The 2016 Meiji Yasuda

J2 League 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 Yas ...

(2016 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season is the 45th season of second-tier club football in Japan and the 18th season since the establishment of J2 League.

Clubs

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 ...

have stayed in the second division for just a year, winning promotion as the champions.

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 ...

have spent only 2 seasons in J2 after their first relegation from the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

in 2013 after 20 seasons. Third-placed

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 ...

won the promotion playoffs and will return to the first division after playing in the J2 for four years. Matsumoto Yamaga were relegated from the J1 immediately after their inaugural promotion.

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 ...

also suffered their first relegation to the J2 after 23 seasons in the J1, while

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 ...

returned after one season. On the other end of the table,

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 ...

have been promoted from the

2015 J3 League The 2015 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (2015 明治安田生命J3リーグ) was the 19th season of the third tier in Japanese football, and the 2nd season of the professional J3 League. Clubs To participate, a club must have held an associate members ...

as the champions of the second season of the J3 League, replacing

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-ex ...

and becoming the first club based in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

to play in the second tier since

Eidai SC Eidai Soccer Club was a Japanese football club based in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The club has played in Japan Soccer League (Japanese former top division). History The club was formed following the collapse of the original Nagoya Mutual Bank club. ...

back in 1973. J3 runners-up Machida Zelvia were also promoted by beating

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, ...

in the promotion-relegation playoffs. The participating clubs are listed in the following table:

Managerial changes

Foreign players

League table

Play-offs

J1 Promotion Playoffs

2016 J.League Road To J1 Play-Offs (2016 J1昇格プレーオフ)

Semifinals

---- ----

Final

---- Cerezo Osaka was promoted to J1 League.

J3 Relegation Playoffs

2016 J2/J3 Play-Offs (2016 J2・J3入れ替え戦)
---- ---- Zweigen Kanazawa remains in J2 League.
Tochigi SC remains in J3 League.

Positions by round

Last updated: 20 November 2016
Source
J. League Data Site
br /> Note 1: Two games for Matchday 8 (V. Varen Nagasaki vs. Mito HollyHock; Kyoto Sanga FC vs. Roasso Kumamoto) scheduled on 17 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture. * Matchday 8 game between Kyoto Sanga FC and Roasso Kumamoto was rescheduled on 29 June 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 21 ranking. * Matchday 8 game between V. Varen Nagasaki and Mito HollyHock was rescheduled on 7 September 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 31 ranking. Note 2: Matchday 8 schedule for Zweigen Kanazawa vs. Ehime FC, scheduled on 17 April 2016, was postponed due to severe storms in the area. The match was rescheduled on May 18 and results were included on Matchday 14 Ranking.
Note 3: Fixtures of Roasso Kumamoto for Matchdays 9 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Yokohama FC), 10 (Montedio Yamagata vs. Roasso Kumamoto), 11 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Ehime FC) and 12 (Consadole Sapporo vs. Roasso Kumamoto) were postponed by the J. League due to series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture. * Matchday 9 game between Roasso Kumamoto and Yokohama FC was rescheduled on 7 September 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 31 ranking. * Matchday 10 game between Montedio Yamagata and Roasso Kumamoto was rescheduled on 6 July 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 22 ranking. * Matchday 11 game between Roasso Kumamoto and Ehime FC was rescheduled on 31 August 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 31 ranking. * Matchday 12 game between Consadole Sapporo and Roasso Kumamoto was rescheduled on 25 August 2016. Result of this match were included on Matchday 31 ranking.

Results

Top scorers

Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source
J.League Data

Attendances

References

{{Japanese Club Football, group=second 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 ...