The 2024 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. It was the tenth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 2.
Overview For the first time since 2011, the number of the clubs in the league decreased from 22 to 20.
This season, there were three automatic relegation spots to the J3 League (one more than the 2023 season) and two clubs gained automatic promotion to the J1 League. Like the previous season, the winner of the J2 promotion play-off were promoted to the top tier.
Schedule The league and match format was announced on 19 December 2023. The league began on 23 February and ended on 10 November in a round-robin format of 38 matches.
The J1 promotion play-off semi-finals took place on 1 December with the final taking place on 7 December.
Changes from the previous season Zweigen Kanazawa and Omiya Ardija were relegated to the 2024 J3 League, finishing the previous J2 League season as 21st and 22nd-placed teams, respectively.
Yokohama FC were the sole team to be relegated from the J1 League, after only one season in the top flight.
Both Machida Zelvia and Júbilo Iwata are promoted to the J1 League as champions and runners-up, respectively, of the previous J2 League season. Tokyo-based Machida will make their debut in the top flight of Japanese football, while Júbilo will make their immediate comeback to the J1. Joining the duo are Tokyo Verdy, who finished 3rd in 2023 and earned promotion after winning the promotion play-offs, thus making their first top flight appearance since 2008.
J3 winners Ehime FC and runners-up Kagoshima United were both promoted from the J3 League. Ehime are returning to the second-tier following two seasons in the J3 League and Kagoshima United will be playing only their second J2 season after five years absence.
From this season, Thespakusatsu Gunma changed their name to Thespa Gunma.
Clubs
Club nameHometownStadiumCapacityPrevious season rankLicenseBlaublitz AkitaAkitaSoyu Stadium18,560J2 (13th)J1Ehime FCAll cities/towns in EhimeNingineer Stadium20,919 J3 (1st)J1Fagiano OkayamaAll cities/towns in OkayamaCity Light Stadium15,479J2 (10th)J1Fujieda MYFCCities/towns in Shizuoka PrefectureFujieda Soccer Stadium10,057J2 (12th)J1Iwaki FCIwaki and Futaba District, FukushimaHawaiians Stadium Iwaki5,066J2 (18th)J1JEF United ChibaChiba & Ichihara, ChibaFukuda Denshi Arena19,470J2 (6th)J1Kagoshima UnitedKagoshimaShiranami Stadium12,606 J3 (2nd)J1Mito HollyHockAll cities/towns in central and northern IbarakiK's denki Stadium Mito10,152J2 (17th)J1Montedio YamagataAll cities/towns in YamagataND Soft Stadium20,638J2 (5th)J1Oita TrinitaŌita PrefectureShowa Denko Dome Oita31,997J2 (9th)J1Renofa YamaguchiAll cities/towns in YamaguchiIshin Me-Life Stadium15,115J2 (20th)J1Roasso KumamotoKumamoto, KumamotoEgao Kenko Stadium30,275J2 (14th)J1Shimizu S-PulseShizuokaIAI Stadium Nihondaira19,594J2 (4th)J1Thespa GunmaAll cities/towns in GunmaShoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma15,253J2 (11th)J1Tochigi SCUtsunomiya, TochigiKanseki Stadium Tochigi25,244J2 (19th)J1Tokushima VortisTokushima PrefecturePocarisweat Stadium17,924J2 (15th)J1V-Varen NagasakiAll cities/towns in Nagasaki PrefectureNagasaki Athletic Stadium20,027J2 (7th)J1Vegalta SendaiMiyagi PrefectureYurtec Stadium Sendai19,526J2 (16th)J1Ventforet KofuAll cities/towns in Yamanashi PrefectureJIT Recycle Ink Stadium15,853J2 (8th)J1Yokohama FCKanagawa PrefectureMitsuzawa Stadium15,442 J1 (18th)J1
Personnel and kits Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturerMain shirt sponsorBlaublitz Akita Ken Yoshida Hiroto Morooka AthletaTDKEhime FC Kiyotaka Ishimaru Kenta Tokushige JogarbolaNingineer NetworkFagiano Okayama Takashi Kiyama Ryo Takeuchi PenaltyGROPFujieda MYFC Daisuke Sudo Masahiko Sugita Gol.Seikan Kensa CenterIwaki FC Yuzo Tamura Kengo Tanaka Under ArmourBHCJEF United Chiba Yoshiyuki Kobayashi Daisuke Suzuki HummelFuji ElectricKagoshima United Tetsuya Asano Yuji Kimura AnguaSatsuma ShimabijinMito HollyHock Naoki Mori Koichi Murata soccer junkyK's HoldingsMontedio Yamagata Susumu Watanabe Shuto Minami PenaltyABeamOita Trinita Tomohiro Katanosaka Arata Watanabe PumaDaihatsu KyushuRenofa Yamaguchi Ryo Shigaki Kota Kawano FintauprRoasso Kumamoto Takeshi Oki Rei Hirakawa PumaHirataShimizu S-Pulse Tadahiro Akiba Yoshinori Suzuki PumaSuzuyoThespa Gunma Akira Muto Hajime Hosogai KelmeCainzTochigi SC Shinji Kobayashi Sho Sato AthletaTKCTokushima Vortis Kosaku Masuda Yoichiro Kakitani MizunoOtsuka Pharmaceutical(Pocari Sweat)V-Varen Nagasaki Takahiro Shimotaira Hiroki Akino MacronJapanetVegalta Sendai Yoshiro Moriyama Yasushi Endo AdidasIris OhyamaVentforet Kofu Shinji Otsuka Masahiro Sekiguchi MizunoHakubakuYokohama FC Shuhei Yomoda Gabriel Puma Onodera Group
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date ofappointmentTochigi SC Yu TokisakiResigned6 November 2023Pre-season Makoto Tanaka5 December 2023Oita Trinita Takahiro Shimotaira10 November 2023 Tomohiro Katanosaka30 November 2023Vegalta Sendai Takafumi Hori13 November 2023 Yoshiro Moriyama27 November 2023Renofa Yamaguchi Juan Esnáider13 November 2023 Ryo Shigaki5 December 2023V-Varen Nagasaki Fábio CarilleContract terminated15 February 2024 Takahiro Shimotaira15 February 2024Tokushima Vortis Tatsuma YoshidaSacked31 March 202420th Kosaku Masuda7 May 2024 Mito HollyHock Yoshimi Hamasaki4 May 202419th Naoki Mori9 May 2024Thespa Gunma Tsuyoshi Otsuki6 May 202420th Akira Muto8 May 2024Tochigi SC Makoto Tanaka14 May 202419th Shinji Kobayashi15 May 2024Kagoshima United Yasuaki Oshima27 May 202418th Tetsuya Asano29 May 2024Ventforet Kofu Yoshiyuki Shinoda2 July 202414th Shinji Otsuka2 July 2024
Foreign players As of the 2023 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, 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, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the midseason transfer window. Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, or is exempt from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from school in the country.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Former players Blaublitz Akita Ehime FC Ben Duncan Bak Keon-woo Kang Sung-chan Yu Ye-chan Fagiano Okayama Gleyson Lucão Svend Brodersen Gabriel Xavier Fujieda MYFC Anderson Chaves Carlinhos Wendel Iwaki FC Hyun Woo-bin Joo Hyun-jin Park Jun-yeong JEF United Chiba Dudu Dudu Pacheco Mendes Kagoshima United Ono Cholhwan Mito HollyHock Montedio Yamagata Oita Trinita Derlan Matheus Pereira Samuel Kim Hyun-woo Mun Kyung-gun Renofa Yamaguchi Renan Sílvio Choi Hyung-chan Kim Byeom-yong Sarach Yooyen Roasso Kumamoto Bae Jeong-min Shimizu S-Pulse Carlinhos Júnior Douglas Tanque Lucas Braga Abdul-Aziz Yakubu Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi Thespa Gunma Tochigi SC Rafael Costa Origbaajo Ismaila Kim Min-jun Park Yong-ji Tokushima Vortis Elsinho Kaique Thales Tiago Alves Wadi Ibrahim Suzuki José Aurelio Suárez V-Varen Nagasaki Edigar Junio Marcos Guilherme Matheus Jesus Valdo Luka Radotić Juanma Vegalta Sendai Eron Matheus Moraes Ventforet Kofu Adaílton Eduardo Mancha Lucas Macula Renato Augusto Peter Utaka Koh Bong-jo Taiga Son Fabián González Yokohama FC Caprini Gabriel João Paulo Léo Bahia Michel Phelipe Yuri Lara Nguyễn Công Phượng
League table
Play-offs The usual format was applied in the 2024 season. Promotion play-offs, officially called the 2024 J.League Road To J1 Play-offs (), was held from the semi-finals, where the match-ups were previously semi-determined. Based on the J2 placements at the end of the regular season, the third-placed team played against the sixth-placed, while the fourth-placed team played against the fifth-placed. The winners of the semi-finals played the final, with the winners promoted to the J1.
If a match was tied in the play-offs, the team with the higher rank won. The rank order was: J2's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.
Semi-finals
Final
Season statistics Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Hiiro Komori JEF United Chiba232 Matheus Jesus V-Varen Nagasaki18 Kaina Tanimura Iwaki FC4 Ken Yamura Fujieda MYFC165 Edigar Junio V-Varen Nagasaki156 Adaílton Ventforet Kofu147 Hiroto Iwabuchi Fagiano Okayama13 Motohiko Nakajima Vegalta Sendai9 Marcos Guilherme V-Varen Nagasaki12 Koya Kitagawa Shimizu S-Pulse
Awards Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthMonthly MVPGoal of the MonthYoung Player of the MonthReferencesManagerClubPlayerClubPlayerClubPlayerClubFebruary/March Takashi KiyamaFagiano Okayama GleysonFagiano Okayama Matheus JesusV-Varen Nagasaki Hayato TanakaV-Varen NagasakiApril Takahiro ShimotairaV-Varen Nagasaki Koya KitagawaShimizu S-Pulse Kento HashimotoTokushima Vortis Tsubasa KasayanagiV-Varen NagasakiMay Yoshiro MoriyamaVegalta Sendai Motohiko NakajimaVegalta Sendai Shinya YajimaShimizu S-Pulse Harumi MinaminoTochigi SCJune Shuhei YomodaYokohama FC Akito FukumoriYokohama FC Taishi TaguchiJEF United Chiba Yusei OzakiEhime FCJuly Kosaku MasudaTokushima Vortis Ryota NagakiTokushima Vortis Ken YamuraFujieda MYFC Kota KawanoRenofa YamaguchiAugust Shuhei YomodaYokohama FC Shoma DoiMontedio Yamagata PereiraOita Trinita Kenshin YasudaOita TrinitaSeptember Susumu WatanabeMontedio Yamagata Hiiro KomoriJEF United Chiba Daiki WatariTokushima Vortis Taisei AbeV-Varen NagasakiOctober Yoshiyuki KobayashiJEF United Chiba Matheus JesusV-Varen Nagasaki Ken YamuraFujieda MYFC Toua SuenagaRenofa YamaguchiNovember/December Tadahiro AkibaShimizu S-Pulse Leo TakaeMontedio Yamagata Daichi IshikawaRoasso Kumamoto Yusei YashikiOita Trinita
See also 2024 Japanese Super Cup 2024 Emperor's Cup 2024 J1 League 2024 J3 League 2024 Japan Football League
Footnotes
References
External links Official website on jleague.co