2024 J1 League
The 2024 J1 League, also known as the '''2024 Meiji Yasuda Life for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was the tenth season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1.
Vissel Kobe were the defending champions, having won their first ever league title with one match to spare in the previous season. They retained their league title on the last matchday.
Overview
For the first time since 2021, the number of the clubs in the league increased from 18 to 20. At the end of season, three clubs were relegated to the J2 League for the 2025 season, without relegation play-offs between J1 and J2 clubs.Changes from the previous season
Only one club was relegated to the 2024 J2 League. Due to the re-introduction of 20 clubs league format, Yokohama FC became the sole team going down to the second division, after just one season in the J1 League. They have been replaced by three teams promoted from the 2023 J2 League. The first club promoted was Tokyo-based Machida Zelvia, debuting in the J1 as the J2 champions following a seven-year run in the Japanese second tier. Another automatic promotion spot was obtained by Júbilo Iwata, who made a swift comeback after just a single season absence by finishing second, thus marking the return of a team from Shizuoka in the Japanese first division since 2022. The last promotion spot was earned by Tokyo Verdy, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2008 by finishing third in the J2 League and later won the promotion play-offs. This brings back the Tokyo derby between Verdy and FC Tokyo in the J1 for the first time since that season as well as the first season in which three clubs from the capital city are competing at the highest tier of Japanese football system.Schedule
The league and match format was announced on 19 December 2023. The league began on 23 February and ended on 8 December; it was played in a double round-robin format with 38 fixtures in total.Participating clubs
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.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Former player |
| Albirex Niigata |  Season statisticsTop scorers
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