2018 in Japanese football

2018 season

Japanese football in 2018.

Promotion and relegation

Teams relegated from J1 League

• Ventforet Kofu
• Albirex Niigata
• Omiya Ardija

Teams promoted to J1 League

• Shonan Bellmare
• V-Varen Nagasaki
• Nagoya Grampus

Teams relegated from J2 League

• Thespakusatsu Gunma

Teams promoted to J2 League

• Tochigi SC

Teams relegated from J3 League

No relegation to the Japan Football League

Teams promoted to J3 League

• No promotion from the Japan Football League

Teams promoted to Japan Football League

• Cobaltore Onagawa
• Tegevajaro Miyazaki

J1 League

Main article: 2018 J1 League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Kawasaki Frontale (C)	34	21	6	7	57	27	+30	69	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	34	17	6	11	47	35	+12	57	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
3	Kashima Antlers	34	16	8	10	50	39	+11	56
4	Consadole Sapporo	34	15	10	9	48	48	0	55
5	Urawa Red Diamonds	34	14	9	11	51	39	+12	51	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
6	FC Tokyo	34	14	8	12	39	34	+5	50
7	Cerezo Osaka	34	13	11	10	39	38	+1	50
8	Shimizu S-Pulse	34	14	7	13	56	48	+8	49
9	Gamba Osaka	34	14	6	14	41	46	−5	48
10	Vissel Kobe	34	12	9	13	45	52	−7	45
11	Vegalta Sendai	34	13	6	15	44	54	−10	45
12	Yokohama F. Marinos	34	12	5	17	56	56	0	41
13	Shonan Bellmare	34	10	11	13	38	43	−5	41
14	Sagan Tosu	34	10	11	13	29	34	−5	41
15	Nagoya Grampus	34	12	5	17	52	59	−7	41
16	Júbilo Iwata (O)	34	10	11	13	35	48	−13	41	Qualification for the Relegation play-off
17	Kashiwa Reysol (R)	34	12	3	19	47	54	−7	39	Relegation to J2 League
18	V-Varen Nagasaki (R)	34	8	6	20	39	59	−20	30

Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

J2 League

Main article: 2018 J2 League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Matsumoto Yamaga (C, P)	42	21	14	7	54	34	+20	77	Promotion to 2019 J1 League
2	Oita Trinita (P)	42	23	7	12	76	51	+25	76
3	Yokohama FC	42	21	13	8	63	44	+19	76	Qualification for promotion play-offs
4	Machida Zelvia	42	21	13	8	62	44	+18	76
5	Omiya Ardija	42	21	8	13	65	48	+17	71	Qualification for promotion play-offs
6	Tokyo Verdy	42	19	14	9	56	41	+15	71
7	Avispa Fukuoka	42	19	13	10	58	42	+16	70
8	Renofa Yamaguchi	42	16	13	13	63	64	−1	61
9	Ventforet Kofu	42	16	11	15	56	46	+10	59
10	Mito HollyHock	42	16	9	17	48	46	+2	57
11	Tokushima Vortis	42	16	8	18	48	42	+6	56
12	Montedio Yamagata	42	14	14	14	49	51	−2	56
13	Zweigen Kanazawa	42	14	13	15	52	48	+4	55
14	JEF United Chiba	42	16	7	19	72	72	0	55
15	Fagiano Okayama	42	14	11	17	39	43	−4	53
16	Albirex Niigata	42	15	8	19	48	56	−8	53
17	Tochigi SC	42	13	11	18	38	48	−10	50
18	Ehime FC	42	12	12	18	34	52	−18	48
19	Kyoto Sanga	42	12	7	23	40	58	−18	43
20	FC Gifu	42	11	9	22	44	62	−18	42
21	Roasso Kumamoto (R)	42	9	7	26	50	79	−29	34	Relegation to 2019 J3 League
22	Kamatamare Sanuki (R)	42	7	10	25	28	72	−44	31

Source: 2018 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

J3 League

Main article: 2018 J3 League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	FC Ryukyu (C, P)	32	20	6	6	70	40	+30	66	Promotion to 2019 J2 League
2	Kagoshima United (P)	32	16	9	7	46	35	+11	57
3	Gainare Tottori	32	15	8	9	61	47	+14	53
4	Azul Claro Numazu	32	14	10	8	40	29	+11	52
5	Thespakusatsu Gunma	32	15	7	10	37	35	+2	52
6	Gamba Osaka U-23	32	13	8	11	53	43	+10	47
7	Cerezo Osaka U-23	32	13	7	12	47	36	+11	46
8	Blaublitz Akita	32	12	7	13	37	35	+2	43
9	SC Sagamihara	32	12	6	14	42	53	−11	42
10	Nagano Parceiro	32	10	11	11	39	37	+2	41
11	Kataller Toyama	32	12	5	15	41	50	−9	41
12	Fukushima United	32	9	13	10	36	43	−7	40
13	Grulla Morioka	32	12	4	16	41	56	−15	40
14	FC Tokyo U-23	32	10	6	16	38	45	−7	36
15	YSCC Yokohama	32	8	10	14	40	48	−8	34
16	Fujieda MYFC	32	10	4	18	32	48	−16	34
17	Giravanz Kitakyushu	32	6	9	17	22	42	−20	27

Source: 2018 MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:

Japan Football League

Main article: 2018 Japan Football League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Honda FC (C)	30	25	4	1	76	25	+51	79
2	FC Osaka	30	18	3	9	54	34	+20	57
3	Vanraure Hachinohe (P)	30	16	8	6	43	21	+22	56	Promotion to 2019 J3 League
4	Sony Sendai	30	16	4	10	67	43	+24	52
5	FC Imabari	30	14	7	9	63	32	+31	49
6	Tokyo Musashino City	30	14	7	9	49	36	+13	49
7	MIO Biwako Shiga	30	13	7	10	38	35	+3	46
8	Nara Club	30	12	6	12	33	32	+1	42
9	Verspah Oita	30	11	6	13	29	38	−9	39
10	ReinMeer Aomori	30	10	7	13	38	48	−10	37
11	Veertien Mie	30	9	8	13	40	52	−12	35
12	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	30	9	5	16	43	60	−17	32
13	Maruyasu Okazaki	30	8	7	15	33	46	−13	31
14	Honda Lock	30	6	11	13	29	52	−23	29
15	Ryutsu Keizai Dragons	30	4	7	19	20	50	−30	19
16	Cobaltore Onagawa (R)	30	4	5	21	18	65	−47	17	Relegation to 2019 Regional Leagues

Source: JFL website (in Japanese)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Disciplinary points; 6) Draw
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes: