# 2012 J.League Division 2

The 2012 J.League Division 2 season was the 41st season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 14th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 4 and finished on November 11, followed by the promotion playoffs among the 3rd to 6th placed clubs (see the article).
Ventforet Kofu became champions and returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2. Shonan Bellmare finished second and also won the automatic promotion along with Kofu, returning to the J1 after two years of absence. Oita Trinita finished sixth, but won the promotion playoffs by defeating 3rd-placed Kyoto Sanga at the semifinal and 5th-placed JEF United Chiba at the final thus returning to the J1 after three years of absence.
For the first time ever, relegation to the third-tier JFL was implemented, and Machida Zelvia became the unlucky first team to suffer that fate by finishing in bottom place only one season after entering the professional divisions.

## Clubs

The expected participant clubs are as follows:
| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka | Relegated from J1 League in 2011 |
| Shonan Bellmare | Southcentral cities/town in Kanagawa | |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | |
| Gainare Tottori | All cities/towns in Tottori | |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | |
| Mito HollyHock | Mito, Ibaraki | |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns in Toyama | |
| Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata | Relegated from J1 League in 2011 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | |
| Thespa Kusatsu | All cities/towns in Gunma | |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | |
| Oita Trinita | All cities/towns in Ōita | |
| Ventforet Kofu | All cities/towns in Yamanashi | Relegated from J1 League in 2011 |
| Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Matsumoto, Nagano | Promoted from JFL in 2011 |
| Yokohama FC | Yokohama, Kanagawa | |
| Machida Zelvia | Machida, Tokyo | Promoted from JFL in 2011 |

## Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | Type-C Contract | Non-visa Foreign | Former players |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Osmar | Samir | | Kim Min-je | Oh Chang-hyun | Son Jeong-ryun | |
| Shonan Bellmare | Alex Martins | Quirino | | Han Kook-young | Lee Min-soo | Kim Yeong-gi | Fabinho Cambalhota Raphael Macena |
| Ehime FC | Alair | Ante Tomić | | | | | |
| Fagiano Okayama | Anderson Gonzaga | Tiago | | Kim Min-kyun | | Go Daimu | |
| Gainare Tottori | Kenny Cunningham | Roy Smith | | Kim Sun-min | | | |
| FC Gifu | Abuda | Danilo | | Kim Jung-hyun | | Ri Han-jae | Bruno Kim Dong-gwon |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Leonardo Moreira | | | Jim Jong-pil | | | |
| Mito HollyHock | Hwang Ju-yun | | | Kim Yong-gi | | | |
| JEF United Chiba | Ricardo Lobo | Tor Hogne Aarøy | | | | | Mark Milligan Reginaldo |
| Kataller Toyama | | | | Seo Yong-duk | | | |
| Machida Zelvia | Colin Marshall | Dragan Dimić | | Lee Woo-jin | | | |
| Montedio Yamagata | Branquinho | | | | | | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Fábio Pena | | | Choi Kun-sik | | | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Wilfried Sanou | Miloš Bajalica | | Jung Woo-young | | Hwang Te-song | |
| Thespa Kusatsu | Alex Rafael | | | | | Kim Song-yong | Lincoln Heberty |
| Tochigi SC | Paulinho | Sabia | Cha Young-hwan | Yoo Dae-hyun | Jairo Balotelli | | |
| Oita Trinita | Choi Jung-han | Kim Chang-hun | Lee Dong-myung | | Kim Jung-hyun | | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Davi | Douglas | Fernandinho | Choi Sung-keun | Renato Sá | | Gabriel Pimba |
| Tokyo Verdy | Alex Henrique | Jymmy | | Bae Dae-won | Nicollas | | Josimar |
| Tokushima Vortis | Alex | Diogo Oliveira | Douglas | Oh Seung-hoon | Kim Jong-min | | Elizeu |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Allisson Ricardo | Thiago Silva | Choi Yong-woo | Yoon Sung-yeul | | | Eydison Lee Jong-min |
| Yokohama FC | Igor Castro | Kaio | Bae Seung-jin | Park Tae-hong | Na Sung-soo | | Roberto |

## Promotions and relegations
### Promotions to Division 1

Rather than 3 spots for automatic promotions to J.League Division 1 (J1) until the previous season, there are only 2 spots for automatic promotions from this season, and the 3rd promoting club will be determined by a play-off called Play-off for Promotion to J1 (J1昇格プレーオフ) held by 4 clubs (3rd – 6th placed clubs in the standings in the league matches). The regulation is:

#### First Round

    Two fixtures will be held, the "3rd placed club versus the 6th placed club" and the "4th placed club versus the 5th placed club". Each tie will be played as one-off match at the home stadium, which was determined by the standings in the league matches (i.e., 3rd and 4th placed clubs' stadiums).

#### Final Round

    The fixture will be held between the two winners of the first-round fixtures. The tie will be played as one-off match at a neutral venue, which was determined to be the Tokyo National Stadium on 23 July.

#### Tiebreakers

    If the score is tied after 90 minutes, neither extra time nor penalty shoot-out will be held, the winner is determined by the standings in the league matches.

#### Exceptional Cases

    In case one or more clubs of 3rd–6th places cannot meet promotion criteria, remaining clubs will participate in the play-off: the spots cannot be replaced by 7th-placed or lower clubs' case only three of the four clubs meet the promotion criteria, the highest ranked club among them will receive a bye to the final round.
   * In case only two of the four clubs meet the promotion criteria, only the final round will be held.
   * In case only one of the four clubs meets the promotion criteria, it will automatically promote.
   * In case none of the four clubs meets the promotion criteria, the number of promoting club will be decreased.
On 28 September, it was announced that the following clubs did not meet the criteria, mainly in regard to the stadium's size, which are required to J1 clubs to maintain, thus will not be promoted to J1, or participating promotion playoffs even if finishing in the appropriate standing at the end of the regular season:
   * Mito HollyHock
   * Thespa Kusatsu
   * Machida Zelvia
   * FC Gifu
   * Gainare Tottori
   * Ehime FC
   * Giravanz Kitakyushu
   * Oita Trinita was granted a J1 license allowing promotion, but this will be revoked if the club cannot pay back ¥300 million debt to the JFA by 12 October.

### Relegations to JFL

In 2008, J.League and Japan Football Association planned that at most 3 clubs in J2 are to relegate to Japan Football League (JFL) every season after the number of J2 clubs reached 22.
In January 2012, since the number of J2 clubs reached 22 from this season, J.League determined the regulation of the relegations from J2 to JFL that at most 2 clubs in J2 will relegate to JFL every season. The regulation is:
* 1st placed JFL club will replace a J2 club if it meets promotion criteria.
* 2nd placed JFL club will replace a J2 club if it meets promotion criteria and wins a home-and-away play-off against the J2 club.
* 3rd placed or lower JFL clubs cannot promote to J2 even if 1st or 2nd placed JFL clubs do not meet promotion criteria: the number of relegating clubs from J2 will be decreased.
** Thus, in the play-off, the second last (i.e. 21st placed) J2 club will meet the 2nd placed JFL club if 1st placed JFL club promotes to J2; otherwise the last (i.e. 22nd placed) J2 club will meet.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Ventforet Kofu (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 14 | 4 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 86 | Promotion to 2013 J.League Division 1 |
| 2 | Shonan Bellmare (P) | 42 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 75 | Promotion to 2013 J.League Division 1 |
| 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 42 | 23 | 5 | 14 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 74 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 4 | Yokohama FC | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 73 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 5 | JEF United Chiba | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 72 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 6 | Oita Trinita (O, P) | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 59 | 40 | +19 | 71 | Qualification for promotion playoffs |
| 7 | Tokyo Verdy | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 66 | |
| 8 | Fagiano Okayama | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 65 | |
| 9 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 64 | |
| 10 | Montedio Yamagata | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 61 | |
| 11 | Tochigi SC | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 60 | |
| 12 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 59 | |
| 13 | Mito HollyHock | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 56 | |
| 14 | Roasso Kumamoto | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 55 | |
| 15 | Tokushima Vortis | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 51 | |
| 16 | Ehime FC | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 50 | |
| 17 | Thespa Kusatsu | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 47 | |
| 18 | Avispa Fukuoka | 42 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 53 | 68 | −15 | 41 | |
| 19 | Kataller Toyama | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 38 | |
| 20 | Gainare Tottori | 42 | 11 | 5 | 26 | 33 | 78 | −45 | 38 | |
| 21 | FC Gifu | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 27 | 55 | −28 | 35 | |
| 22 | Machida Zelvia (R) | 42 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 34 | 67 | −33 | 32 | Relegation to 2013 Japan Football League |
* ↑ The promotion and relegation between J2 and JFL will take place only if more than one promotion-eligible (i.e. having a J.League Associate Membership) JFL team finished above second place and playoff will be played only if a eligible JFL team finished in second place(See the corresponding section for further details). As only 2012 Japan Football League Champion V-Varen Nagasaki has the Associate Membership among the top 2 teams. Machida Zelvia was relegated immediately but no relegation/playoff was taken place for FC Gifu which finished 21st.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AVI | BEL | EHI | FAG | GAI | GIF | GIR | HOL | JEF | KAT | MON | ROS | SAN | SPA | TOC | TRI | VEN | VER | VOR | YAM | YFC | ZEL |
| Avispa Fukuoka | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| Ehime FC | 4–2 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Gainare Tottori | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–5 | 0–3 |
| FC Gifu | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Mito HollyHock | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| JEF United Chiba | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Kataller Toyama | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Montedio Yamagata | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 3–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Thespa Kusatsu | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Tochigi SC | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 1–0 |
| Oita Trinita | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 7–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 3–0 |
| Yokohama FC | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 2–4 |
| Machida Zelvia | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–6 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | |
* 1 2 3 3 matches for the 36th round, Kyoto at Tokushima, Kumamoto at Shonan, and Gifu at Matsumoto, originally scheduled on 30 September, were postponed due to approaching Typhoon Jelawat, to 1 October for Kumamoto at Shonan, 18 October for Gifu at Matsumoto and 25 October for Kyoto at Tokushima.
* ↑ The 13th round game on 6 May between Tochigi S.C. and Avispa Fukuoka was abandoned at 69th minute because of heavy thunderstorm. The score at the moment was 1–0 for Tochigi (Cha Young-Hwan 48'). The remaining 24 minutes were played on 17 May resulting in another goal for Tochigi (Hirose 73') to secure 2–0 victory.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Davi | Ventforet Kofu | 32 |
| 2 | Takuma Abe | Tokyo Verdy | 18 |
| 2 | Kengo Kawamata | Fagiano Okayama | 18 |
| 4 | Yoshihito Fujita | JEF United Chiba | 15 |
| 5 | Koki Arita | Ehime FC | 14 |
| 5 | Jin Hanato | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 14 |
| 5 | Kazushi Mitsuhira | Oita Trinita | 14 |
| 5 | Yasuhito Morishima | Oita Trinita | 14 |
| 5 | Atsutaka Nakamura | Kyoto Sanga | 14 |
| 5 | Kosuke Taketomi | Roasso Kumamoto | 14 |
| 11 | Takayuki Funayama | Matsumoto Yamaga | 12 |
| 11 | Hisashi Jogo | Avispa Fukuoka | 12 |
| 11 | Tetsuya Ōkubo | Yokohama FC | 12 |
Updated to games played on 11 November 2012 Source: J. League

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Ventforet Kofu | 218,539 | 16,643 | 6,161 | 10,407 | −14.0%$^†$ |
| 2 | Oita Trinita | 204,134 | 23,617 | 6,459 | 9,721 | +10.7%$^†$ |
| 3 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 200,143 | 13,098 | 4,471 | 9,531 | +27.7%$^‡$ |
| 4 | JEF United Chiba | 194,893 | 14,487 | 6,235 | 9,281 | −4.1%$^†$ |
| 5 | Fagiano Okayama | 167,691 | 12,618 | 3,946 | 7,985 | +10.0%$^†$ |
| 6 | Montedio Yamagata | 154,459 | 11,275 | 5,036 | 7,355 | −21.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Kyoto Sanga | 152,732 | 12,296 | 2,901 | 7,273 | +15.6%$^†$ |
| 8 | Shonan Bellmare | 143,887 | 10,918 | 3,602 | 6,852 | −1.3%$^†$ |
| 9 | Yokohama FC | 126,810 | 9,687 | 2,639 | 6,039 | +4.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Roasso Kumamoto | 122,956 | 10,530 | 3,127 | 5,855 | −15.5%$^†$ |
| 11 | Avispa Fukuoka | 117,309 | 10,902 | 3,092 | 5,586 | −46.4%$^†$ |
| 12 | Tokyo Verdy | 112,158 | 13,093 | 2,875 | 5,341 | −6.5%$^†$ |
| 13 | FC Gifu | 89,676 | 11,119 | 1,791 | 4,270 | +3.6%$^†$ |
| 14 | Tokushima Vortis | 83,808 | 7,526 | 1,933 | 3,991 | −23.4%$^†$ |
| 15 | Mito HollyHock | 83,431 | 6,920 | 2,241 | 3,973 | +18.6%$^†$ |
| 16 | Tochigi SC | 80,859 | 5,156 | 1,901 | 3,850 | −22.0%$^†$ |
| 17 | Ehime FC | 76,201 | 6,612 | 1,950 | 3,629 | +4.4%$^†$ |
| 18 | Machida Zelvia | 76,169 | 7,139 | 1,860 | 3,627 | +3.2%$^‡$ |
| 19 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 70,274 | 7,637 | 2,112 | 3,346 | −17.4%$^†$ |
| 20 | Thespa Kusatsu | 70,159 | 6,891 | 1,333 | 3,341 | +4.0%$^†$ |
| 21 | Kataller Toyama | 69,807 | 6,549 | 1,692 | 3,324 | +1.5%$^†$ |
| 22 | Gainare Tottori | 65,786 | 6,629 | 1,363 | 3,133 | −15.1%$^†$ |
| | League total | 2,681,881 | 23,617 | 1,333 | 5,805 | −9.6%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 11 November 2012 Source: J. League Division 2 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J1. $^‡$ Team played previous season in JFL.

## Promotion Playoffs to Division 1

2012 J.League Road To J1 Play-Offs (2012 J1昇格プレーオフ) The schedule was as follows. The format would be changed if one or more of the involved clubs could not meet the promotion criteria to Division 1.
If the score tied by 90 minutes, the winner would be determined by the league standings.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 0 | | | |
| 6 | Oita Trinita | 4 | | | |
| 6 | Oita Trinita | 4 | 6 | Oita Trinita | 1 |
| | | | 5 | JEF United Chiba | 0 |
| 4 | Yokohama FC | 0 | 5 | JEF United Chiba | 0 |
| 5 | JEF United Chiba | 4 | | | |

### Final

Oita Trinita promoted to J.League Division 1.