# 2025 J2 League

The 2025 J2 League, also known as the 2025 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2025 明治安田J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2025 Meiji Yasuda J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is the 27th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. This will also be the eleventh season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.

## Overview

This is the last J.League season played in a whole calendar year from late winter to early winter, with the following season onwards played from summer to spring.

## Schedule

The league and match format were announced on 25 November 2024, with the season starts on 15 February 2025 and will conclude on 29 November 2025.
Promotion play-off has been scheduled from 7 and 13 December 2025.

## Changes from the previous season

Tochigi SC, Kagoshima United and Thespa Gunma were relegated to the 2025 J3 League, finishing the previous season as 18th, 19th and 20th placed, respectively, ended seven, one and five years stays in the second-tier, respectively.
Júbilo Iwata, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Sagan Tosu were relegated from the 2024 J1 League, after one, eight and thirteen season in the top flight, respectively.
Both Shimizu S-Pulse and Yokohama FC are promoted to the 2025 J1 League as champions and runners-up, respectively, of the previous J2 League season. Shizuoka-based Shimizu will return in the top flight of Japanese football after two years absence, while Yokohama FC will make their immediate comeback to the J1. Joining them are Fagiano Okayama, who finished 5th in 2024 and earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus making their first top flight appearance from next season.
2024 J3 League winners Omiya Ardija, runners-up FC Imabari, and promotion play-off winners Kataller Toyama were both promoted from the J3 League. Omiya are returning to the second-tier after one-year absence, Imabari makes their debut in the second-tier for this season and Kataller, who finished 3rd, earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus returning after 11 years absence.
From this season, Omiya Ardija changed their name to RB Omiya Ardija after they were acquired by Red Bull since 2025.

## Clubs

| Club name | Hometown | Stadium | Capacity | Previous season rank | License |
| Blaublitz Akita | Akita, Akita | Soyu Stadium | 18,560 | J2 (10th) | J1 |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | Ningineer Stadium | 20,919 | J2 (17st) | J1 |
| Fujieda MYFC | Cities/towns in Shizuoka Prefecture | Fujieda Soccer Stadium | 10,057 | J2 (13th) | J1 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome | 38,794 | J1 (19th) | J1 |
| FC Imabari | Imabari, Ehime | ASICS Satoyama Stadium | 5,316 | J3 (2nd) | J2 |
| Iwaki FC | Iwaki and Futaba District, Fukushima | Hawaiians Stadium Iwaki | 5,066 | J2 (9th) | J1 |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | Fukuda Denshi Arena | 19,470 | J2 (7th) | J1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,156 | J1 (18th) | J1 |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns in Toyama | Toyama Athletic Stadium | 18,588 | J3 (3rd) | J1 |
| Mito HollyHock | All cities/towns in central and northern Ibaraki | K's denki Stadium Mito | 10,152 | J2 (15th) | J1 |
| Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata | ND Soft Stadium | 20,638 | J2 (4th) | J1 |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita, Ōita | Showa Denko Dome Oita | 31,997 | J2 (16th) | J1 |
| RB Omiya Ardija | Saitama, Saitama | NACK5 Stadium Omiya | 15,491 | J3 (1st) | J1 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | All cities/towns in Yamaguchi | Ishin Me-Life Stadium | 15,115 | J2 (11th) | J1 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto, Kumamoto | Egao Kenko Stadium | 30,275 | J2 (12th) | J1 |
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | Ekimae Real Estate Stadium | 20,805 | J1 (20th) | J1 |
| Tokushima Vortis | Tokushima, Tokushima | Pocarisweat Stadium | 17,924 | J2 (8th) | J1 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture | Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank | 20,027 | J2 (3rd) | J1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | Miyagi Prefecture | Yurtec Stadium Sendai | 19,526 | J2 (6th) | J1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture | JIT Recycle Ink Stadium | 15,853 | J2 (14th) | J1 |
* ↑ centering on Matsuyama
* ↑ centering on Toyama
* ↑ Mito, Hitachi, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Hitachiota, Kitaibaraki, Hitachiomiya, Takahagi, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Daigo, Tokai
* ↑ centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
* ↑ centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
* ↑ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor |
| Blaublitz Akita | Ken Yoshida | Hiroto Morooka | Athleta | TDK |
| Ehime FC | Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Fuma Shirasaka | Jogarbola | Ningineer Network |
| Fujieda MYFC | Daisuke Sudo | Masahiko Sugita | Gol. | Seikan Kensa Center |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Daiki Iwamasa | Takuma Arano | Mizuno | Ishiya |
| FC Imabari | Keiji Kuraishi | Yuta Mikado | Asics | Unicharm |
| Iwaki FC | Yuzo Tamura | Ryo Endo | Under Armour | BHC |
| JEF United Chiba | Yoshiyuki Kobayashi | Daisuke Suzuki | Hummel | Fuji Electric |
| Júbilo Iwata | John Hutchinson | Hiroki Yamada | Admiral | Yamaha |
| Kataller Toyama | Michiharu Otagiri | Riki Matsuda | Goldwin | YKK AP |
| Mito HollyHock | Naoki Mori | | soccer junky | K's Holdings |
| Montedio Yamagata | Susumu Watanabe | Shuto Minami | Penalty | ABeam |
| Oita Trinita | Tomohiro Katanosaka | Arata Watanabe | Puma | Daihatsu Kyushu |
| RB Omiya Ardija | Tetsu Nagasawa | | Under Armour | Red Bull |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Ryo Shigaki | | Finta | upr |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Takeshi Oki | Rei Hirakawa | Admiral | Hirata |
| Sagan Tosu | Akio Kogiku | Naoyuki Fujita | New Balance | Kimura Information Technology |
| Tokushima Vortis | Kosaku Masuda | Yoichiro Kakitani | Mizuno | Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Pocari Sweat) |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Takahiro Shimotaira | Hiroki Akino | Fanatics | Japanet |
| Vegalta Sendai | Yoshiro Moriyama | Yasushi Endo | Adidas | Iris Ohyama |
| Ventforet Kofu | Shinji Otsuka | Masahiro Sekiguchi | Mizuno | Hakubaku |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Mihailo Petrović | End of contract | 4 December 2024 | Pre-season | Daiki Iwamasa | 12 December 2024 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Akinobu Yokouchi | End of contract | 11 December 2024 | Pre-season | John Hutchinson | 19 December 2024 |

### Foreign players

As of the 2024 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can 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) are exempt from these restrictions.
* Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the midseason 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 school in the country.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 |
| Blaublitz Akita | Luka Radotić | | | | | | |
| Ehime FC | Ben Duncan | Arthur Viana | Marcel Scalese | Bak Keon-woo | Yu Ye-chan | Ekanit Panya | |
| Fujieda MYFC | Anderson Chaves | Roque Júnior | Cheikh Diamanka | | | | |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Francis Cann | Kinglord Safo | Amadou Bakayoko | Jordi Sánchez | Kim Gun-hee | Park Min-gyu | Supachok Sarachat |
| FC Imabari | Danilo Cardoso | Marcus Vinícius | Vinícius Diniz | Wesley Tanque | Lee Young-jun | | |
| Iwaki FC | Hyun Woo-bin | Joo Hyun-jin | | | | | |
| JEF United Chiba | Carlinhos Júnior | Derek | Dudu Pacheco | José Aurelio Suárez | | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Jordy Croux | Léo Gomes | Matheus Peixoto | Ricardo Graça | Hassan Hilu | Park Se-gi | |
| Kataller Toyama | Gabriel Nascimento | Koh Bong-jo | | | | | |
| Mito HollyHock | | | | | | | |
| Montedio Yamagata | Tom Heward-Belle | Beka Mikeltadze | | | | | |
| Oita Trinita | Derlan | Matheus Pereira | Kim Hyun-woo | Mun Kyung-gun | | | |
| RB Omiya Ardija | Arthur Silva | Gabriel | Mauricio Caprini | Fabián González | Oriola Sunday | | |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Sílvio | Nick Marsman | Choi Hyung-chan | Kim Byeom-yong | | | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Ri Thae-ha | Bae Jeong-min | | | | | |
| Sagan Tosu | Cristiano | Jô | Vykintas Slivka | Yang Han-been | Arnau Riera | | |
| Tokushima Vortis | Elsinho | João Victor | Kaique | Lucas Barcellos | Thonny Anderson | Lawrence Izuchukwu | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Edigar Junio | Eduardo | Emerson Deocleciano | Marcos Guilherme | Matheus Jesus | Juanma | |
| Vegalta Sendai | Eron | Gustavo | Mateus Moraes | | | | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Eduardo Mancha | Matheus Leiria | Renato Augusto | Lee Min-ki | Taiga Son | | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | JEF United Chiba | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 15 | Promotion to the 2026–27 J1 League |
| 2 | RB Omiya Ardija | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 12 | Promotion to the 2026–27 J1 League |
| 3 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 11 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Kataller Toyama | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 10 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Júbilo Iwata | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 6 | FC Imabari | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 8 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 7 | Vegalta Sendai | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 | |
| 8 | Tokushima Vortis | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 8 | |
| 9 | Fujieda MYFC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 8 | |
| 10 | Montedio Yamagata | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 6 | |
| 11 | Mito HollyHock | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| 12 | Oita Trinita | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |
| 13 | Blaublitz Akita | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 6 | |
| 14 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | |
| 15 | Ventforet Kofu | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | |
| 16 | Sagan Tosu | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 | |
| 17 | Roasso Kumamoto | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 | |
| 18 | Iwaki FC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 | Relegation to the 2026–27 J3 League |
| 19 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 3 | Relegation to the 2026–27 J3 League |
| 20 | Ehime FC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 1 | Relegation to the 2026–27 J3 League |

## Season statistics

    As of 16 March 2025

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ren Komatsu | Blaublitz Akita | 6 |
| 2 | Kazushi Fujii | RB Omiya Ardija | 4 |
| 2 | Matheus Peixoto | Júbilo Iwata | 4 |
| 4 | Marcus Índio | FC Imabari | 3 |
| 4 | Akiyuki Yokoyama | JEF United Chiba | 3 |
| 4 | Daichi Ishikawa | JEF United Chiba | 3 |
| 7 | Shoma Doi | Montedio Yamagata | 2 |
| 7 | Yuta Goke | Vegalta Sendai | 2 |
| 7 | Junya Takahashi | Montedio Yamagata | 2 |
| 7 | Shintaro Kokubu | Montedio Yamagata | 2 |
| 7 | Hiroto Goya | JEF United Chiba | 2 |
| 7 | Naoki Tsubaki | JEF United Chiba | 2 |
| 7 | Yoshiki Torikai | Ventforet Kofu | 2 |
| 7 | Ken Masui | Júbilo Iwata | 2 |
| 7 | Ryosuke Hisadomi | JEF United Chiba | 2 |
| 7 | Rui Yokoyama | Renofa Yamaguchi | 2 |
| 7 | Toua Suenaga | Renofa Yamaguchi | 2 |
| 7 | João Victor | Tokushima Vortis | 2 |
| 7 | Wesley Tanque | FC Imabari | 2 |
| 7 | Asahi Masuyama | V-Varen Nagasaki | 2 |
| 7 | Matheus Jesus | V-Varen Nagasaki | 2 |
| 7 | Ryo Shiohama | Roasso Kumamoto | 2 |
| 7 | Masato Handai | Roasso Kumamoto | 2 |