If teams ineligible for promotion finished above sixth, they will not be allowed to participate in the playoffs. Several reasons led the committee to this decision: The committee also reintroduced Associate Membership System in the 2006 season. More statistics tables can be accessed from the 'Statistics' dropdown list on the league navigation menu. Until the 2014 season it was named the J.League Division 2. Since 1999, a total of sixteen clubs from JFL (later J3) have been promoted to J2, two of which were expanded into J1. The winners of the two matches meet at the home side of the higher placed team, or potentially at a neutral venue (likely. [5] If the J2 playoff winner prevails, the club is promoted, with the J1 club being relegated, otherwise the J1 club can retain its position in J1 with the promotion failure of the J2 club. The third tier is now represented by the J3 League. In fact, clubs like Mito HollyHock only draw an average of 3,000 fans a game and receive minimal sponsorship, yet still field fairly competitive teams in J2. In the next few seasons, the maximum number of clubs that could be promoted to J2 was decided by taking the difference of twenty-two minus the number of clubs in J2. Starting in 2013, a club licensing system was implemented. Division two expanded to 22 clubs from 20; regular promotion and relegation is in place. The team that wins this series will face the 16th J1 team for an entry in the next J1 season. To accommodate the ongoing expansion process, a triple round-robin format was implemented during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Second-tier club football has existed in Japan since 1972; however, it was only professionalized during the 1999 season with ten clubs. In essence, these two clubs could and should have joined the league in the inaugural year with the original ten clubs, and it was inevitable that they were eventually accepted by the league. A national second tier of Japanese association football was first established in 1972, when the Japan Soccer League formed a Second Division. [3] If one or both J3 contenders do not possess J2 licenses, they are not allowed to be promoted, and the relegation spots for J2 sides are reduced accordingly. The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL and one club from J.League to create a two-division system, both being the professional leagues. Twenty-two clubs play in double round-robin format, a total of 42 games each. In 1992, following the formation of the J.League, the JSL Second Division was renamed the (former) Japan Football League. Even though Kofu and Oita were later relegated back to Division 2, they are well-established association football clubs, managing to average 10,000 fans per game. Two Japan Football League clubs, Mito HollyHock and Yokohama FC joined the J2 League in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. This allowed the committee to identify interested non-league clubs and provide necessary resources to them. [citation needed] Note that in order to participate in the playoffs a club must possess a J1 license; if one or more clubs fail to do so, they will not be allowed in the playoffs and they will not be replaced by other clubs. From 2007, the league requires J.League Associate Membership and at least a fourth-place finish in JFL (J3 from 2013) to be promoted to J2. The third-tier league, J3 League, was established in 2014, targeting teams having ambitions to reach the J.League. From the 2009 season to the 2011 season, the 3rd place club was promoted by default. Prior to 1977, the way for clubs to gain access to the Second Division was by making the finals of the All Japan Senior Football Championship and then playing off in their own Promotion/Relegation series against the second tier's bottom clubs. The league was divided into two hierarchical, unequal divisions of 10 clubs each. The top flight became the J.League Division 1 (J1) with 16 clubs while J.League Division 2 (J2) was launched with ten clubs in 1999. On the other hand, Yokohama FC was formed by the fans of Yokohama Flügels, who went defunct after the merger with Yokohama F. Marinos on 1 January 1999. In 1994, the JFL was again reunified into a single division. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added. The structure of J2 is likely to remain stable. The second-tier (former) Japan Football League became the third-tier Japan Football League at that time. Twenty-two clubs is the perfect number for the J2 league, as it allows enough home games for annual revenue, while keeping the competition a fair double-round-robin format. Source: Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2017. Starting this season, there are two promotions from and two relegations to J3. J1 League; J2 League. Since the inception of the second division in 1999, promotion and relegation follow a pattern similar to European leagues, where the two bottom clubs of J1 and the top two clubs of J2 are guaranteed to move. Currently, there are two relegations from J2 to J3. The team third in the standings will face the sixth place team, and the fourth place team will face the fifth, as in the European leagues; however, unlike these leagues, the round will be only one match, at the home side of the higher placed team. In other words, the league had a choice between letting the non-league clubs achieve the J2 standard, or forming a third division with non-league clubs, where these clubs can prepare for J2. The Japanese J2 League is contested each year by 22 teams, and is the 2nd tier of Japanese football system. A national second tier of Japanese association football was first established in 1972, when the Japan Soccer League formed a Second Division. In light of this, league management formed a committee and looked at two practical options for further expansion – either expand the second division or form a third division. From the league's perspective, the J.League 'Hundred Year Vision' from the late '90s has been moving in a positive direction. In all matches, in case of a draw after regulation time, the team that ended the season with the higher placement in the league table will be considered the winner, so there will be no extra time and/or penalty shootout. In the first three seasons (1999–2001), games were played with extra time for regular league matches if there was no winner at end of the regulation. Starting after the 2009 season, the top three J2 clubs received J1 promotion by default, replacing three relegated bottom J1 clubs. 明治安田生命J2リーグ ... [Feature]Let's go see the J.League! When the league reached 22 clubs, two new regulations were introduced. The 2017 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (2017 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season was the 46th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 19th season since the establishment of J2 League. The requ… The J2 League (Japanese: J2リーグ, Hepburn: J2 Rīgu) or simply J2 is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ, Nihon Puro Sakkā Rīgu) and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. In 1985, the Second Division increased to 12 clubs and in 1986, the number reached 16. Clubs in bold compete in J2 as of the 2019 season. * Bold designates relegated clubs† Won the playoff against JFL or J3 team‡ Lost the playoff series to JFL or J3 team and was relegated, For a history of Japanese club football before the inception of the professional league in 1993, see, Phases of Japanese second-tier association football, Introduction of double round-robin (2010–2011), End of expansion and J2 Playoffs (2012–present), Japanese association football league system, List of winners of J2 League and predecessors, "Japan's J-League officially admits Matsumoto Yamaga and Machida Zelvia into 2012 season", (former) Japan Football League Division 1, (former) Japan Football League Division 2, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J2_League&oldid=976986334, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The number increased to 20 in 2011 and to 22 in 2012, where it has remained since then. The membership was exclusively given to non-league clubs that had intentions of joining the J.League, while meeting most of the criteria for J2 promotion.