# 2021 J1 League

The 2021 J1 League, also known as the 2021 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2021 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2021 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was seventh season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The league began on 26 February and ended on 4 December.
Kawasaki Frontale were the reigning champions, having won their third title in 2020 with four rounds to play. They successfully retained the title, again with four rounds to play.
On 20 November 2021, Oita Trinita, Vegalta Sendai, and Yokohama FC were relegated to J2 League with two games to play. On the final matchday, Tokushima Vortis was relegated back to J2 League after just one season.

## Changes from the previous season

There were no teams relegated the previous season due to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, four relegation places were applied for the current season to reduce the total number of teams from 20 back to 18.
Two teams were promoted from the 2020 J2 League: Tokushima Vortis won the title and clinched a second promotion to J1 (the first came in 2013), while Avispa Fukuoka came second, returning to J1 after five seasons.

## Clubs

* FC Tokyo
* Kawasaki Frontale
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Shonan Bellmare
* Yokohama F. Marinos
* Yokohama FC
* Kashima Antlers
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Cerezo Osaka
* Gamba Osaka
* Vissel Kobe
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Previous season rank |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium | 41,484 20,861 | J1 (12th) |
| Vegalta Sendai | Miyagi Prefecture | Yurtec Stadium Sendai | 19,694 | J1 (17th) |
| Kashima Antlers | Ibaraki Prefecture | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 40,728 | J1 (5th) |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Saitama Prefecture | Saitama Stadium 2002 | 63,700 | J1 (10th) |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Chiba Prefecture | Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium | 15,900 | J1 (7th) |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | J1 (6th) |
| Yokohama FC | Kanagawa Prefecture | Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,046 | J1 (15th) |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Kanagawa Prefecture | Nissan Stadium | 72,327 | J1 (9th) |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kanagawa Prefecture | Todoroki Stadium | 26,232 | J1 (1st) |
| Shonan Bellmare | Kanagawa Prefecture | Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka | 18,500 | J1 (18th) |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka Prefecture | IAI Stadium Nihondaira | 20,339 | J1 (16th) |
| Nagoya Grampus | Aichi Prefecture | Toyota Stadium | 45,000 | J1 (3rd) |
| Gamba Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Panasonic Stadium Suita | 39,694 | J1 (2nd) |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Yanmar Stadium | 47,853 | J1 (4th) |
| Vissel Kobe | Hyōgo Prefecture | Noevir Stadium Kobe | 30,132 | J1 (14th) |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima Prefecture | Edion Stadium | 36,894 | J1 (8th) |
| Tokushima Vortis | Tokushima Prefecture | Pocarisweat Stadium | 20,441 | J2 (1st) |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka Prefecture | Best Denki Stadium | 21,562 | J2 (2nd) |
| Sagan Tosu | Saga Prefecture | Ekimae Real Estate Stadium | 24,130 | J1 (13th) |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita Prefecture | Showa Denko Dome Oita | 40,000 | J1 (11th) |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Shigetoshi Hasebe | Hiroyuki Mae | Yonex | Shin Nihon Seiyaku |
| Cerezo Osaka | Akio Kogiku | Hiroshi Kiyotake | Puma | Yanmar |
| FC Tokyo | Shinichi Morishita (interim) | Keigo Higashi | New Balance | XFLAG |
| Gamba Osaka | Masanobu Matsunami (interim) | Genta Miura | Umbro | Panasonic |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Mihailo Petrović | Hiroki Miyazawa | Mizuno | Ishiya |
| Kashima Antlers | Naoki Soma | Kento Misao | Nike | Lixil |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Nelsinho Baptista | Hidekazu Otani | Yonex | Hitachi |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Toru Oniki | Shogo Taniguchi | Puma | Fujitsu |
| Nagoya Grampus | Massimo Ficcadenti | Yuichi Maruyama | Mizuno | Toyota |
| Oita Trinita | Tomohiro Katanosaka | Shun Takagi | Puma | Daihatsu Kyushu |
| Sagan Tosu | Kim Myung-hwi | Eduardo | New Balance | Kimura Information Technology |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kentaro Sawada (interim) | Sho Sasaki | Nike | EDION |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Hiroaki Hiraoka | Ryo Takeuchi | Puma | Suzuyo |
| Shonan Bellmare | Satoshi Yamaguchi | Takuya Okamoto | Penalty | Meldia |
| Tokushima Vortis | Dani Poyatos | Ken Iwao | Mizuno | Pocari Sweat |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Ricardo Rodriguez | Shusaku Nishikawa | Nike | Polus |
| Vegalta Sendai | Makoto Teguramori | Simão Mate Junior | Adidas | Iris Ohyama |
| Vissel Kobe | Atsuhiro Miura | Andrés Iniesta | Asics | Rakuten |
| Yokohama FC | Tomonobu Hayakawa | Yuta Minami | Soccer Junky | Onodera Group |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Kevin Muscat | Takuya Kida | Adidas | Nissan |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Yokohama FC | Takahiro Shimotaira | Sacked | 7 April 2021 | Tomonobu Hayakawa | 8 April 2021 |
| Kashima Antlers | Antônio Carlos Zago | Sacked | 14 April 2021 | Naoki Soma | 14 April 2021 |
| Gamba Osaka | Tsuneyasu Miyamoto | Sacked | 13 May 2021 | Masanobu Matsunami (interim) | 14 May 2021 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Ange Postecoglou | Signed by Celtic | 10 June 2021 | Hideki Matsunaga (caretaker) | 10 June 2021 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Hideki Matsunaga | End of caretaker spell | 18 July 2021 | Kevin Muscat | 18 July 2021 |
| Cerezo Osaka | Levir Culpi | Sacked | 26 August 2021 | Akio Kogiku | 26 August 2021 |
| Shonan Bellmare | Bin Ukishima | Resigned | 31 August 2021 | Satoshi Yamaguchi | 1 September 2021 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshi Jofuku | Resigned | 26 October 2021 | Kentaro Sawada (interim) | 26 October 2021 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Miguel Ángel Lotina | Sacked | 4 November 2021 | Hiroaki Hiraoka | 4 November 2021 |
| FC Tokyo | Kenta Hasegawa | Resigned | 7 November 2021 | Shinichi Morishita (interim) | 10 November 2021 |
* ↑ Matsunami was initially appointed as caretaker manager, but he was made interim manager on 1 June 2021.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000002C-QINU`"'

### Foreign players

As of 2019 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day 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 mid-season transfer window.
* Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, 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 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Former players |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Jordy Croux | Bruno Mendes | Cauê | Douglas Grolli | John Mary | Carlos Gutiérrez | Juanma | Emil Salomonsson | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Adam Taggart | Tiago Pagnussat | Kim Jin-hyeon | Đặng Văn Lâm | | | | | Dankler |
| FC Tokyo | Adaílton | Bruno Uvini | Diego Oliveira | Leandro | Joan Oumari | | | | |
| Gamba Osaka | Leandro Pereira | Patric | Tiago Alves | Wellington Silva | Ju Se-jong | Kim Young-gwon | Shin Won-ho | | |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Douglas Oliveira | Lucas Fernandes | Jay Bothroyd | Milan Tučić | Chanathip Songkrasin | | | | Anderson Lopes Gabriel Okechukwu Kim Min-tae |
| Kashima Antlers | Arthur Caíke | Bueno | Diego Pituca | Everaldo | Juan Alano | Léo Silva | Kwoun Sun-tae | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Cristiano | Dodi | Emerson Santos | Matheus Sávio | Richardson | Rodrigo Angelotti | Ippey Shinozuka | Kim Seung-gyu | Pedro Raúl |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Jesiel | João Schmidt | Leandro Damião | Marcinho | Jung Sung-ryong | Lee Kyung-tae | | | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Mitchell Langerak | Gabriel Xavier | Mateus | Jakub Świerczok | Kim Min-tae | | | | |
| Oita Trinita | Henrique Trevisan | Matheus Pereira | | | | | | | |
| Sagan Tosu | Eduardo | Ismael Dunga | Chikeluba Ofoedu | Ryang Yong-gi | Hwang Seok-ho | Park Il-gyu | Ueom Ye-hoon | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Douglas Vieira | Ezequiel | Júnior Santos | Rhayner | | | | | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Carlinhos Júnior | Elsinho | Renato Augusto | Ronaldo | Thiago Santana | Valdo | Benjamin Kololli | Erick Noriega | William Matheus |
| Shonan Bellmare | Welinton Júnior | Wellington | Tarik Elyounoussi | | | | | | Riuler |
| Tokushima Vortis | Cacá | Diego | Mushaga Bakenga | Dušan Cvetinović | | | | | Cristian Battocchio |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Thomas Deng | Alexander Scholz | Kasper Junker | | | | | | |
| Vegalta Sendai | Felippe Cardoso | Foguinho | Emmanuel Oti | Jakub Słowik | Nedeljko Stojišić | | | | Quenten Martinus Simão Mate Junior Isaac Cuenca |
| Vissel Kobe | Thomas Vermaelen | Douglas | Lincoln | Andrés Iniesta | Bojan Krkić | Sergi Samper | | | Ayub Masika |
| Yokohama FC | Arthur Silva | Felipe Vizeu | Gabriel | Kléber | Maguinho | Saulo Mineiro | Svend Brodersen | Han Ho-gang | Calvin Jong-a-Pin |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Élber | Léo Ceará | Marcos Júnior | Thiago Martins | Theerathon Bunmathan | | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale (C) | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 92 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 82 | 35 | +47 | 79 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 73 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 69 | |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 66 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 63 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 59 | |
| 8 | Avispa Fukuoka | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 54 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 53 | |
| 10 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 51 | |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 49 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 48 | |
| 13 | Gamba Osaka | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 44 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 54 | −17 | 42 | |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 41 | |
| 16 | Shonan Bellmare | 38 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 37 | |
| 17 | Tokushima Vortis (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 36 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 18 | Oita Trinita (R) | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 35 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 19 | Vegalta Sendai (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 28 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 20 | Yokohama FC (R) | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 77 | −45 | 27 | Relegation to the J2 League |
* 1 2 The JPFL awarded a 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki who was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000051-QINU`"''"`UNIQ--ref-00000052-QINU`"'
* ↑ Qualified as the 2021 Emperor's Cup winners.

## Results table

| Home \ Away | ANT | AVI | BEL | CER | CON | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | REY | RED | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | VEG | VIS | VOR | YFC |
| Kashima Antlers | — | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 5–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–5 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 8–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Gamba Osaka | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Sagan Tosu | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 4–0 |
| Oita Trinita | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 5–3 | — |
* ↑ The JPFL awarded 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki which was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000060-QINU`"''"`UNIQ--ref-00000061-QINU`"'

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Leandro Damião | Kawasaki Frontale | 23 |
| 1 | Daizen Maeda | Yokohama F. Marinos | 23 |
| 3 | Kyogo Furuhashi | Vissel Kobe | 15 |
| 4 | Ayase Ueda | Kashima Antlers | 14 |
| 5 | Diego Oliveira | FC Tokyo | 13 |
| 5 | Patric | Gamba Osaka | 13 |
| 5 | Thiago Santana | Shimizu S-Pulse | 13 |
| 8 | Anderson Lopes | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 12 |
| 8 | Ado Onaiwu | Yokohama F. Marinos | 12 |
| 10 | Léo Ceará | Yokohama F. Marinos | 10 |
| 10 | Ryotaro Araki | Kashima Antlers | 10 |
| 10 | Yu Kobayashi | Kawasaki Frontale | 10 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Anderson Lopes | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Vissel Kobe | 3–4 (H) | 20 March 2021 |
| Ado Onaiwu | Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 3–0 (A) | 1 May 2021 |
| Shoma Doi | Kashima Antlers | Yokohama F. Marinos | 5–3 (H) | 15 May 2021 |
| Kyogo Furuhashi | Vissel Kobe | Yokohama FC | 5–0 (H) | 23 June 2021 |
| Daizen Maeda | Yokohama F. Marinos | Oita Trinita | 5–1 (H) | 15 August 2021 |
| Léo Ceará | Yokohama F. Marinos | Vegalta Sendai | 5–0 (H) | 21 August 2021 |
| Douglas Vieira | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kashiwa Reysol | 3–0 (A) | 18 September 2021 |
| Daizen Maeda | Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 8–0 (H) | 6 November 2021 |
| Patric | Gamba Osaka | Oita Trinita | 3–2 (A) | 7 November 2021 |

#### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Miki Yamane | Kawasaki Frontale | 12 |
| 2 | Kota Mizunuma | Yokohama F. Marinos | 9 |
| 3 | Leandro Damião | Kawasaki Frontale | 8 |
| 3 | Yuki Soma | Nagoya Grampus | 8 |
| 5 | Ryotaro Araki | Kashima Antlers | 7 |
| 5 | Tatsuki Seko | Yokohama FC | 7 |
| 5 | Yoshinori Muto | Vissel Kobe | 7 |
| 8 | Élber | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 |
| 8 | Hokuto Shimoda | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 |
| 8 | Ryo Hatsuse | Vissel Kobe | 6 |
| 8 | Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 |
| 8 | Yusuke Maruhashi | Cerezo Osaka | 6 |
| 8 | Yuta Higuchi | Sagan Tosu | 6 |
| 8 | Emil Salomonsson | Avispa Fukuoka | 6 |
| 8 | Chanathip Songkrasin | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 6 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 9
** Douglas Grolli (Avispa Fukuoka)
* Most red cards: 2
** Takumi Kamijima (Kashiwa Reysol)
** Kim Min-tae (Nagoya Grampus)
** Takaaki Shichi (Avispa Fukuoka)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 49
** Avispa Fukuoka
** Kashima Antlers
* Most red cards: 3
** FC Tokyo
** Kashima Antlers
** Sagan Tosu
** Yokohama F. Marinos