# 2018 J1 League

The 2018 J1 League, also known as the 2018 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2018 明治安田生命Ｊ１リーグ, 2018 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was fourth season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.
Kawasaki Frontale were the defending champions.

## Clubs

A total of 18 clubs contested the league. The 2017 J2 League champion Shonan Bellmare and the winner of the promotion play-offs Nagoya Grampus returned to the top flight a year after being relegated from J1 in the 2016 season. V-Varen Nagasaki, J2 runner-up in 2017, played in the J1 League for the first time.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Last season |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome | J1 (11th) |
| Vegalta Sendai | Miyagi Prefecture | Yurtec Stadium Sendai | J1 (12th) |
| Kashima Antlers | Ibaraki Prefecture | Kashima Soccer Stadium | J1 (2nd) |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Saitama Prefecture | Saitama Stadium 2002 | J1 (7th) |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Chiba Prefecture | Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium | J1 (4th) |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | J1 (13th) |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kanagawa Prefecture | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | J1 (champions) |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Kanagawa Prefecture | Nissan Stadium Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium | J1 (5th) |
| Shonan Bellmare | Kanagawa Prefecture | Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka | J2 (champions) |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka Prefecture | IAI Stadium Nihondaira | J1 (14th) |
| Júbilo Iwata | Shizuoka Prefecture | Yamaha Stadium | J1 (6th) |
| Nagoya Grampus | Aichi Prefecture | Paloma Mizuho Stadium Toyota Stadium | J2 (3rd) |
| Gamba Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Panasonic Stadium Suita | J1 (10th) |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Yanmar Stadium Kincho Stadium | J1 (3rd) |
| Vissel Kobe | Hyōgo Prefecture | Noevir Stadium Kobe | J1 (9th) |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima Prefecture | Edition Stadium Hiroshima | J1 (15th) |
| Sagan Tosu | Saga Prefecture | Best Amenity Stadium | J1 (8th) |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Nagasaki Prefecture | Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki | J2 (2nd) |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
| Cerezo Osaka | Yoon Jong-hwan | Hotaru Yamaguchi | Puma | Yanmar |
| FC Tokyo | Kenta Hasegawa | Jang Hyun-soo | Umbro | Lifeval |
| Gamba Osaka | Tsuneyasu Miyamoto | Yasuhito Endō | Umbro | Panasonic |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Mihailo Petrović | Hiroki Miyazawa | Kappa | Shiroi Koibito |
| Júbilo Iwata | Hiroshi Nanami | Nagisa Sakurauchi | Puma | Yamaha |
| Kashima Antlers | Go Oiwa | Mitsuo Ogasawara | Nike | Lixil |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Nozomu Kato | Hidekazu Otani | Yonex | Hitachi |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Toru Oniki | Yu Kobayashi | Puma | Fujitsu |
| Nagoya Grampus | Yahiro Kazama | Hisato Satō | Mizuno | Toyota |
| Sagan Tosu | Kim Myung-hwi | Yutaka Yoshida | New Balance | DHC |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshi Jofuku | Toshihiro Aoyama | Nike | EDION |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Jan Jönsson | Ryo Takeuchi | Puma | Suzuyo |
| Shonan Bellmare | Cho Kwi-jae | Kaoru Takayama | Penalty | Meldia |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Oswaldo de Oliveira | Yōsuke Kashiwagi | Nike | Polus |
| Vegalta Sendai | Susumu Watanabe | Shingo Tomita | Adidas | Iris Ohyama |
| Vissel Kobe | Juan Manuel Lillo | Lukas Podolski | Asics | Rakuten |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Takuya Takagi | Jordy Buijs | Hummel | Japanet |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Ange Postecoglou | Yuji Nakazawa | Adidas | Nissan |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Erick Mombaerts | 1 January 2018 | Ange Postecoglou | 19 December 2017 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Takafumi Hori | 2 April 2018 | Oswaldo de Oliveira | 19 April 2018 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Takahiro Shimotaira | 13 May 2018 | Nozomu Kato | 13 May 2018 |
| Gamba Osaka | Levir Culpi | 23 July 2018 | Tsuneyasu Miyamoto | 23 July 2018 |
| Vissel Kobe | Takayuki Yoshida | 17 Sep 2018 | Juan Manuel Lillo | 4 Oct 2018 |
| Sagan Tosu | Massimo Ficcadenti | 17 Oct 2018 | Kim Myung-hwi | 17 Oct 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, Malaysia, Iran and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
Players marked in bold indicate players that were registered during the mid-season transfer window. Players marked in ITALICS indicate players that were out of squad or left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Other | Former players |
| Cerezo Osaka | Souza | Matej Jonjić | Kim Jin-hyeon | Yang Dong-hyun | Osmar | Pierce Waring Chaowat Veerachat | |
| FC Tokyo | Diego Oliveira | Lins | Lipe Veloso | Jang Hyun-soo | | Jakkit Wachpirom | |
| Gamba Osaka | Ademilson | Fábio | Hwang Ui-jo | Oh Jae-suk | | | Matheus Jesus |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Jay Bothroyd | Gu Sung-yun | Kim Min-tae | | | Chanathip Songkrasin | Jonathan Reis Julinho |
| Júbilo Iwata | Adaílton | Krzysztof Kamiński | Eren Albayrak | Fozil Musaev | | | Gabriel Morbeck Guilherme |
| Kashima Antlers | Leandro | Léo Silva | Serginho | Jung Seung-hyun | Kwoun Sun-tae | | Pedro Júnior |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Cristiano | Nathan | Michael Olunga | Kim Bo-kyung | Park Jeong-su | | Ramon Lopes Yun Suk-young |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Caio César | Eduardo | Elsinho | Jung Sung-ryong | | Jefferson Tabinas | Eduardo Neto |
| Nagoya Grampus | Mitchell Langerak | Eduardo Neto | Gabriel Xavier | Jô | Willian Rocha | | Washington |
| Sagan Tosu | Joan Oumari | Cho Dong-geon | Kim Min-hyeok | Fernando Torres | | | Víctor Ibarbo An Yong-woo Jung Seung-hyun |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Besart Berisha | Felipe | Patric | | | Teerasil Dangda | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Mitch Duke | Crislan | Douglas | Freire | Hwang Seok-ho | Jong Tae-se | Wu Shaocong |
| Shonan Bellmare | André Bahia | Mihael Mikić | Lee Jeong-hyeop | | | | Alen Stevanović |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Andrew Nabbout | Fabrício | Maurício Antônio | Quenten Martinus | Zlatan Ljubijankič | | |
| Vegalta Sendai | Rafaelson | Ramon Lopes | Lee Yun-oh | | | Ryang Yong-gi Kim Jung-ya | |
| Vissel Kobe | Wellington | Lukas Podolski | Kim Seung-gyu | Andrés Iniesta | | Ahmed Yasser Theerathon Bunmathan | Leandro Jung Woo-young |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Jordy Buijs | Choi Kyu-baek | Jairo Morillas | Juanma | | | Ben Halloran |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Thiago Martins | Olivier Boumal | Hugo Vieira | Dušan Cvetinović | Yun Il-lok | Ippey Shinozuka | Milos Degenek David Babunski |

## Results
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale (C) | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 57 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 56 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 55 | |
| 5 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 51 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 6 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 50 | |
| 7 | Cerezo Osaka | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 50 | |
| 8 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 49 | |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 48 | |
| 10 | Vissel Kobe | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 45 | |
| 11 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 45 | |
| 12 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 41 | |
| 13 | Shonan Bellmare | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 41 | |
| 14 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 41 | |
| 15 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 41 | |
| 16 | Júbilo Iwata (O) | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 41 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 17 | Kashiwa Reysol (R) | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 39 | Relegation to J2 League |
| 18 | V-Varen Nagasaki (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 30 | Relegation to J2 League |
* ↑ Urawa Red Diamonds qualified for the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage as 2018 Emperor's Cup winners.

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Kashima Antlers | 12 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 16 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 6 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| FC Tokyo | 6 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 6 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Gamba Osaka | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Vissel Kobe | 6 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Sagan Tosu | 6 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 18 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 16 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 15 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
* Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League Group stage
* Qualification to AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
* Qualification to Relegation play-off
* Relegation to J2 League

### Results table

| Home \ Away | ANT | BEL | CER | CON | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | JUB | RED | REY | SSP | SAG | SFR | TOK | VVN | VEG | VIS |
| Kashima Antlers | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 3–0 | 4–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 5–2 | 1–2 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 7–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–3 |
| Gamba Osaka | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–6 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | — | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Sagan Tosu | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| FC Tokyo | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–5 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–3 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–8 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Vissel Kobe | 0–5 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | — |

## Promotion–Relegation Playoff

2018 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2018 J1参入プレーオフ)
Júbilo Iwata stays in J1 League and Tokyo Verdy remains in J2 League.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played on 1 December 2018.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jô | Nagoya Grampus | 24 |
| 2 | Patric | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 20 |
| 3 | Hwang Ui-jo | Gamba Osaka | 16 |
| 4 | Shinzo Koroki | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 |
| 4 | Yu Kobayashi | Kawasaki Frontale | 15 |
| 6 | Diego Oliveira | FC Tokyo | 13 |
| 6 | Koya Kitagawa | Shimizu S-Pulse | 13 |
| 6 | Hugo Vieira | Yokohama F. Marinos | 13 |
| 9 | Ken Tokura | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 12 |
| 10 | Douglas | Shimizu S-Pulse | 11 |
| 10 | Kengo Kawamata | Júbilo Iwata | 11 |
| 10 | Musashi Suzuki | V-Varen Nagasaki | 11 |
| 10 | Takuma Nishimura | Vegalta Sendai | 11 |
| 10 | Yuma Suzuki | Kashima Antlers | 11 |

### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Yōsuke Kashiwagi | Urawa Red Diamonds | 12 |
| 2 | Junya Ito | Kashiwa Reysol | 11 |
| 3 | Kosei Shibasaki | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 9 |
| 3 | Yuma Suzuki | Kashima Antlers | 9 |
| 4 | Gabriel Xavier | Nagoya Grampus | 8 |
| 4 | Hideki Ishige | Shimizu S-Pulse | 8 |
| 4 | Koya Kitagawa | Shimizu S-Pulse | 8 |
| 4 | Yuki Muto | Urawa Red Diamonds | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Diego Oliveira | FC Tokyo | V-Varen Nagasaki | 2–5 (A) | 8 April 2018 |
| Hugo Vieira | Yokohama F. Marinos | Shonan Bellmare | 4–4 (H) | 21 April 2018 |
| Sho Ito | Yokohama F. Marinos | Vegalta Sendai | 2–8 (A) | 18 July 2018 |
| Jô | Nagoya Grampus | Gamba Osaka | 4–1 (H) | 5 August 2018 |
| Fabrício | Urawa Red Diamonds | Júbilo Iwata | 4–0 (H) | 15 August 2018 |
| Jô | Nagoya Grampus | Urawa Red Diamonds | 4–1 (H) | 26 August 2018 |
| Musashi Suzuki | V-Varen Nagasaki | Nagoya Grampus | 4–3 (A) | 15 September 2018 |

#### Note

(H) – Home; (A) – Away

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 603,534 | 55,689 | 21,250 | 35,502 | +5.8%$^†$ |
| 2 | FC Tokyo | 449,388 | 44,801 | 13,425 | 26,432 | −0.2%$^†$ |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus | 419,218 | 43,579 | 9,297 | 24,660 | +60.5%$^†$ |
| 4 | Gamba Osaka | 399,242 | 35,242 | 11,824 | 23,485 | −3.3%$^†$ |
| 5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 394,709 | 24,677 | 17,113 | 23,218 | +5.0%$^†$ |
| 6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 370,401 | 41,686 | 8,688 | 21,788 | −9.9%$^†$ |
| 7 | Vissel Kobe | 367,716 | 26,603 | 9,015 | 21,630 | +18.4%$^†$ |
| 8 | Kashima Antlers | 330,376 | 33,647 | 7,672 | 19,434 | −5.0%$^†$ |
| 9 | Cerezo Osaka | 319,782 | 34,303 | 8,165 | 18,811 | −10.3%$^†$ |
| 10 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 309,798 | 34,250 | 6,729 | 18,223 | −1.1%$^†$ |
| 11 | Júbilo Iwata | 263,060 | 31,375 | 8,047 | 15,474 | −5.2%$^†$ |
| 12 | Vegalta Sendai | 261,943 | 19,152 | 13,158 | 15,408 | +4.5%$^†$ |
| 13 | Sagan Tosu | 255,004 | 22,669 | 7,138 | 15,000 | +5.7%$^†$ |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 254,844 | 20,109 | 6,193 | 14,991 | −0.8%$^†$ |
| 15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 243,874 | 21,997 | 7,344 | 14,346 | +2.2%$^†$ |
| 16 | Shonan Bellmare | 206,039 | 15,351 | 8,002 | 12,120 | +43.4%$^†$ |
| 17 | Kashiwa Reysol | 193,833 | 14,208 | 9,255 | 11,402 | +6.3%$^†$ |
| 18 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 190,827 | 15,975 | 6,579 | 11,225 | +88.9%$^†$ |
| | League total | 5,833,538 | 55,689 | 6,193 | 19,064 | +1.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 1 December 2018 Source: J. League Data Notes: $^†$ Promoted from J2.

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Manager of the Year | Mihailo Petrović | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo |
| Most Valuable Player | Akihiro Ienaga | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Rookie of the Year | Hiroki Abe | Kashima Antlers |
J.League Best XI :
| Attack | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) |
| Midfield | Chanathip Songkrasin (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) | Chanathip Songkrasin (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) | Chanathip Songkrasin (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) | Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale) | Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale) | Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale) | Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale) | Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale) | Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale) | Akihiro Ienaga (Kawasaki Frontale) | Akihiro Ienaga (Kawasaki Frontale) | Akihiro Ienaga (Kawasaki Frontale) |
| Defence | Daigo Nishi (Kashima Antlers) | Daigo Nishi (Kashima Antlers) | Daigo Nishi (Kashima Antlers) | Shintaro Kurumaya (Kawasaki Frontale) | Shintaro Kurumaya (Kawasaki Frontale) | Shintaro Kurumaya (Kawasaki Frontale) | Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale) | Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale) | Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale) | Elsinho (Kawasaki Frontale) | Elsinho (Kawasaki Frontale) | Elsinho (Kawasaki Frontale) |
| Goalkeeper | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) | Jung Sung-ryong (Kawasaki Frontale) |