The is the 28th season of JFL, since its establishment in 1999. This is also the thirteenth season of the league having a fourth-tier status in Japanese football since 2014.
Overview General This marked the first Japan Football League season scheduled with a summer-to-spring format with 16 teams competing in the league – the thirteen teams from the previous season, one team relegated from the J3 League and two teams promoted from Regional Leagues.
The league's champion team earns automatic promotion to the J3 League, while the 2nd place team competes in a promotion/relegation play-off against the 19th-placed team from the J3 League. Meanwhile, the relegation playoff between the 15th-placed team in the JFL and the second-placed team in the JRFCL was abolished and starting from this season the bottom two teams (15th and 16th) are relegated directly to the fifth division depending on the region of origin of the team.
Teams promoted from Japanese Regional Leagues J-Lease became the first team to be promoted on 24 November 2025 after defeating Tokyo United in the final round and at the same time as Veroskronos Tsuno lost to Vonds Ichihara where both matches ended with a score of 1-0.
Vonds Ichihara became the second team to be promoted on 30 November 2025, after defeating Atletico Suzuka in the JFL/Japanese Regional Leagues playoffs. Both promoted teams compete in the fourth division for the first time in their respective histories.
Teams relegated to Japanese Regional Leagues Asuka became the first team to be relegated after a draw against Maruyasu Okazaki on 15 November 2025. Asuka was relegated to Kansai Soccer League Division 1 after spending one season in the fourth division.
Atletico Suzuka became the second team to be relegated after losing to Vonds Ichihara in the JFL/Japanese Regional Leagues playoffs on 30 November 2025. Atletico Suzuka was relegated to the Tōkai Soccer League Division 1 after spending six seasons in the fourth division.
Result from playoff Reilac Shiga became the only team to be promoted to the J3 League because Honda, who were last season's champions and does not intend to gain promotion to the J. League. Reilac Shiga ended their 12-season stay in the fourth division by defeating Azul Claro Numazu in the J3/JFL playoffs with a 4-3 aggregate score on 14 December 2025. For Azul Claro Numazu, this result returned them to the fourth division after spending eight seasons in the third division.
Teams Teams changes The following teams changed division since the 2025 season. + To JFL Relegated from J3 League Azul Claro Numazu Promoted from Regional Leagues J-Lease Vonds Ichihara+ From JFL Promoted to J3 League Reilac Shiga Relegated to Regional Leagues Atletico Suzuka Asuka
Locations and stadiums
Team Location Stadium Capacity 2025 season Notes ↓ Numazu 10,000 20th in J3 J2 license holders Urayasu 2,100 3rd in JFL Shinjuku 7,258 12th in JFL J3 license holders Hamamatsu 2,506 1st in JFL Morioka 9,892 9th in JFL J1 license holders ↑ Ōita 15,943 1st in JRFCL Okazaki 5,000 11th in JFL Miyazaki 20,000 10th in JFL Okinawa 12,270 8th in JFL Aomori 20,809 5th in JFL J3 license holders Hirakata 2,500 4th in JFL Tōin 5,077 7th in JFL J3 license holders Ōita 4,700 6th in JFL J3 license holders ↑ Ichihara 14,051 2nd in JRFCL Musashino 5,188 14th in JFL Yokohama 15,454 13th in JFL J2 license holders
↓ Relegated from the J3 League ↑ Promoted from the Japanese Regional Leagues
Notes The teams which possess (or are applicants of) promotion-enabling licenses are highlighted in green in the table. Having J.League 100 Year Plan club status. Also based at Tomigusuku and Uruma. Mainly based at Kuwana and Yokkaichi. Mainly based at Beppu and Yufu.
Personnel and kits Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and coaches may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. + Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsors Main Other(s) Athleta usui Jogarbola Urata MC Fashion Assetlead Umbro Honda Umbro Nova Puma J-Lease Athleta Maruyasu Umbro MinebeaMitsumi Umbro Towa Jogarbola Izawa Towel Tres Daihatsu Mie Yasuda Hoyo Vinculum Pulchra Puma Yokogawa Electric Penalty My Basket
Managerial changes Pre-season Team Outgoing head coach Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of arrivalAzul Claro Numazu Hideto SuzukiResigned16 December 2025 Norihisa Shimizu17 January 2026
During the season TeamOutgoingExit datePosition in tableIncomingIncoming dateAnnounced onDeparted onAnnounced onArrived on
Foreign players TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Former players Azul Claro Numazu Baek In-hwan Enric Martínez Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa Criacao Shinjuku Honda Iwate Grulla Morioka Ryu Se-gun Won Tae-rang J-Lease Maruyasu Okazaki Yoo Seung-wan Minebea Mitsumi Okinawa Park Se-gi Elijah Whipp Rylan Swanson ReinMeer Aomori Park Kwan-gyu Park Yong-ji Tiamo Hirakata Felipe Sajioro Cha Won-jun Ronaldo Rivas Veertien Mie Verspah Oita Vonds Ichihara Park Gwang-hyeon Yokogawa Musashino YSCC Yokohama Fábio Azevedo Kim Min-woo Foreign players by confederation Foreign players by confederation AFC (1), (9) CAF CONCACAF (2) CONMEBOL (2), (1) OFC UEFA (1)
Standings League table
Position by round
Results Fixtures and results
Results by round
Attendances Overall
Home match played Team \ Match played1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total League total 0 Source: Japan Football League
Number of teams by prefecture Number Prefecture Team(s)2Briobecca Urayasu Ichikawa and Vonds IchiharaJ-Lease and Verspah OitaAzul Claro Numazu and HondaCriacao Shinjuku and Yokogawa Musashino1Maruyasu OkazakiReinMeer AomoriIwate Grulla MoriokaYSCC YokohamaVeertien MieMinebea MitsumiOkinawaTiamo Hirakata
See also 2026 Japanese Super Cup 2026–27 Emperor's Cup 2026–27 J.League Cup 2026–27 J1 League 2026–27 J2 League 2026–27 J3 League 2026 Japanese Regional Leagues
References
External links Official website