The 2025 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was the 11th season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1.
Vissel Kobe were the defending champions, having won their second league title in a row on the last matchday of the 2024 season.
Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth J.League title on the last matchday; it was their record-breaking ninth top flight title, their first trophy since winning the 2018 AFC Champions League, and the first league title since 2016.
Overview This was the last J.League season played in a whole calendar year from late winter to early winter, with the following season onwards to be played from September to May, adopting the European football calendar. As a part of the transition, the league would have a one-off special tournament called the J1 100 Year Vision League to be held during the first half of 2026.
The tournament format and match format was announced on 25 November 2024, with the season starting on 14 February 2025 and concluding on 6 December 2025.
Changes from the previous season Three teams were relegated to the 2025 J2 League. Júbilo Iwata, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and Sagan Tosu, were relegated as they finished 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively in the previous season, ending their one, eight, and 13-year stays in the top flight respectively.
Three teams were promoted from the 2024 J2 League: Shimizu S-Pulse, who won the title and returned to J1 after a two-year absence, Yokohama FC, who finished second, returning to the J1 after just a season playing in the J2 League, and Fagiano Okayama, who finished fifth and won the play-offs; they are playing in the top flight for the first time in their history.
Clubs
+Club Location Stadium Capacity Kashima Antlers Ibaraki Prefecture Kashima Soccer Stadium 39,095 Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama Prefecture Saitama Stadium 2002 62,040 Kashiwa Reysol Chiba Prefecture Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium 15,109 FC TokyoTokyoAjinomoto Stadium47,851 Tokyo Verdy Machida Zelvia Machida GION Stadium 15,489 Kawasaki FrontaleKanagawa Prefecture Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu 26,827 Yokohama F. Marinos Nissan Stadium 71,624 Yokohama FC NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium 15,442 Shonan Bellmare Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka 15,380 Albirex Niigata Niigata Prefecture Denka Big Swan Stadium 41,684 Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka Prefecture IAI Stadium Nihondaira 19,594 Nagoya Grampus Aichi Prefecture Toyota Stadium 42,753 Kyoto Sanga Kyoto Prefecture Sanga Stadium by Kyocera 21,623 Gamba OsakaOsaka Prefecture Panasonic Stadium Suita 39,694 Cerezo Osaka Yodoko Sakura Stadium 24,481 Vissel Kobe Hyōgo Prefecture Noevir Stadium Kobe 29,643 Fagiano Okayama Okayama Prefecture JFE Harenokuni Stadium 15,479 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima 28,347 Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture Best Denki Stadium 21,562
Personnel and kits Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsorsMainOther(s) Albirex Niigata Toru Irie (interim) Yuto Horigome Adidas Kameda Seika Avispa Fukuoka Kim Myung-hwi Tatsuki Nara Yonex Shin Nihon Seiyaku Cerezo Osaka Arthur Papas Shunta Tanaka Mizuno Yanmar Fagiano Okayama Takashi Kiyama Ryo Takeuchi Penalty GROP FC Tokyo Rikizo Matsuhashi Kei Koizumi New Balance Tokyo Gas Gamba Osaka Dani Poyatos Takashi Usami Hummel Panasonic Kashima Antlers Toru Oniki Gaku Shibasaki Nike LIXIL Kashiwa Reysol Ricardo Rodríguez Tomoya Inukai Yonex Hitachi Kawasaki Frontale Shigetoshi Hasebe Yasuto Wakizaka Puma Fujitsu Kyoto Sanga Cho Kwi-jae Sota Kawasaki Puma Kyocera Machida Zelvia Go Kuroda Gen Shoji Adidas CyberAgent Nagoya Grampus Kenta Hasegawa Ryuji Izumi Mizuno Toyota GR Yaris Sanfrecce Hiroshima Michael Skibbe Sho Sasaki Nike EDION Shimizu S-Pulse Tadahiro Akiba Koya Kitagawa Puma Suzuyo (Home & Away) / Star Micronics (Third) Shonan Bellmare Satoshi Yamaguchi Akito Suzuki Penalty Fujita Tokyo Verdy Hiroshi Jofuku Koki Morita Athleta Nicigas Urawa Red Diamonds Maciej Skorża Takahiro Sekine Nike Polus Vissel Kobe Takayuki Yoshida Tetsushi Yamakawa Asics Rakuten Mobile Yokohama FC Fumitake Miura Yoshiaki Komai Puma Onodera Group Yokohama F. Marinos Hideo Ōshima Takuya Kida Adidas Nissan
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in the tableIncoming managerDate ofappointment Kashiwa Reysol Masami IharaEnd of contract9 December 2024Pre-season Ricardo Rodríguez 11 December 2024 FC Tokyo Peter Cklamovski Rikizo Matsuhashi 21 December 2024Cerezo Osaka Akio Kogiku Arthur Papas 17 December 2024Avispa Fukuoka Shigetoshi Hasebe Kim Myung-hwi 13 December 2024Kawasaki Frontale Toru Oniki Shigetoshi Hasebe 12 December 2024 Kashima Antlers Masaki ChugoEnd of interim spell Toru Oniki 12 December 2024 Yokohama F. Marinos John Hutchinson Steve Holland 17 December 2024 Albirex Niigata Rikizo Matsuhashi Resigned 13 December 2024 Daisuke Kimori 19 December 2024 Yokohama F. Marinos Steve Holland Sacked 18 April 2025 19th Patrick Kisnorbo 18 April 2025 Patrick Kisnorbo Resigned 19 June 2025 20th Hideo Ōshima 19 June 2025 Albirex Niigata Daisuke Kimori Sacked 23 June 2025 18th Toru Irie (interim) 23 June 2025 Yokohama FC Shuhei Yomoda 23 July 2025 19th Fumitake Miura 23 July 2025
Foreign players From the 2019 season, there were no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia) were exempted from these restrictions.
Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window. Player's name in italics indicates the player had Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, held the nationality of a J.League partner nation, or was exempted from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from an approved type of school in the country.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Player 8Former player (s)Albirex Niigata Jason Geria Danilo Gomes Matheus Moraes Miguel Silveira Michael Fitzgerald Abdelrahman BoudahAvispa Fukuoka Wellington Shahab Zahedi Kim Moon-hyeon Nassim Ben Khalifa Cerezo Osaka Lucas Fernandes Rafael Ratão Thiago Andrade Vitor Bueno Dion Cools Kim Jin-hyeon Wigi Kanemoto Jaroensak WonggornFagiano Okayama Yuto Baigorria Lucão Werik Popó Svend Brodersen GleysonFC Tokyo Everton Galdino Henrique Trevisan Marcelo Ryan Marcos Guilherme Alexander Scholz Kim Seung-gyu Baek In-hwanGamba Osaka Juan Alano Welton Zhang Aolin Issam Jebali Deniz Hümmet Neta LaviKashima Antlers Élber Léo Ceará Talles Aleksandar Čavrić Kim Tae-hyeon Park Eui-jeongKashiwa Reysol DiegoKawasaki Frontale Erison Jesiel Marcinho Noriharu Kan Filip Uremović Lazar Romanić Jung Sung-ryong Lee Geun-hyeong Patrick Verhon César HaydarKyoto Sanga Barreto João Pedro Léo Gomes Marco Túlio Patrick William Rafael Elias Yoon Sung-jun Marc Vito Murilo Costa Gu Sung-yunMachida Zelvia Mitch Duke Neta Lavi Ibrahim Drešević Kaung Zan Mara Cha Je-hoon Na Sang-ho Oh Se-hun Erik Byron Vásquez Anton BurnsNagoya Grampus Mateus Kasper Junker Lelê Yves AveleteSanfrecce Hiroshima Marcos Júnior Valère Germain Tolgay Arslan Jeong Min-ki Kim Ju-sungShimizu S-Pulse Capixaba Mateus Brunetti Matheus Bueno Ahmed Ahmedov Alfredo Stephens Kim Min-tae Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi Douglas TanqueShonan Bellmare Luiz Phellype Zé Ricardo Lukian Kim Min-taeTokyo Verdy Matheus VidottoUrawa Red Diamonds Luka Didulica Danilo Boza Matheus Sávio Thiago Santana Marius Høibråten Isaac Kiese Thelin Samuel GustafsonVissel Kobe Caetano Erik Gustavo Klismahn Jean Patric Matheus Thuler Richard Monday UbongYokohama FC Adaílton João Paulo Léo Bahia Lukian Phelipe Yuri Lara Jakub Słowik Michel Shawn van EerdenYokohama F. Marinos Thomas Deng Jordy Croux Yuri Araujo Jeison Quiñones Dean David Park Il-gyu Kodjo Aziangbe Anderson Lopes Élber Yan Matheus Sandy Walsh
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Léo CearáKashima Antlers212 Rafael EliasKyoto Sanga18 Rafael RatãoCerezo Osaka4 Tatsuya ItoKawasaki Frontale135 ErisonKawasaki Frontale126 Mao HosoyaKashiwa Reysol11 Sho InagakiNagoya Grampus Taisei MiyashiroVissel Kobe9 Koya KitagawaShimizu S-Pulse10 Yuma SuzukiKashima Antlers
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref. Léo CearáKashima AntlersKashiwa Reysol3–1 (A)8 March 2025 Rafael EliasKyoto SangaKashima Antlers4–3 (A)6 April 2025FC Tokyo4–0 (A)24 August 2025 Mao HosoyaKashiwa ReysolAlbirex Niigata3–1 (A)30 November 2025
Awards Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthMonthly MVPGoal of the MonthYoung Player of the MonthSave of the MonthReferencesManagerClubPlayerClubPlayerClubPlayerClubPlayerClubFebruary/March Toru OnikiKashima Antlers Léo CearáKashima Antlers Shunki HigashiSanfrecce Hiroshima Sōta KitanoCerezo Osaka Ryosuke KojimaKashiwa ReysolApril Maciej SkorżaUrawa Red Diamonds Rafael EliasKyoto Sanga Ryo TabeiFagiano Okayama Ryūnosuke SatōFagiano Okayama Tomoki HayakawaKashima AntlersMay Arthur PapasCerezo Osaka Lucas FernandesCerezo Osaka Taisei MiyashiroVissel Kobe Alexandre PisanoNagoya Grampus Kōki FukuiCerezo OsakaJune Ricardo RodríguezKashiwa Reysol Tojiro KuboKashiwa Reysol Motoki NagakuraFC Tokyo Kota TakaiKawasaki Frontale Svend BrodersenFagiano OkayamaJuly Takayuki YoshidaVissel Kobe Taisei MiyashiroVissel Kobe Léo CearáKashima Antlers Ryūnosuke SatōFagiano Okayama William PoppShonan BellmareAugust Cho Kwi-jaeKyoto Sanga Rafael EliasKyoto Sanga Yūta NakayamaMachida Zelvia Sena IshibashiShonan Bellmare Keisuke ŌsakoSanfrecce HiroshimaSeptember Toru OnikiKashima Antlers Tatsuya ItoKawasaki Frontale Taiki AraiAlbirex Niigata Homare TokudaKashima Antlers Tomoki HayakawaKashima AntlersOctober Ricardo RodríguezKashiwa Reysol Tomoki HayakawaKashima Antlers Yuma SuzukiKashima Antlers Ryūnosuke SatōFagiano OkayamaNovember/December Toru OnikiKashima Antlers Léo CearáKashima Antlers Mao HosoyaKashiwa Reysol Harumi MinaminoGamba Osaka
Annual awards AwardWinnerClubManager of the Year Ricardo RodríguezKashiwa ReysolPlayer of the Year Tomoki HayakawaKashima AntlersBest Young Player Ryūnosuke SatōFagiano OkayamaGoal of the Year Léo CearáKashima Antlers
Best XI Goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers) Defenders Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers) Taiyo Koga (Kashiwa Reysol) Hayato Araki (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Midfielders Yoshio Koizumi (Kashiwa Reysol) Sho Inagaki (Nagoya Grampus) Satoshi Tanaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Forwards Léo Ceará (Kashima Antlers) Yūki Sōma (Machida Zelvia) Tatsuya Itō (Kawasaki Frontale) Rafael Elias (Kyoto Sanga)
See also 2025 Japanese Super Cup 2025 Emperor's Cup 2025 J.League Cup 2025 J2 League 2025 J3 League 2025 Japan Football League 2025 Japanese Regional Leagues
References
External links Official website Official website J.League Data Site J.League Data Site