The 2012

J.League Division 2 The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Y ...

season is 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 will finish on November 11, followed by the promotion playoffs among the 3rd to 6th placed clubs (see the

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French roo ...

became champions and returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2.

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuka ...

finished second and also won the automatic promotion along with Kofu, returning to the J1 after two years of absence.

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

finished sixth, but won the promotion playoffs by defeating 3rd-placed

Kyoto Sanga is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist temp ...

at the semifinal and 5th-placed

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

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 is a Japanese football club based in Machida, Tokyo. History Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest number of J. League players though its football scho ...

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:

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'' () 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 The Japan National Stadium, officially named and formerly known as or , is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for association football in Kasumigaokamachi, Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The facility served as the main stadium for ...

on 23 July. ;Tiebreakers :If the score is tied after 90 minutes, neither

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

nor

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

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 is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mit ...

Thespa Kusatsu is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in Japan. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most w ...

FC Gifu Football Club Gifu, abbreviated as is a Japanese football club based in Gifu, Japan. They play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional football. They also run a reserve team that play in the Tōkai Adult League Division 2. Hi ...

Gainare Tottori are a Japanese football club, based in Tottori, Tottori. They play in the J3 League. Their team colour is green. Their team name ''Gainare'' derives from the Tottori dialect word ''gaina'' meaning "great" and Italian ''sperare'' meaning "to hop ...

Ehime FC is a professional football club based in Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture of Japan. After winning the JFL championship in 2005, the club now plays in . History The club was founded in 1970 as Matsuyama Soccer Club and renamed ...

:* Giravanz Kitakyushu :*

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 The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

(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

Results

Top scorers

Updated to games played on 11 November 2012
Source
J. League
/small>

Attendances

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

---- ----

Final

---- Oita Trinita promoted to J.League Division 1.

References

{{2012 in Japanese football J2 League seasons 2

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...