum of three are allowed from nations outside the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Other | Former |
| Albirex Niigata | Alex Muralha | Cauê | Jonathan Reis | Thalles | Song Ju-hun | | Bruno Meneghel |
| Omiya Ardija | Marcelo Toscano | Mateus | David Babunski | Robin Simović | Kim Dong-su | | Cauê |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Dudu | Léo Mineiro | Won Du-jae | Yu In-soo | | | Euller Túlio de Melo |
| Ehime FC | Park Seung-su | | | | | Woo Sang-ho | |
| Fagiano Okayama | Ricardo Santos | Choi Jung-won | Jeong Chung-geun | Lee Kyung-tae | Lee Yong-jae | | |
| FC Gifu | Ezequiel Ham | Michael | Ryan De Vries | Jeon San-hae | Víctor Ibáñez | | Woo Sang-ho |
| JEF United Chiba | Joaquín Larrivey | Diego Rodríguez | Jason Geria | Hebert | Jorge Salinas | | |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | Alex | Park Chan-yong | Song Young-min | | | | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Juninho | Kaio | Wu Shaocong | Kim Cheol-ho | Renzo López | | Matías Caseras Alexandre |
| Machida Zelvia | Dorian Babunski | Romero Frank | Jung Han-cheol | | | Ri Han-jae | |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Dinei | Paulinho | Serginho | Goh Dong-min | Jo Jin-woo | Anders Aplin | |
| Mito HollyHock | Batista | Diego | Jefferson Baiano | Danny Carvajal | | | |
| Montedio Yamagata | Álvaro | Bruno Lopes | Felipe Alves | Jairo | | | |
| Oita Trinita | Willian | Mun Kyung-gun | | | | Hwang Song-su | Lim Seung-gyeom |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Julinho | Renan | Washington | | | | Gerson Min Kyung-jun |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Lim Jin-woo | Yang Sang-jun | | | | An Byong-jun | |
| Tochigi SC | Alex | Paulao | Henik | Mendes | Johnny Leoni | | Diogo Ferreira Nejc Pečnik |
| Tokushima Vortis | Bueno | Peter Utaka | Kim Jong-pil | David Barral | Sisinio | | Nathan Júnior Danny Carvajal |
| Ventforet Kofu | Diego | Éder Lima | Ferrugem | Junior Barros | Byeon Jun-byum | | Dinei Lins |
| Tokyo Verdy | Alan Pinheiro | Douglas | Leandro | | | Ri Yong-jik | Carlos Martínez |
| Yokohama FC | Bruno Meneghel | Leandro Domingues | Calvin Jong-a-Pin | Ibba Laajab | Bae Seung-jin | | Jeong Chung-geun |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Allan | Rodrigo Maranhão | | | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Matsumoto Yamaga (C, P) | 42 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 77 | Promotion to 2019 J1 League |
| 2 | Oita Trinita (P) | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 76 | 51 | +25 | 76 | Promotion to 2019 J1 League |
| 3 | Yokohama FC | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 76 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Machida Zelvia | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 76 | |
| 5 | Omiya Ardija | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 71 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 6 | Tokyo Verdy | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 71 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 7 | Avispa Fukuoka | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 58 | 42 | +16 | 70 | |
| 8 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 63 | 64 | −1 | 61 | |
| 9 | Ventforet Kofu | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 56 | 46 | +10 | 59 | |
| 10 | Mito HollyHock | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 57 | |
| 11 | Tokushima Vortis | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 56 | |
| 12 | Montedio Yamagata | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 49 | 51 | −2 | 56 | |
| 13 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 55 | |
| 14 | JEF United Chiba | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 72 | 72 | 0 | 55 | |
| 15 | Fagiano Okayama | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 53 | |
| 16 | Albirex Niigata | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 53 | |
| 17 | Tochigi SC | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 50 | |
| 18 | Ehime FC | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 48 | |
| 19 | Kyoto Sanga | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 43 | |
| 20 | FC Gifu | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 44 | 62 | −18 | 42 | |
| 21 | Roasso Kumamoto (R) | 42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 50 | 79 | −29 | 34 | Relegation to 2019 J3 League |
| 22 | Kamatamare Sanuki (R) | 42 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 28 | 72 | −44 | 31 | Relegation to 2019 J3 League |
* 1 2 Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion play-offs. 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.
* ↑ Direct exchange between J2 and J3 is subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2018 J3 League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ARD | AVI | EHI | FAG | GIF | HOL | JEF | KAM | MON | REN | ROS | SAN | TOC | TRI | VEN | VER | VOR | YAM | YFC | ZEL | ZWE |
| Albirex Niigata | | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Omiya Ardija | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 0–2 | 3–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Ehime FC | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–5 | | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 |
| FC Gifu | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Mito HollyHock | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| JEF United Chiba | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | | 6–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–4 |
| Kamatamare Sanuki | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Montedio Yamagata | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–5 | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Tochigi SC | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Oita Trinita | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–2 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–3 | 0–1 | 5–0 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–3 | 0–4 |
| Machida Zelvia | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |

## Promotion–Relegation Playoffs

2018 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2018 J1参入プレーオフ) Because Machida Zelvia did not own a J1 license for the 2019 season, they were ineligible to participate in the play-offs. Thus, Yokohama FC, finishing third in the season, received a bye into the second round, from which the winner will play the team finishing 16th in J1.
| 1st Semi-Final | 1st Semi-Final | 1st Semi-Final | 2nd Semi-Final | 2nd Semi-Final | 2nd Semi-Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | J1 (16) | Júbilo Iwata | 2 |
| | | | J2 (3) | Yokohama FC | 0 | J2 (6) | Tokyo Verdy | 0 |
| J2 (5) | Omiya Ardija | 0 | J2 (6) | Tokyo Verdy | 1 | | | |
| J2 (6) | Tokyo Verdy | 1 | | | | | | |

### Final

Júbilo Iwata remains in J1 League. Tokyo Verdy remains in J2 League.

## Top scorers

    As of matches played 17 November 2018.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Genki Omae | Omiya Ardija | 24 |
| 2 | Ado Onaiwu | Renofa Yamaguchi | 22 |
| 3 | Takayuki Funayama | JEF United Chiba | 19 |
| 4 | Ibba | Yokohama FC | 17 |
| 5 | Douglas Vieira | Tokyo Verdy | 13 |
| 6 | Masashi Oguro | Tochigi SC | 12 |
| 6 | Seigo Kobayashi | Renofa Yamaguchi | 12 |
| 6 | Yuki Nakashima | Machida Zelvia | 12 |
| 6 | Mateus | Omiya Ardija | 12 |
| 6 | Kenji Baba | Oita Trinita | 12 |
| 6 | Noriaki Fujimoto | Oita Trinita | 12 |

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata | 313,080 | 22,465 | 8,614 | 14,913 | −32.3%$^†$ |
| 2 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 278,948 | 19,066 | 9,490 | 13,283 | −21.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | JEF United Chiba | 207,025 | 12,440 | 6,152 | 9,858 | −1.3%$^†$ |
| 4 | Omiya Ardija | 193,711 | 12,400 | 6,506 | 9,224 | −19.5%$^†$ |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 187,052 | 15,125 | 4,880 | 8,907 | +10.5%$^†$ |
| 6 | Avispa Fukuoka | 186,323 | 15,331 | 6,684 | 8,873 | −7.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Fagiano Okayama | 180,586 | 13,851 | 5,034 | 8,599 | −9.2%$^†$ |
| 8 | Ventforet Kofu | 155,054 | 10,192 | 3,130 | 7,384 | −31.9%$^†$ |
| 9 | FC Gifu | 144,011 | 12,045 | 3,819 | 6,858 | −1.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Montedio Yamagata | 142,094 | 13,609 | 4,675 | 6,766 | +2.8%$^†$ |
| 11 | Yokohama FC | 128,959 | 10,978 | 3,051 | 6,141 | +2.9%$^†$ |
| 12 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 128,579 | 12,927 | 3,133 | 6,123 | +12.3%$^†$ |
| 13 | Tokyo Verdy | 124,654 | 10,529 | 3,048 | 5,936 | −4.4%$^†$ |
| 14 | Kyoto Sanga | 118,931 | 9,036 | 2,624 | 5,663 | −16.1%$^†$ |
| 15 | Tochigi SC | 118,805 | 11,562 | 3,203 | 5,657 | +9.9%$^‡$ |
| 16 | Roasso Kumamoto | 110,643 | 10,226 | 3,206 | 5,269 | −19.6%$^†$ |
| 17 | Tokushima Vortis | 104,941 | 8,753 | 2,974 | 4,997 | +0.4%$^†$ |
| 18 | Mito HollyHock | 103,698 | 7,858 | 2,736 | 4,938 | +0.1%$^†$ |
| 19 | Machida Zelvia | 103,215 | 10,013 | 2,414 | 4,915 | +21.2%$^†$ |
| 20 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 95,093 | 9,645 | 2,108 | 4,528 | +3.0%$^†$ |
| 21 | Ehime FC | 66,382 | 5,319 | 2,196 | 3,161 | −18.2%$^†$ |
| 22 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 64,532 | 5,668 | 1,510 | 3,073 | −19.2%$^†$ |
| | League total | 3,256,416 | 22,465 | 1,510 | 7,049 | +1.1%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 17 November 2018 Source: J. League Data Notes: $^†$ Relegated from J1.$^‡$ Promoted from J3.