2023 J1 League


The 2023 J1 League, also known as the '''2023 Meiji Yasuda Life for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was the ninth season of J1 League after being renamed from J. League Division 1.
Yokohama F. Marinos were the defending champions, having won their fifth J.League and seventh Japanese title previous season. Vissel Kobe won their first ever league title with one game to go.

Overview

This season was the last as an 18 team-competition. At the end of season, only one club would be relegated to the J2 League as the number of clubs was expanded from 18 to 20 clubs from the 2024 season.

Changes from the previous season

There were two teams relegated last season to the 2023 J2 League. Shimizu S-Pulse and Júbilo Iwata, both from Shizuoka Prefecture, were relegated due to them finishing 17th and 18th respectively the previous season. Thus, this was the first Japanese top-flight season to not feature any team from the region.
Kyoto Sanga finished on 16th place, but won the promotion/relegation playoffs against Roasso Kumamoto and thus retained their top league status. Had Roasso won, it would have been their first ever promotion to the top-flight.
Two teams were promoted from the 2022 J2 League: Albirex Niigata, who won the title and returned to J1 after a five-year absence, and Yokohama FC, who finished second, returning to the J1 after just a season playing on the J2 League.

Participating clubs

ClubLocationStadiumCapacityPrevious season rank
Hokkaido Consadole SapporoHokkaidoSapporo Dome38,794J1
Kashima AntlersIbaraki PrefectureKashima Soccer Stadium39,170J1
Urawa Red DiamondsSaitama PrefectureSaitama Stadium 200262,010J1
Kashiwa ReysolChiba PrefectureHitachi Kashiwa Stadium15,109J1
FC TokyoTokyoAjinomoto Stadium47,851J1
Kawasaki FrontaleKanagawa PrefectureTodoroki Stadium26,827J1
Yokohama F. MarinosKanagawa PrefectureNissan Stadium71,822J1
Yokohama FCKanagawa PrefectureMitsuzawa Stadium15,444
Shonan BellmareKanagawa PrefectureLemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka15,380J1
Albirex NiigataNiigata PrefectureDenka Big Swan Stadium41,684
Nagoya GrampusAichi PrefectureToyota Stadium43,739J1
Kyoto PrefectureSanga Stadium by Kyocera21,623J1
Gamba OsakaOsaka PrefecturePanasonic Stadium Suita39,694J1
Cerezo OsakaOsaka PrefectureYodoko Sakura Stadium24,481J1
Vissel KobeHyōgo PrefectureNoevir Stadium28,996J1
Sanfrecce HiroshimaHiroshima PrefectureEdion Stadium35,909J1
Avispa FukuokaFukuoka PrefectureBest Denki Stadium21,562J1
Sagan TosuSaga PrefectureEkimae Real Estate Stadium24,130J1

Foreign players

From the 2021 season, there are no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad. Players from J.League partner nations were exempted from these restrictions.
  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season 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.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Former player
Albirex Niigata

Season statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1

Hat-tricks

;Notes

Discipline

Player

Club

  • Most yellow cards: 64
  • *FC Tokyo
  • Most red cards: 6
  • *Kawasaki Frontale