The 2026–27 J3 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the 13th season of the J3 League, the third-tier Japanese professional league for men's association football clubs, since its establishment in 2013.
Overview General This marked the first J3 League season scheduled with a summer-to-spring format with 20 teams will compete in the league – the sixteen teams from the previous season, three teams relegated from the J2 League and one team promoted from Japan Football League.
The top two teams in the league are automatically promoted to the J2 League, teams ranked 3rd to 6th advance to the promotion play-offs. There is the possibility that as many as two clubs will be relegated to the Japan Football League.
Promotion from the JFL is conditional on holding a valid J3 license. If the JFL champions hold a license, the club is automatically promoted and the J3's 20th-placed team is automatically relegated. If the JFL runners-up hold a license, the club needs to play promotion/relegation play-offs against J3's 19th or 20th-placed team for the season, depending on whether the JFL champions hold the J3 license. The club(s) who do not hold a license cannot be promoted and no teams are relegated from the J3 League.
Teams relegated from J2 League Ehime FC became the first team to be relegated on 26 October 2025 after being defeated by Júbilo Iwata in matchweek 34, returning them to the third division after spending two seasons in J2.
Kataller Toyama's victory over Blaublitz Akita in the final matchweek on 29 November 2025, resulted in the relegation of Renofa Yamaguchi and Roasso Kumamoto. Renofa Yamaguchi were relegated after nine seasons in the second division despite a win over RB Omiya Ardija, while Roasso Kumamoto were held to a goalless draw by Ventforet Kofu resulted in their relegation after four seasons in the second division.
Teams promoted to J2 League Tochigi City became the first team to be promoted on 23 November 2025 after defeating Nagano Parceiro in matchweek 37. This result made it their second consecutive promotion after previously being promoted from JFL to J3.
Vanraure Hachinohe became the second team to be promoted after spending seven seasons in the third division. This was confirmed after holding Ryukyu Okinawa to a draw in the final matchweek on 29 November 2025.
Tegevajaro Miyazaki became the last team to secure promotion after defeating FC Osaka in the final round of the promotion playoff on 14 December 2025, ending their five-season stay in the third division.
Result from playoff Reilac Shiga became the only team promoted from the JFL and the first team from Shiga to compete in the J.League. In the playoffs held on 14 December 2025, they defeated Azul Claro Numazu with a 4-3 aggregate score, relegating the Shizuoka-based team after eight seasons in the third division.
Teams Team changes The following teams changed division since the 2025 season. + To J3 League Relegated from J2 League Renofa Yamaguchi Roasso Kumamoto Ehime Promoted from JFL Reilac Shiga+ From J3 League Promoted to J2 League Tochigi City Vanraure Hachinohe Tegevajaro Miyazaki Relegated to JFL Azul Claro Numazu
Location and stadium
Team Location Stadium Capacity 2025 season License Ehime↓ Matsuyama Ningineer Stadium 20,919 20th in J2 J1 FC Gifu Gifu Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium 16,310 13th in J3 J1 FC Osaka Higashiōsaka Hanazono Rugby Stadium 27,346 3rd in J3 J2 Fukushima United Fukushima Toho Stadium 15,454 10th in J3 J2 Gainare Tottori Tottori Axis Bird Stadium 16,033 11th in J3 J2 Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu 15,300 8th in J3 J1 Kagoshima United Kagoshima Shiranami Stadium 19,934 5th in J3 J1 Kamatamare Sanuki Marugame Pikara Stadium 30,099 17th in J3 J1 Kochi United Kōchi Kochi Haruno Athletic Stadium 25,000 18th in J3 J3 Matsumoto Yamaga Matsumoto Sunpro Alwin 20,000 15th in J3 J1 Nagano Parceiro Nagano Nagano U Stadium 15,515 19th in J3 J2 Nara Club Nara Rohto Field Nara 30,600 15th in J3 J2 Reilac Shiga↑ Hikone Heiwado HATO Stadium 9,000 2nd in JFL J3 Renofa Yamaguchi↓ Yamaguchi Ishin Me-Life Stadium 15,115 19th in J2 J1 Roasso Kumamoto↓ Kumamoto Egao Kenko Stadium 30,275 18th in J2 J1 Ryukyu Okinawa Okinawa Okinawa Athletic Park Stadium 10,189 16th in J3 J1 SC Sagamihara Sagamihara Sagamihara Gion Stadium 6,291 12th in J3 J2 Thespa Gunma Maebashi Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma 15,253 14th in J3 J1 Tochigi SC Utsunomiya Kanseki Stadium Tochigi 25,244 7th in J3 J1 Zweigen Kanazawa Kanazawa Kanazawa Go Go Curry Stadium 10,444 6th in J3 J1
↓ Relegated from the J2 League ↑ Promoted from the Japan Football League
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) Jogarbola ra shinkNingineer Razzoli Hot Staff Bonera Daisue Construction Hummel SportsX TLSS GouginDanDan BANK Umbro YASAKAWA Angua Nishihara Trading Company Umbro Rexxam Athleta Kōchi Adidas Epson Penalty Hokio Squadra Daiwa House Group DEZ Rei Beauty FInta Futebol UPR Admiral Hirata SFIDA KAYAC Umbro Gion ATHLETADENHAM CAINZ Athleta TKC Hummel STS System Support
Managerial changes Pre-season Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of arrivalEhime Shinya AonoEnd of interim spell1 December 2025 Takeshi Oki7 December 2025Renofa Yamaguchi Genki NakayamaEnd of contract1 December 2025 Michiharu Otagiri8 December 2025Nara Club Michiharu Otagiri8 December 2025 Masashi Oguro14 December 2025Roasso Kumamoto Takeshi Oki1 December 2025 Tomohiro Katanosaka1 January 2026
During the season Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of arrivalThespa GunmaMasaru OkitaSacked14 September 202620thMitsumasa Yoda14 September 2026
Foreign players From the 2021 season onwards, there are 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, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Qatar) were exempted from these restrictions.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the winter transfer window. Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, holds the nationality of a J.League partner nation, 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 an approved type of school in the country.
Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former players Ehime FC Adeola David FC Gifu Bevic Moussiti-Oko Mun In-ju Jung Hyeon-ho Kim Yu-geon FC Osaka Rigley Vinícius Han Jun-young Lee Han-hee Ma Sang-hoon Shin Kyu-won Johnny Angelini Fukushima United Jung Sung-ryong Gainare Tottori Shawn van Eerden Marco Lorenz Chon San-yon Moon Min Anton Burns Giravanz Kitakyushu Koh Seung-jin Kagoshima United Thales Paula Kim Moon-hyeon Kamatamare Sanuki Kang Dong-won Kim Do-hoon Lee Gi-san Lee Jin-yeong Park Tae-yang Woo Sang-ho Kochi United Origbaajo Ismaila Matsumoto Yamaga Kim Jun-hyun Lee To-bin Nagano Parceiro Nara Club Dayo Olasunkanmi Marc Vito Nanthiphat Chaiman Siwakorn Ponsan Reilac Shiga Frank Romero Renofa Yamaguchi Choi Hyung-chan Roasso Kumamoto Ri Tae-ha Bae Jeong-min Ryukyu Okinawa Vavá Mohamed Bai Kamara Lee Chung-won Cal Jennings SC Sagamihara Kevin Pytlik Kim Min-ho Thanawut Phochai Thespa Gunma Sylvain Deslandes Yuya Ikeshita Ikhsan Fandi Kim Gun-il Kim Je-hee Song Min-seob Tochigi SC Kenneth Otabor Zweigen Kanazawa Patric
Foreign players by confederation Foreign players by confederation AFC (3), (1), (25), (3) CAF (1), (4), (1) CONCACAF (1), (3) CONMEBOL (5), (1) OFC (1) UEFA (1), (1), (1), (1)
Standings League table
Position by round
Results Fixtures and results
Results by round
Notes: † The Ryukyu Okinawa vs Giravanz Kitakyushu match was originally scheduled to be played on 8 August 2026, but was postponed due to impact of Typhoon No. 13. The match was rescheduled and was played on 9 September 2026.
Playoffs Promotion playoff Based on the J3 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 J2.
If a match was tied in the play-offs, the team with the highest league position are declared the winner. The rank order was: J3's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.
Matches Semifinals
Final
Relegation playoff Summary
Matches First leg
Second leg
Attendances Overall
Home match played Team \ Match played1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Total 4,692 5,155 3,128 4,271 3,007 10,453 5,020 6,173 7,789 4,229 894 1,893 2,818 3,171 5,860 1,504 1,323 3,960 2,565 2,632 2,017 7,817 4,693 3,731 5,433 12,707 8,941 12,436 5,627 7,024 7,686 3,354 2,237 1,652 1,195 2,830 3,552 2,434 1,757 1,196 9,926 12,556 7,568 7,101 7,245 6,475 4,332 2,967 6,797 3,280 3,966 2,319 1,987 1,858 6,852 2,085 2,448 2,871 1,187 10,094 10,976 4,312 2,815 6,457 3,629 3,555 3,485 1,026 11,359 1,767 1,902 1,510 7,524 2,460 2,123 1,770 9,862 5,501 3,247 3,184 3,181 2,950 8,224 4,973 5,064 5,131 7,358 3,638 4,230 2,961 League total 419,246 Source: J.League Data
Awards Monthly MVP MonthPlayerClubAugust Shota HinoMFEhime FC
Goal of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Ryoma SanoFWKamatamare Sanuki
Young Player of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Toshikazu TeruuchiFWFC Ryukyu
Save of the Month MonthPlayerClubAugust Ryusei HarunaFC Gifu
Manager of the Month MonthManagerClubAugust Kiyotaka IshimaruFC Gifu
Number of teams by prefecture Number Prefecture Team(s)2Matsumoto Yamaga and Nagano Parceiro1EhimeGiravanz KitakyushuFukushima UnitedFC GifuThespa GunmaZweigen KanazawaKamatamare SanukiKagoshima UnitedSC SagamiharaKochi UnitedRoasso KumamotoNara ClubRyukyu OkinawaFC OsakaReilac ShigaTochigi SCGainare TottoriRenofa Yamaguchi
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 Japan Football League 2026 Japanese Regional Leagues
References