# 2020 J2 League

The 2020 J2 League, also known as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league started on 21 February 2020. For this season, the league was planned to have a season break to avoid a clash with 2020 Summer Olympics due to be starting from June to August, as the Olympics were postponed by a year.

## Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On 25 February, all J.League matches until March 15 were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until 29 March. On 19 March, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season. On 25 March, a further announcement declared that the league would be suspended from 3 April to 6 May.
On 3 April, a decision to start over the official game schedule, which aimed to gradually resume J3 from 25 April, J2 from 2 May, and J1 from 9 May. Note that, considering a new schedule in the future, but it would resume it at least one month later and later in the month.
On 29 May, the J.League announced a resumption of matches on 27 June. On 9 June, the league issued a further announcement about the schedule of the 2020 season. On 15 June, a new announcement about the New dates was published. The first 2 rounds of matches in each league (J2 2nd-3rd series) were held without spectators. After 10 July, as a rule, the maximum number of people was 5,000 (stadiums with lower capacity were those with less than 50% of the capacity of people, and forbade away supporters). After August, the maximum stadium capacity was 50%, and it would be a “high alert spectator match”.
After the 11th J.League extraordinary executive committee on 20 July, it was announced that the "super strict alert audience game" would be extended to 10 August in view of the spread of coronavirus infection.

## Clubs

After spending only one season in J2, Kashiwa Reysol were crowned champions and were promoted to 2020 J1 League along with the runners-up Yokohama FC. The 2019 J3 League champions Giravanz Kitakyushu and runners-up Thespakusatsu Gunma entered the league as the promoted teams, replacing Kagoshima United and FC Gifu who were relegated to 2020 J3 League. Those teams that qualified for promotion playoffs in 2019 were unable to defeat their opponent and thus remained in the 2020 season.
Giravanz Kitakyushu returned to J2 after spending three seasons in J3, while Thespakusatsu Gunma return after spending two seasons.
Meanwhile, Matsumoto Yamaga and Júbilo Iwata joined the 2020 J2 League as relegated teams from 2019 J1 League having placed 17th and 18th respectively.
| Club Name | Home Town | Stadium | Capacity | Last season | licence |
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seiro, Niigata | Denka Big Swan Stadium | 42,300 | J2 (10th) | J1 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka City, Fukuoka | Level5 Stadium | 22,563 | J2 (16th) | J1 |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | Ningineer Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (19th) | J1 |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | City Light Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (9th) | J1 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu | 15,066 | Promoted from J3 (champions) | J1 |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | Fukuda Denshi Arena | 18,500 | J2 (17th) | J1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | Relegated from J1 (18th) | J1 |
| Kyoto Sanga | Cities/towns in Kyoto | Sanga Stadium by Kyocera | 21,600 | J2 (8th) | J1 |
| Machida Zelvia | Machida, Tokyo | Machida Athletic Stadium | 10,600 | J2 (18th) | J1 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Cities/towns in Nagano | Sunpro Alwin | 20,396 | Relegated from J1 (17th) | J1 |
| Mito HollyHock | Cities/towns in Ibaraki | K's denki Stadium Mito | 12,000 | J2 (7th) | J2 |
| Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata | ND Soft Stadium | 20,315 | J2 (6th) | J1 |
| Omiya Ardija | Saitama, Saitama | NACK5 Stadium Omiya | 15,500 | J2 (3rd) | J1 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | All cities/towns in Yamaguchi | Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (15th) | J1 |
| FC Ryukyu | All cities/towns in Okinawa | Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium | 25,000 | J2 (14th) | J1 |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Tochigi Green Stadium | 18,025 | J2 (20th) | J1 |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | All cities/towns in Gunma | Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma | 15,253 | Promoted from J3 (2nd） | J1 |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | Pocarisweat Stadium | 20,441 | J2 (4th) | J1 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture | Nagasaki Athletic Stadium | 20,246 | J2 (12th) | J1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture | Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium | 17,000 | J2 (5th) | J1 |
| Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | J2 (13th) | J1 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | All cities/towns in Ishikawa | Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (11th) | J1 |
* ↑ centering on Matsuyama
* ↑ centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
* ↑ Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyotanabe, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba, Fukuchiyama, Maizuru, Ayabe
* ↑ Matsumoto, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Omachi, Ikeda, Ikusaka, Minowa, Asahi
* ↑ Mito, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Tokai
* ↑ centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
* ↑ centering on Okinawa
* ↑ centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
* ↑ centering on Tokushima, Naruto, Mima, Matsushige, Itano, Aizumi, Kitajima
* ↑ centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
* ↑ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
* ↑ centering on Kanazawa, Nonoichi, Kahoku, Tsubata, Tsubata

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Kit manufacturer |
| Albirex Niigata | Albert Puig | Adidas |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Shigetoshi Hasebe | YONEX |
| Ehime FC | Kenta Kawai | Mizuno |
| Fagiano Okayama | Kenji Arima | Penalty |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Shinji Kobayashi | Penalty |
| JEF United Chiba | Yoon Jong-hwan | Kappa |
| Júbilo Iwata | Fernando Jubero | Puma |
| Kyoto Sanga | Noritada Saneyoshi | Puma |
| Machida Zelvia | Ranko Popović | SVOLME |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Keiichiro Nuno | Adidas |
| Mito HollyHock | Tadahiro Akiba | GAViC |
| Montedio Yamagata | Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Penalty |
| Omiya Ardija | Takuya Takagi | Under Armour |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Masahiro Shimoda | Finta |
| FC Ryukyu | Yasuhiro Higuchi | sfida |
| Tochigi SC | Kazuaki Tasaka | ATHLETA |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | Ryosuke Okuno | Kelme |
| Tokushima Vortis | Ricardo Rodríguez | Mizuno |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Makoto Teguramori | Umbro |
| Ventforet Kofu | Akira Ito | Mizuno |
| Tokyo Verdy | Hideki Nagai | ATHLETA |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Masaaki Yanagishita | Adidas |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Keiichiro Nuno | Dismissal | 25 September 2020 | Kei Shibata | 25 September 2020 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Fernando Jubero | Dismissal | 1 October 2020 | Masakazu Suzuki | 2 October 2020 |

## Foreign players

As of 2020 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 mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Former players |
| Montedio Yamagata | Vinícius Araújo | Min Seong-jun | | | | | | |
| Mito HollyHock | Halef Pitbull | | | | | | | |
| Tochigi SC | Woo Sang-ho | | | | | | | Han Yong-thae |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | | | | | | | | |
| Omiya Ardija | Nermin Haskić | Vitālijs Maksimenko | Filip Kljajić | Ippei Shinozuka | Ibba Laajab | | | |
| JEF United Chiba | Alan Pinheiro | Kléber | Jang Min-gyu | Jason Geria | Hebert | | | |
| Tokyo Verdy | Leandro | Klebinho | Matheus Vidotto | | | | | |
| Machida Zelvia | Alen Mašović | Ri Han-jae | Dorian Babunski | Jeong Chung-geun | Stefan Šćepović | Erick Noriega | | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Dudu | | Rafael Marques | | | | | |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Augusto César | Serginho | Alvaro | Jael | Han Yong-thae | | | |
| Albirex Niigata | Jong Tae-se | Silvinho | Gonzalo González | Pedro Manzi | Mauro dos Santos | | | Fábio |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | Rodolfo | Lucão | | | | | | |
| Jubilo Iwata | Lulinha | Lukian | Juan Forlín | Fozil Musaev | | | | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Renan Mota | Juninho | Jordy Buijs | Peter Utaka | | | | |
| Fagiano Okayama | Paulinho | Léo Mineiro | Lee Yong-jae | Yu Yong-hyeon | Lee Kyeong-tae | Choi Jung-won | Hadi Fayyadh | |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | Renan | Henik | Iury | Sandro | | | | |
| Tokushima Vortis | Diego | Dušan Cvetinović | | | | | | |
| Ehime FC | Sisi | | | | | | | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Douglas Grolli | Jon Ander Serantes | Carlos Gutiérrez | Juanma | Emil Salomonsson | | | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | | | | | | | | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | Caio César | Freire | Luan | Víctor Ibarbo | Edigar Junio | | | |
| FC Ryukyu | Felipe Tavares | Danny Carvajal | Lee Ji-seong | Ri Yong-jik | Cao Văn Triền | Trần Danh Trung | | |

## League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues, such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the 2021 J1 League, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the 2021 J2 League (subject to licensing regulations). It was also announced that the J1/J2 play-offs would not be held.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tokushima Vortis (C, P) | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 84 | Promotion to 2021 J1 League 2020 Emperor's Cup quarter-finals |
| 2 | Avispa Fukuoka (P) | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 84 | Promotion to 2021 J1 League |
| 3 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 66 | 39 | +27 | 80 | |
| 4 | Ventforet Kofu | 42 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 50 | 41 | +9 | 65 | |
| 5 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 65 | |
| 6 | Júbilo Iwata | 42 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 58 | 47 | +11 | 63 | |
| 7 | Montedio Yamagata | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 59 | 42 | +17 | 62 | |
| 8 | Kyoto Sanga | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 59 | |
| 9 | Mito HollyHock | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 68 | 62 | +6 | 58 | |
| 10 | Tochigi SC | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 58 | |
| 11 | Albirex Niigata | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 57 | |
| 12 | Tokyo Verdy | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 54 | |
| 13 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 52 | −8 | 54 | |
| 14 | JEF United Chiba | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 53 | |
| 15 | Omiya Ardija | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 53 | |
| 16 | FC Ryukyu | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 50 | |
| 17 | Fagiano Okayama | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 39 | 49 | −10 | 50 | |
| 18 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 57 | 67 | −10 | 49 | |
| 19 | Machida Zelvia | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 49 | |
| 20 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 42 | 15 | 4 | 23 | 40 | 62 | −22 | 49 | |
| 21 | Ehime FC | 42 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 38 | 68 | −30 | 34 | |
| 22 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 42 | 9 | 6 | 27 | 43 | 74 | −31 | 33 | |

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 19 | 33 | 42 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 9 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 12 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Albirex Niigata | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | 18 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Montedio Yamagata | 20 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 7 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 17 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 3 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| Tochigi SC | 15 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 22 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Zweigen Kanazawa | 16 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 18 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 7 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 17 |
| Mito HollyHock | 13 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
| Machida Zelvia | 11 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 19 |
| JEF United Chiba | 6 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
| Omiya Ardija | 4 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 15 |
| FC Ryukyu | 19 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 5 | 7 | 18 | 19 | 13 |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| Ehime FC | 14 | 11 | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi | 8 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
* Leader and qualification for 2021 J1 League
* Runner-up and qualification for 2021 J1 League

## Top scorers

Source:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Peter Utaka | Kyoto Sanga | 22 |
| 2 | Akira Silvano Disaro | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 18 |
| 3 | Yuki Kakita | Tokushima Vortis | 17 |
| 4 | Kazuma Yamaguchi | Mito HollyHock | 15 |
| 5 | Vinícius Araújo | Montedio Yamagata | 14 |
| 6 | Masato Nakayama | Mito HollyHock | 13 |
| 6 | Takuma Abe | FC Ryukyu | 13 |
| 6 | Mutsuki Kato | Zweigen Kanazawa | 13 |
| 9 | Kazuma Takai | Renofa Yamaguchi | 11 |
| 9 | Daiya Tono | Avispa Fukuoka | 11 |
| 11 | Dudu | Ventforet Kofu | 10 |
| 11 | Lukian | Júbilo Iwata | 10 |
| 11 | Lucão | Zweigen Kanazawa | 10 |
| 11 | Koya Kazama | FC Ryukyu | 10 |

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata | 65,355 | 8,369 | 0 | 4,668 | −68.5%$^†$ |
| 2 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 44,568 | 9,436 | 0 | 3,714 | −52.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | Jubilo Iwata | 44,998 | 14,526 | 0 | 3,214 | −79.0%$^†$ |
| 4 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 41,283 | 13,574 | 0 | 3,176 | −47.5%$^‡$ |
| 5 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 37,101 | 4,877 | 0 | 3,092 | −82.2%$^†$ |
| 6 | Kyoto Sanga | 32,164 | 4,133 | 0 | 2,924 | −62.8%$^†$ |
| 7 | Fagiano Okayama | 42,816 | 12,434 | 0 | 2,854 | −69.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Montedio Yamagata | 35,186 | 5,435 | 0 | 2,707 | −67.3%$^†$ |
| 9 | Tokushima Vortis | 34,308 | 9,033 | 0 | 2,639 | −54.0%$^†$ |
| 10 | JEF United Chiba | 33,936 | 9,701 | 0 | 2,610 | −73.1%$^†$ |
| 11 | Avispa Fukuoka | 32,771 | 9,006 | 0 | 2,521 | −63.9%$^†$ |
| 12 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 23,707 | 8,424 | 0 | 1,976 | −64.9%$^†$ |
| 13 | Mito HollyHock | 25,670 | 7,029 | 0 | 1,975 | −67.6%$^†$ |
| 14 | Tokyo Verdy | 23,512 | 4,161 | 0 | 1,959 | −63.5%$^†$ |
| 15 | Omiya Ardija | 25,049 | 3,029 | 0 | 1,927 | −79.7%$^†$ |
| 16 | Ventforet Kofu | 25,345 | 2,390 | 0 | 1,810 | −78.1%$^†$ |
| 17 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 22,216 | 11,038 | 0 | 1,709 | −52.4%$^‡$ |
| 18 | Tochigi SC | 21,543 | 2,701 | 0 | 1,657 | −67.8%$^†$ |
| 19 | Ehime FC | 22,084 | 5,681 | 0 | 1,577 | −58.3%$^†$ |
| 20 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 19,625 | 2,764 | 0 | 1,510 | −71.0%$^†$ |
| 21 | Machida Zelvia | 17,241 | 6,421 | 0 | 1,232 | −73.9%$^†$ |
| 22 | FC Ryukyu | 7,625 | 1,464 | 0 | 635 | −87.2%$^†$ |
| | League total | 678,103 | 14,526 | 0 | 2,371 | −67.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 14 October 2020 Source: J. League Data Notes: $^†$ Last year in J1 League $^‡$ Last year in J3 League。