Japanese football in 2015.

J1 League

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

won the Clausura title, accumulating the most points in the overall table and thus getting a bye to the Championship final, where they met third-place

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

, who had defeated Apertura champions

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

in the semifinal. Hiroshima won the two-legged final for their eighth overall Japanese title, regaining the record position they had set in 1970 and which they had held until the old

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

folded.

Shimizu S-Pulse is a professional Japanese football club. Located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, S-Pulse currently competes in the J2 League (J2). The club was formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (''"Original Ten"''), which began ...

was relegated to the second tier for the first time, after being one of the co-founders of the J. League back in 1993 (a placement that was deemed questionable in many quarters due to their lack of JSL record). Following after cameo appearances were

Montedio Yamagata is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in T ...

, in their fourth season, and

Matsumoto Yamaga or Simply Matsumoto Yamaga FC (松本山雅, ''Matsumoto Yamaga Efu Shī'') is the Japanese football (soccer) club based in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. The club currently play in the J3 League after relegation from J2 League at the end of the ...

, who was debuting in the top flight only four years after being promoted from what was the third tier at the time, the

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 ...

J2 League

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

won the title and returned to the top flight at the first attempt.

Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

followed after two years of second-tier football. In the playoffs,

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club, currently competing in the J1 League. The team is located in Hakata, Fukuoka. "Avispa" means "wasp" in Spanish. They were originally called Fujieda Blux and based in Fujieda, Shizuoka before moving t ...

survived the final against fourth-placed

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

with a draw and was promoted, putting an end to four years of second-tier wilderness. At the bottom,

Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are a football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League. History Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called self-exp ...

were relegated after 6 years in the second division, while

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, ...

had the most shocking downfall, being a former

J. League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or ...

winner and having played first-tier football only two seasons before, and losing a test-match series to

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 ...

J3 League

Only one season after being promoted from the fourth-tier JFL,

Renofa Yamaguchi is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Yamaguchi (city), Yamaguchi, the capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, the second tier of professional football in Japanese association foot ...

won the third tier at the first attempt.

settled for second place but won the test match series easily against a crestfallen

. There was no relegation from this division, but the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

folded the U-22 team.

Japan Football League

Vanraure Hachinohe is a football club based in Hachinohe, a city in the southeastern part of Aomori Prefecture in Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. The name Vanraure comes from the combination of two Italian words: ''derivante'', meaning "origin"; an ...

won the Apertura title and an entry to the

2015 Emperor's Cup The was the regular edition of the annual Japanese national cup tournament, which was held from 29 August 2015 to its final on 1 January 2016.(in Japanese) Japan Football Association, 13 November 2014 The winners, Gamba Osaka, qualified to the g ...

but fell in the Clausura stage to eventual winner Sony Sendai as well as to Kagoshima United, who won fourth-place overall, good enough for promotion to the

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

. There was no relegation, but

SP Kyoto FC was a Japanese football club based in Muko, Kyoto, Japan. They played for the last time in Japan Football League for 2015 season. History The club was founded in 1986 and started to compete in the Kyoto Prefecture Division 4. They were promote ...

withdrew after the season. They will be replaced by Regional Promotion Series finalists

ReinMeer Aomori is a Japanese football club based in Aomori, the capital city of Aomori Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League. Their team colour is blue. History Founded in 1995, ReinMeer Aomori was managed by Aomori City Football Association p ...

and

Briobecca Urayasu are a Japanese football (soccer) club based in Urayasu, Chiba. They will play from the 2023 season at the Japan Football League, coming back to the league after being relegated from it in 2017. It will be their second time playing at Japan's 4 ...

J1 League

J2 League

J3 League

Japan Football League

National team (Men)

Results

Players statistics

National team (Women)

Results

Players statistics

References

External links