# 2012 J.League Division 1

The 2012 J.League Division 1 season was the 47th season of Japanese top-flight football and 20th since the establishment of the J.League. The season started on March 10 and finished on December 1.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 2012 J.League Division 1 championship on 24 November and advanced to the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round. This was their first title in the J.League era and first league title since 1970, marking their sixth title overall. Additionally, this was the first time since 1966 that clubs from the traditional regions of Kantō, Tōkai or Kansai – the corridor from Tokyo to Osaka – did not make the top two, and this time it was a team from Tōhoku, Vegalta Sendai, who finished in second place despite leading the table most of the season.

## Clubs

Ventforet Kofu, Avispa Fukuoka and Montedio Yamagata were relegated at the end of the 2011 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Avispa Fukuoka and Ventforet Kofu returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Montedio Yamagata were relegated after three seasons in J1.
The three relegated teams were replaced by 2011 J.League Division 2 champions FC Tokyo, runners-up Sagan Tosu and third-placed team Consadole Sapporo. FC Tokyo made an immediate return to the top division, while Consadole Sapporo ended a three-year absence. In the end, Sagan Tosu reached J1 after thirteen seasons in the second division.
| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seirō, Niigata | |
| Kashima Antlers | Southwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki | |
| Omiya Ardija | Omiya, Saitama | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka | |
| Consadole Sapporo | Sapporo, Hokkaidō | Promoted from J2 League (3rd place in J2 2011) |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Yokohama, Kanagawa & Yokosuka, Kanagawa | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | |
| Gamba Osaka | Suita, Osaka | 2012 ACL participant (3rd place in J1 2011) |
| Nagoya Grampus | Nagoya, Aichi | 2012 ACL participant (Runners-up in J1 2011) |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa, Saitama | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Kashiwa, Chiba | 2012 ACL participant 2011 Defending Champions |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka | |
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | Promoted from J2 League (Runners-up in J2 2011) |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima | |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Promoted from J2 League (Champions in J2 2011) 2012 ACL participant (2011 Emperor's Cup winners) |
| Vegalta Sendai | Sendai, Miyagi | |
| Vissel Kobe | Kobe, Hyōgo | |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
| Albirex Niigata | Masaaki Yanagishita | Adidas | Kameda Seika |
| Cerezo Osaka | Levir Culpi | Mizuno | Yanmar |
| Consadole Sapporo | Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Kappa | Shiroi Koibito |
| FC Tokyo | Ranko Popović | Adidas | Lifeval |
| Gamba Osaka | Masanobu Matsunami | Umbro | Panasonic |
| Júbilo Iwata | Hitoshi Morishita | Puma | Yamaha |
| Kashima Antlers | Jorginho | Nike | Lixil |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Nelsinho Baptista | Yonex | Hitachi |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Yahiro Kazama | Puma | Fujitsu |
| Nagoya Grampus | Dragan Stojković | Le Coq Sportif | Toyota |
| Omiya Ardija | Zdenko Verdenik | Under Armour | NTT Docomo |
| Sagan Tosu | Yoon Jong-hwan | Umbro | DHC |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hajime Moriyasu | Nike | EDION |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Afshin Ghotbi | Puma | Suzuyo |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Mihailo Petrović | Nike | Savas |
| Vegalta Sendai | Makoto Teguramori | Asics | Iris Ohyama |
| Vissel Kobe | Ryo Adachi | Asics | Rakuten |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Yasuhiro Higuchi | Adidas | Nissan |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Type-C contract | Non-visa foreign | Former player(s) |
| Albirex Niigata | Alan Mineiro | Bruno Lopes | Michael | Kim Jin-su | Kim Sung-ju | Bruno Suzuki | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Fábio Simplício | Heberty | Kempes | Kim Jin-hyeon | | Kim Song-gi | Branquinho Kim Bo-kyung |
| Consadole Sapporo | Jade North | Ramón | Tele | Kim Jae-hwan | | | Alcides Junior Thiago Quirino |
| FC Tokyo | Edmílson | Lucas Severino | Nemanja Vučićević | Jang Hyun-soo | | | |
| Gamba Osaka | Eduardo Diniz | Leandro | Paulinho | | | Kim Jung-ya | Rafinha Lee Seung-yeoul |
| Júbilo Iwata | Rodrigo Souto | Baek Sung-dong | Cho Byung-kuk | Han Sang-woon | | Hwang Song-su | |
| Kashima Antlers | Juninho | Junior Dutra | Renato Cajá | | | | Alex |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Jorge Wagner | Leandro Domingues | Neto Baiano | Kweon Han-jin | | An Yong-hak | Ricardo Lobo |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Jeci | Renatinho | | | Renê Santos | | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Daniel Tijolo | Danilson Córdoba | | Joshua Kennedy | | | |
| Omiya Ardija | Carlinhos Paraíba | Milivoje Novaković | Zlatan Ljubijankić | Cho Young-cheol | Lee Keun-ho | | Rafael Marques Kim Young-gwon |
| Sagan Tosu | Tozin | Kim Kun-hoan | Kim Min-woo | Yeo Sung-hae | | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Mihael Mikić | | | Hwang Seok-ho | Lee Dae-heon | | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Calvin Jong-a-Pin | Kim Hyun-sung | | Lee Ki-je | | Kang Song-ho | Alex Brosque Jymmy |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Márcio Richardes | Popó | Ranko Despotović | | | | Matthew Spiranovic |
| Vegalta Sendai | Deyvid Sacconi | Wilson | | Park Ju-sung | | Ryang Yong-gi | |
| Vissel Kobe | Anderson Carvalho | Bae Chun-suk | | Lee Kwang-seon | Fernando Andrade | Park Kang-jo | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Marquinhos | | | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C) | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 34 | +29 | 64 | Qualification to 2012 Club World Cup and 2013 Champions League |
| 2 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 57 | Qualification to 2013 Champions League |
| 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 55 | Qualification to 2013 Champions League |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 53 | |
| 5 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 53 | |
| 6 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 52 | Qualification to 2013 Champions League |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 52 | |
| 8 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 50 | |
| 9 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 49 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 48 | |
| 11 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 46 | |
| 12 | Júbilo Iwata | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 46 | |
| 13 | Omiya Ardija | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 44 | |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 42 | |
| 15 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 40 | |
| 16 | Vissel Kobe (R) | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 39 | Relegation to 2013 J.League Division 2 |
| 17 | Gamba Osaka (R) | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 67 | 65 | +2 | 38 | Relegation to 2013 J.League Division 2 |
| 18 | Consadole Sapporo (R) | 34 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 25 | 88 | −63 | 14 | Relegation to 2013 J.League Division 2 |
* 1 2 The winners of the 2012 Emperor's Cup qualified for the group stage of the 2013 AFC Champions League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | CER | CON | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | JÚB | RED | REY | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | VEG | VIS |
| Albirex Niigata | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Kashima Antlers | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 3–2 | 7–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 |
| Omiya Ardija | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Consadole Sapporo | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–3 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Gamba Osaka | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 7–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–6 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 |
| Sagan Tosu | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 6–2 | 0–1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | | 2–1 |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 22 |
| 2 | Yohei Toyoda | Sagan Tosu | 19 |
| 3 | Leandro | Gamba Osaka | 14 |
| 3 | Shingo Akamine | Vegalta Sendai | 14 |
| 5 | Wilson | Vegalta Sendai | 13 |
| 5 | Genki Omae | Shimizu S-Pulse | 13 |
| 5 | Masato Kudo | Kashiwa Reysol | 13 |
| 5 | Ryoichi Maeda | Júbilo Iwata | 13 |
| 9 | Akihiro Sato | Gamba Osaka | 11 |
| 9 | Shinzo Koroki | Kashima Antlers | 11 |
| 9 | Yoichiro Kakitani | Cerezo Osaka | 11 |
| 12 | Leandro Domingues | Kashiwa Reysol | 10 |
| 12 | Lucas Severino | FC Tokyo | 10 |
| 12 | Marquinhos | Yokohama F. Marinos | 10 |
| 12 | Renatinho | Kawasaki Frontale | 10 |
| 12 | Kensuke Nagai | Nagoya Grampus | 10 |
| 17 | Márcio Richardes | Urawa Red Diamonds | 9 |
| 17 | Hiroki Yamada | Júbilo Iwata | 9 |
| 17 | Keijiro Ogawa | Vissel Kobe | 9 |
| 17 | Marcus Tulio Tanaka | Nagoya Grampus | 9 |
| 17 | Toshiyuki Takagi | Shimizu S-Pulse | 9 |
| 17 | Yuya Osako | Kashima Antlers | 9 |
Source: J. League Division 1

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 622,772 | 51,879 | 25,743 | 36,634 | +8.0%$^†$ |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 425,309 | 35,506 | 15,854 | 25,018 | −4.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 407,243 | 34,822 | 16,229 | 23,955 | +36.4%$^†$ |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 390,078 | 36,412 | 7,101 | 22,946 | +9.1%$^†$ |
| 5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 302,719 | 20,996 | 12,509 | 17,807 | +2.7%$^†$ |
| 6 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 301,249 | 32,724 | 11,123 | 17,721 | +34.2%$^†$ |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 291,632 | 30,354 | 7,959 | 17,155 | +2.5%$^†$ |
| 8 | Cerezo Osaka | 287,524 | 36,723 | 8,226 | 16,913 | +19.6%$^†$ |
| 9 | Vegalta Sendai | 282,200 | 18,722 | 11,831 | 16,600 | +6.0%$^†$ |
| 10 | Kashima Antlers | 261,484 | 23,507 | 10,626 | 15,381 | −4.8%$^†$ |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 257,054 | 23,188 | 8,710 | 15,121 | −4.3%$^†$ |
| 12 | Gamba Osaka | 251,232 | 19,393 | 8,218 | 14,778 | −10.0%$^†$ |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 248,853 | 22,766 | 8,755 | 14,638 | +10.6%$^†$ |
| 14 | Kashiwa Reysol | 234,064 | 26,106 | 10,351 | 13,768 | +15.5%$^†$ |
| 15 | Júbilo Iwata | 223,071 | 28,745 | 8,978 | 13,122 | +11.2%$^†$ |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 204,141 | 25,353 | 6,870 | 12,008 | +14.6%$^†$ |
| 17 | Sagan Tosu | 203,844 | 22,116 | 5,432 | 11,991 | +55.1%$^†$ |
| 18 | Omiya Ardija | 180,831 | 12,709 | 7,936 | 10,637 | +16.9%$^†$ |
| | League total | 5,375,300 | 51,879 | 5,432 | 17,566 | +11.2%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 1 December 2012 Source: J. League Division 1 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J2.

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Award | Recipient | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| Rookie of the Year | Gaku Shibasaki | Kashima Antlers |
| Manager of the Year | Hajime Moriyasu | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| Top Scorer | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |

### Best Eleven

| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Shusaku Nishikawa | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| DF | Hiroki Mizumoto | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| DF | Marcus Tulio Tanaka | Nagoya Grampus | Japan |
| DF | Yūichi Komano | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Leandro Domingues | Kashiwa Reysol | Brazil |
| MF | Toshihiro Aoyama | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| MF | Yojiro Takahagi | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| FW | Wilson | Vegalta Sendai | Brazil |
| FW | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| FW | Yohei Toyoda | Sagan Tosu | Japan |