or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league in Japan.
The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt made in
1992 (second division of the
old JFL), though it only lasted for two seasons. In 1999, following the establishment of
J2 League, a new
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 ...
was created to comprise the third tier and lower divisions. After the introduction of J3, the JFL was demoted to the fourth-tier nationwide league, for the first time in history of Japanese football.
The league is known as the for their title sponsor.
On 20 December 2022, J3 League change logo colour is blue for 2023 season prior to 10th anniversary of third tier professional league below J1 and J2 colour is red and green.
History of Japanese third-tier football
Amateur era (until 2013)
A national third tier of Japanese association football was first established along with its professionalization in 1992, when the newly created
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 ...
kicked off with two tiers below the professional
J. League
The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...
. Among the 10 original clubs of the third tier included the forerunners to
Kyoto Sanga FC
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 templ ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matc ...
(the latter two being located in different regions from their J. League successors). But after a number of clubs were lost for various reasons – some were promoted to J.League and the others folded – the league contracted the second division in 1994 and continued with the single second-tier division.
The third tier football was reintroduced in 1999 upon creation of fully professional J2. The old JFL was dissolved but a new
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 ...
was formed the same year in order to establish a nationwide top-tier amateur league. But despite its officially amateur status the league quickly became ''de facto''
semi-professional, serving as the cradle of the future J. League members. Since the establishment of
associate membership system in 2006 the number of professional clubs holding or actively seeking for this status has grown steadily and reached its peak in
2013 season when 6 full members and 2 former candidates made up to almost half of the league's 18 teams. Through the course of the season this number grew even bigger, to 10 full associate members that formed the core of J3.
Professionalization and establishment (2013)
Close to the end of
2012 football season Japanese media began to spread rumors about the upcoming professional third-tier league, referred to as either "J3" or "J.Challenge League". Most of the sources agreed that the new league will feature around 10–12 clubs, most of which will be associate members. The league would also provide more relaxed licensing criteria in comparison to J2 – e.g. the stadium seating capacity of just 3,000 with no mandatory floodlighting.
After the discussion on J1-J2 Joint Committee on 16 January 2013, all J.League clubs agreed in principle with an establishment of the new league starting 2014. This decision was formally put into force by J.League Council in a 26 February executive meeting.
The league was planned to launch with 10 teams, but another session of J.League Council in July decided that inaugural season of J3 will feature 12 teams.
To participate, a club must have held an associate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2013, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation licence issued by J.League Council.
On 19 November, J.League confirmed the following clubs to participate in the inaugural J3 season:
*
Gainare Tottori (relegated from
2013 J.League Division 2)
*
Blaublitz Akita (JFL)
*
Machida Zelvia (JFL)
*
SC Sagamihara
is a Japanese association football club based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture. They currently play in the third tier of Japanese football J3 League.
History
In 2011 they joined Division 2 of the Kanto Regional League after three years of con ...
(JFL)
*
Nagano Parceiro Nagano may refer to:
Places
* Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan
** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture
*** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics
*** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano
*** Nagano Univer ...
(JFL)
*
Zweigen Kanazawa
Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, ''Tsuēgen Kanazawa'') is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japan's 2nd tier of professional league football.
History
The club was form ...
(JFL)
*
YSCC Yokohama (JFL)
*
FC Ryukyu (JFL)
*
Fukushima United (JFL)
*
Fujieda MYFC
are a Japanese J2 League football club based in Fujieda, Shizuoka. It is funded by online subscribers and is the first of its kind in Japan.
The club spent two seasons in the Japan Football League before having their application accepted in 20 ...
(JFL)
*
Grulla Morioka
is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, wh ...
(Tōhoku League, 2013 Tōhoku League Champion and Regional Promotion Series Champion)
* J.League U-22 team, composed of the best J1 and J2 youngsters to prepare them for the
2016 Olympics
Future plans
The league has not provided a clear expansion timeline yet but it was most likely that J3 continued to accommodate new teams after its inaugural season. The following is a list of clubs that may get promoted to J.League in the near future:
*
Cobaltore Onagawa
is a football (soccer) club based in Onagawa, the main and only city forming the Oshika District, which is located in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. They play in the Tohoku Soccer League, which is part of Japanese Regional Leagues. The name Co ...
(
Tohoku Soccer League
is a Japanese football league covering the Tōhoku region, the 6 prefectures of Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. It is one of the nine Japanese Regional Leagues, the fifth and sixth league levels in the Japanese association ...
) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
Criacao Shinjuku (JFL) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
Kochi United SC (JFL) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status and J3 license holders
*
Nankatsu SC
are a Japanese football club based in Katsushika, Tokyo. They play in the Kantō Soccer League. As the club aims for a future qualification to the J.League, they currently hold the J.League 100 Year Plan status.
History
The club's origin date ...
(KSL Division 1) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
Okinawa SV
, commonly known as Okinawa SV (沖縄SV, ''Okinawa Esufau'') is a Japanese football club based in the cities of Tomigusuku and Uruma, which are located in Okinawa Prefecture. Okinawa plays from the 2023 season in the Japan Football League, Jap ...
(JFL) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
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 ...
(
JFL) –
J.League 100 Year Plan club status J.League 100 Year Plan club status, is a status given to Japanese non-league football clubs. The applicant must have an intention to become a professional club and to join the professional league, J.League, that governs the top three levels of the ...
and J3 license holders
*
Tochigi City (
KSL Division 1) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
Tokyo 23 FC
Tokyo 23 Football Club (東京23フットボールクラブ) is a Japanese football club based in the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Their motto is "Tokyo Pride" (Be Pride of the Tokyoites). The club now participates in the first division of Kanto ...
(KSL Division 1) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
*
Veertien Mie
Veertien Mie (ヴィアティン三重) is a Japanese football club based between Kuwana and Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League.
History
"Veertien" means "fourteen" in Dutch, after Johan Cruijff's playing numbe ...
(JFL) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status and J3 license holders
*
Verspah Oita (JFL) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status and J3 license holders
*
Vonds Ichihara (KSL Division 1) – J.League 100 Year Plan club status
Other teams have applied for J.League associate membership but were denied. Most of these clubs continue to aim for J3 as their ultimate goal.
*
MIO Biwako Shiga
is a Japanese football club based in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, although they also play matches in Ōtsu and Konan.
They were promoted to Japan Football League for the first time at the end of 2007, and played their first season in 2008 wher ...
(JFL)
Three teams, one withdrew its J3 license, another its J.League 100 Year Plan status, formerly associate membership, and the third was deprived of both:
*
Suzuka Point Getters
is a Japanese professional football club based in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. They play in the Japan Football League.
History
The club was originally established in Nabari, Mie in 1980 under the name Mie Club, and it became a member of Mie ...
(JFL)
*
Tokyo Musashino City FC
Tokyo Musashino United FC ( ja, 東京武蔵野ユナイテッドFC) is a football club based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. They play in the Japan Football League. Their team colour is blue and yellow.
History
The club was founded as a foo ...
(JFL)
*
Tonan Maebashi
Tonan Maebashi is a Japanese football club based in Maebashi city, Gunma Prefecture. They play in the 2nd division of the Kantō Soccer League
, abbreviated as KSL, is a Japanese football league covering the Kantō region, the prefectures o ...
(KSL Division 1)
Some sources claim that J3 was intended to reach up to 60 clubs in the future, being split into three regionalized divisions running in parallel.
Timetable
Crest
Image:J3 League Logo.gif,
File:J3 League (Horizontal).png,
File:2019 J3 League.svg,
2023 season
League format
For this season, the league is played in two rounds (home-and-away), each team playing a total of 38 matches.
Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Also, from the 2016 season, 5 foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from J.League's
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
partner country of or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3
substitutes will be allowed in a game.
Promotion and relegation
Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of
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 ...
in recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold or be granted a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. Since 2017, the champions and the runners-up have been promoted directly and replace the 21st- and 22nd-placed J2 clubs. If only the champion or runner-up holds or is given a J2 license, only the bottom club of J2 is relegated; if both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, then no teams will be promoted to or relegated from J2.
At a J.League board meeting in August 2021, 60 clubs (of which 20 are J3) were targeted for the entire league, and a possibility that J3 will have exceeded 20 clubs by the 2023 season was brought up. Mitsuru Murai, the J.League chairman, revealed that he was discussing how to adjust to 20 clubs. At this time, he was asked, "If there is a possibility of the
3league having 21 teams, is it okay to understand that there are teams that will fall from J3 to JFL?" While under consideration, he admitted that the J3 and JFL were considering the introduction of relegation to the latter league as early as after the 2022 season. Later in November, Murai announced that promotion from and relegation to the JFL had been planned after the 2023 season.
Participating clubs (2023)
*''Pink background indicates clubs most recently promoted from
JFL''
*''Gray background indicates the club most recently relegated from
J2''
*''"Year joined" is the year the club joined the J. League (J3 League unless otherwise indicated).''
*''"First season in D3," "Seasons in D3," and "Current spell in D3" include seasons in JFL''
Stadiums (2023)
Primary venues used in the J3 League:
Former clubs
*''Pink background indicates clubs most recently promoted to
J2''
*''"Year joined" is the year the club joined the J. League (J3 League unless otherwise indicated).''
*''"First season in D3," "Seasons in D3," and "Current spell in D3" include seasons in JFL''
Championship/Promotion History
* Bold designates the promoted club;
† Lost the J2–J3 playoffs;
‡ Won the J2–J3 playoffs and got promoted;
Most successful clubs
Clubs in bold compete in J3 as of
2023 season.
Relegation history
From 2023 or 2024, relegation from J3 to JFL will be introduced, after nine seasons of not featuring relegation.
Players and managers
Managers
*
List of J.League managers
This is a list of J. League managers. Some of these managers were appointed as caretaker managers prior to being given a permanent position.
Former managers
* - Shimizu S-Pulse (2018–19)
* - Shimizu S-Pulse (1996–98), Yokohama F. Marinos ...
Top scorers
See also
*
Sport in Japan
Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Both traditional sports such as sumo and martial arts, and Western imports like baseball, association football, basketball and tennis are popular with both participants and spectators.
S ...
**
Football in Japan
Association football, Football is among the most popular sports in Japan, together with baseball, basketball, sumo and martial arts. Its nationwide organization, the Japan Football Association, administers the professional football leagues, incl ...
***
Women's football in Japan
Women's football in Japan is one of the rising powers of women's football.
History
The first women's football team in Japan was formed in 1966.
In the first national female football tournament in 1980, women played 8-a-side football and on small ...
*
Japan Football Association (JFA)
;
Soccer/football
;
League system
A league system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in many sports in ...
*
Japanese association football league system
The Japanese association football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape similar to football league systems in many other countries around the world. The leagues are bound by the principle of promotion and relegation; however, there are s ...
*
J.League
**
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 ...
(Tier 1)
**
J2 League (Tier 2)
** J3 League (Tier 3)
*
Japan Football League (JFL) (Tier 4)
*
Regional Champions League (Promotion playoffs to JFL)
*
Regional Leagues
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
(Tier 5/6)
; Domestic cup
*
Fujifilm Super Cup (Super Cup)
*
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
(National Cup)
*
J.League YBC Levain Cup (League Cup)
;
Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...
*
F.League
**
F1 League (Tier 1)
**
F2 League (Tier 2)
*
JFA Futsal Championship (National Cup)
*
F.League Ocean Cup (League Cup)
;
Beach soccer
*
Beach Soccer Championship (National Cup)
References
External links
Official website JLeague.jp
Official YouTube channel
{{Football in Japan
3
3
Summer association football leagues
Sports leagues established in 2013
2013 establishments in Japan
Third level football leagues in Asia
Professional sports leagues in Japan