The season is the 48th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 21st season since the establishment of J2 League.

Clubs

After eight seasons of good success,

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba 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 Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stad ...

had to say goodbye to the first division. The same happened to V-Varen Nagasaki, which came back to J2 after their debut season in the first tier. In their place, Matsumoto Yamaga and

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 city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Saiki, and the entire Ōi ...

left J2 after getting promoted, while

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, wit ...

lost the promotion/relegation play-off against Jubilo Iwata. Also another four teams changed category:

Roasso Kumamoto is a Japanese football club based in Kumamoto, the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture. The club currently plays in the J2 League, which is the second tier of football in the country. ''Roasso'' is a portmanteau of the Italian words ''rosso'' a ...

and

Kamatamare Sanuki Kamatamare Sanuki (カマタマーレ讃岐、Kamatamare Sanuki) is a football club based in Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. They entered the J League in 2014 after finishing as run ...

left J2, while their places will be taken by newly-arrived FC Ryukyu and Kagoshima United FC will play their first J2-season ever in their history. The participating clubs are listed in the following table:

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

Foreign players

The total number of foreign players is limitless, 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, Iran and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions. Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition.

League table

Positions by round

Promotion–Relegation Playoffs

In the first two rounds of the 2019 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2019 J1参入プレーオフ), if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the winner is the team with the best J2 League ranking. In the final match against the J1 team, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the J1 team wins.

1st round

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2nd round

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Final

---- Shonan Bellmare remains in J1 League.
Tokushima Vortis remains in J2 League.