2023 J1 League

J1 League
Season2023
Dates17 February – 3 December 2023
ChampionsVissel Kobe
1st J1 title
1st Japanese title
RelegatedYokohama FC
AFC Champions League EliteVissel Kobe
Yokohama F. Marinos
AFC Champions League 2Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Matches played306
Goals scored777 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerAnderson Lopes
Yuya Osako
(22 goals each)
Biggest home winYokohama F. Marinos 5–0 Yokohama FC
(8 April 2023)
Biggest away winShonan Bellmare 0–6 Sagan Tosu
(24 June 2023)
Highest scoringKashiwa Reysol 4–5 HC Sapporo
(3 June 2023)
Longest winning run6 matches
Yokohama F. Marinos
Longest unbeaten run9 matches
Albirex Niigata
Kashima Antlers
Nagoya Grampus
Urawa Red Diamonds
Longest winless run15 matches
Shonan Bellmare
Longest losing run7 matches
Gamba Osaka
Highest attendance57,058
Nagoya Grampus 1–0 Albirex Niigata
(5 August 2023)
Lowest attendance3,935
Yokohama FC 0–3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
(15 April 2023)
Total attendance5,811,987
Average attendance18,993
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 J1 League, also known as the 2023 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2023 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2023 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) 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 in 2022 in the final match of the 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 is 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

Club Location Stadium Capacity Previous season rank
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Hokkaido Sapporo Dome 38,794 J1 (10th)
Kashima Antlers Ibaraki Prefecture Kashima Soccer Stadium 39,170 J1 (4th)
Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama Prefecture Saitama Stadium 2002 62,010 J1 (9th)
Kashiwa Reysol Chiba Prefecture Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium 15,109 J1 (7th)
FC Tokyo Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 47,851 J1 (6th)
Kawasaki Frontale Kanagawa Prefecture Todoroki Stadium 26,827 J1 (2nd)
Yokohama F. Marinos Nissan Stadium 71,822 J1 (1st)
Yokohama FC Mitsuzawa Stadium 15,444 J2 (2nd)
Shonan Bellmare Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka 15,380 J1 (12th)
Albirex Niigata Niigata Prefecture Denka Big Swan Stadium 41,684 J2 (1st)
Nagoya Grampus Aichi Prefecture Toyota Stadium 43,739 J1 (8th)
Kyoto Sanga Kyoto Prefecture Sanga Stadium by Kyocera 21,623 J1 (16th)
Gamba Osaka Osaka Prefecture Panasonic Stadium Suita 39,694 J1 (15th)
Cerezo Osaka Yodoko Sakura Stadium 24,481 J1 (5th)
Vissel Kobe Hyōgo Prefecture Noevir Stadium 28,996 J1 (13th)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture Edion Stadium 35,909 J1 (3rd)
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture Best Denki Stadium 21,562 J1 (14th)
Sagan Tosu Saga Prefecture Ekimae Stadium 24,130 J1 (11th)

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Main shirt sponsor
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Mihailo Petrović Hiroki Miyazawa Mizuno Ishiya
Kashima Antlers Daiki Iwamasa Shoma Doi Nike LIXIL
Urawa Red Diamonds Maciej Skorża Hiroki Sakai Nike Polus
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Kashiwa Reysol Masami Ihara Taiyo Koga Yonex Hitachi
FC Tokyo Peter Cklamovski Masato Morishige New Balance Mixi
Kawasaki Frontale Toru Oniki Kento Tachibanada Puma Fujitsu
Yokohama F. Marinos Kevin Muscat Takuya Kida Adidas Nissan
Yokohama FC Shuhei Yomoda Gabriel Puma Onodera Group
Shonan Bellmare Satoshi Yamaguchi Kazuki Oiwa Penalty RiPTy
Albirex Niigata Rikizo Matsuhashi Yuto Horigome Adidas Kameda Seika
Nagoya Grampus Kenta Hasegawa Sho Inagaki Mizuno Toyota GR 86
Kyoto Sanga Cho Kwi-jae Temma Matsuda Puma Kyocera
Gamba Osaka Dani Poyatos Takashi Usami Hummel Panasonic
Cerezo Osaka Akio Kogiku Hiroshi Kiyotake Puma Yanmar
Vissel Kobe Takayuki Yoshida Hotaru Yamaguchi Asics Rakuten Mobile
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Michael Skibbe Sho Sasaki Nike Edion
Avispa Fukuoka Shigetoshi Hasebe Tatsuki Nara Yonex Shin Nihon Seiyaku
Sagan Tosu Kenta Kawai Naoyuki Fujita New Balance Kimura Information
Technology

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Urawa Red Diamonds Ricardo Rodríguez Resigned 5 November 2022 Pre-season Maciej Skorża 10 November 2022
Gamba Osaka Hiroshi Matsuda 23 November 2022 Dani Poyatos 23 November 2022
Kashiwa Reysol Nelsinho Baptista 17 May 2023 16th Masami Ihara 17 May 2023
FC Tokyo Albert Puig 14 June 2023 12th Takayoshi Amma 14 June 2023
Takayoshi Amma End of interim spell 16 June 2023 Peter Cklamovski 16 June 2023

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 (Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Tunisia, Egypt, and Qatar) 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 Left mid-season
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Lucas Fernandes Kim Gun-hee Milan Tučić Supachok Sarachat Gu Sung-yun
Kashima Antlers Arthur Caíke Diego Pituca Kwoun Sun-tae Park Eui-jeong Blessing Eleke Kim Min-tae
Urawa Red Diamonds Alexander Scholz José Kanté Alex Schalk Bryan Linssen Marius Høibråten Ekanit Panya David Moberg Karlsson
Kashiwa Reysol Bueno Diego Douglas Matheus Sávio Jay-Roy Grot
FC Tokyo Adaílton Diego Oliveira Henrique Trevisan Jája Silva Pedro Perotti Jakub Słowik Leandro
Kawasaki Frontale Jesiel João Schmidt Leandro Damião Marcinho Bafétimbi Gomis Jung Sung-ryong Chanathip Songkrasin
Yokohama F. Marinos Anderson Lopes Eduardo Élber Yan Matheus Nam Tae-hee Marcos Júnior
Yokohama FC Caprini Gabriel Marcelo Ryan Mateus Moraes Yuri Lara Svend Brodersen Nguyễn Công Phượng Saulo Mineiro
Shonan Bellmare Kim Min-tae Song Bum-keun Tarik Elyounoussi Mikel Agu
Albirex Niigata Thomas Deng Danilo Gomes Gustavo Nescau Michael Fitzgerald Kazuyoshi Shimabuku
Nagoya Grampus Mitchell Langerak Thales Kasper Junker Mateus Castro
Naldinho
Kyoto Sanga Patric Gu Sung-yun Warner Hahn Alan Cariús
Paulinho Bóia
Michael Woud
Gamba Osaka Dawhan Juan Alano Zhang Aolin Neta Lavi Kwon Kyung-won Issam Jebali
Cerezo Osaka Jordy Croux Capixaba Léo Ceará Matej Jonjić Kim Jin-hyeon Yang Han-been
Vissel Kobe Jean Patric Lincoln Matheus Thuler Phelipe Bálint Vécsei Juan Mata Stefan Mugoša
Andrés Iniesta
Sergi Samper
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Douglas Vieira Ezequiel Marcos Júnior Pieros Sotiriou Nassim Ben Khalifa Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi
Avispa Fukuoka Douglas Grolli Lukian Wellington
Sagan Tosu Teddy Akumu Hwang Seok-ho Koh Bong-jo Ueom Ye-hoon

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Vissel Kobe (C) 34 21 8 5 60 29 +31 71 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage
2 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 19 7 8 63 40 +23 64
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 34 17 7 10 42 28 +14 58 Qualification for the AFC Champions League 2 group stage
4 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 15 12 7 42 27 +15 57
5 Kashima Antlers 34 14 10 10 43 34 +9 52
6 Nagoya Grampus 34 14 10 10 41 36 +5 52
7 Avispa Fukuoka 34 15 6 13 37 43 −6 51
8 Kawasaki Frontale 34 14 8 12 51 45 +6 50 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage
9 Cerezo Osaka 34 15 4 15 39 34 +5 49
10 Albirex Niigata 34 11 12 11 36 40 −4 45
11 FC Tokyo 34 12 7 15 42 46 −4 43
12 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 34 10 10 14 56 61 −5 40
13 Kyoto Sanga 34 12 4 18 40 45 −5 40
14 Sagan Tosu 34 9 11 14 43 47 −4 38
15 Shonan Bellmare 34 8 10 16 40 56 −16 34
16 Gamba Osaka 34 9 7 18 38 61 −23 34
17 Kashiwa Reysol 34 6 15 13 33 47 −14 33
18 Yokohama FC (R) 34 7 8 19 31 58 −27 29 Relegation to the J2 League
Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League, J.League Data Site
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goals scored; 7) Fewer disciplinary points.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Qualified as the 2023 Emperor's Cup winners.

Results table

Home \ Away ALB ANT AVI BEL CER CON GAM GRA KWF KSA RED REY SAG SFR TOK VIS YFC YFM
Albirex Niigata — 0–2 3–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 2–1
Kashima Antlers 2–0 — 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 4–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–5 2–1 1–2
Avispa Fukuoka 0–1 0–0 — 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–3 2–0 0–4
Shonan Bellmare 2–2 2–2 0–1 — 0–2 2–4 4–1 2–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 1–2 0–6 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–1
Cerezo Osaka 2–2 0–1 0–1 0–2 — 2–3 1–0 3–1 3–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 2–1
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–4 — 4–0 1–2 3–4 2–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 5–1 1–3 2–1 2–0
Gamba Osaka 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 2–2 — 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–3 3–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 0–2
Nagoya Grampus 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 — 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–2
Kawasaki Frontale 2–3 3–0 4–2 1–1 0–0 2–2 3–4 1–2 — 3–3 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–2
Kyoto Sanga 0–1 0–2 2–0 0–1 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 — 0–2 0–1 2–3 1–0 2–0 0–3 2–1 3–1
Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 0–0 2–3 4–1 2–1 4–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 — 2–0 0–2 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 0–0
Kashiwa Reysol 0–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 4–5 2–2 0–3 1–1 1–1 0–3 — 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–0
Sagan Tosu 2–0 2–2 0–1 1–5 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–2 1–1 — 0–2 1–0 0–1 1–3 1–3
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 3–0 3–1 3–2 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 — 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–1
FC Tokyo 2–1 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–3 3–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 3–2 1–2 — 2–2 3–1 2–3
Vissel Kobe 0–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 4–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 — 3–0 2–3
Yokohama FC 1–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–4 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–4 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–3 1–0 2–0 — 4–1
Yokohama F. Marinos 0–0 2–1 2–0 4–1 2–0 4–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 2–0 4–3 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 5–0 —
Source: J1 League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Anderson Lopes Yokohama F. Marinos 22
Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe
3 Kasper Junker Nagoya Grampus 16
4 Diego Oliveira FC Tokyo 15
5 Mao Hosoya Kashiwa Reysol 14
Yuma Suzuki Kashima Antlers
7 Yuki Ohashi Shonan Bellmare 13
8 Yuya Asano Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 12
9 Léo Ceará Cerezo Osaka 11
10 Yoshinori Muto Vissel Kobe 10
Yoichi Naganuma Sagan Tosu
Patric Kyoto Sanga
Yuta Toyokawa Kyoto Sanga
Yuya Yamagishi Avispa Fukuoka

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date Ref.
Yuki Ohashi Shonan Bellmare Sagan Tosu 5–1 (A) 18 February 2023
Shuto Machino4 Gamba Osaka 4–1 (H) 1 April 2023
Ryotaro Ito Albirex Niigata Avispa Fukuoka 3–2 (H) 15 April 2023
Yuji Ono Sagan Tosu Shonan Bellmare 6–0 (A) 24 June 2023
Notes
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals
  • (H) – Home team
  • (A) – Away team

Top assists

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Élber Yokohama F. Marinos 11
Yan Matheus Yokohama F. Marinos
3 Yuta Higuchi Kashima Antlers 10
Yoshinori Muto Vissel Kobe
Matheus Sávio Kashiwa Reysol
6 Ryo Hatsuse Vissel Kobe 8
Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe
8 Kota Mizunuma Yokohama F. Marinos 7
9 Adaílton FC Tokyo 6
Yasuto Wakizaka Kawasaki Frontale

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Tomoki Hayakawa Kashima Antlers 15
Shusaku Nishikawa Urawa Red Diamonds
3 Daiya Maekawa Vissel Kobe 14
4 Keisuke Osako Sanfrecce Hiroshima 13
5 Ryosuke Kojima Albirex Niigata 10
Mitchell Langerak Nagoya Grampus
Masaaki Murakami Avispa Fukuoka
8 Kim Jin-hyeon Cerezo Osaka 7
9 Jun Ichimori Yokohama F. Marinos 6
Jung Sung-ryong Kawasaki Frontale
Kenta Matsumoto Kashiwa Reysol
Park Il-gyu Sagan Tosu
Jakub Słowik FC Tokyo

Discipline

Player

  • Most yellow cards: 10

Club

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

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Monthly MVP Goal of the Month References
Manager Club Player Club Player Club
February/March Takayuki Yoshida Vissel Kobe Ryotaro Ito Albirex Niigata Ryonosuke Kabayama Sagan Tosu
April Michael Skibbe Sanfrecce Hiroshima Douglas Vieira Sanfrecce Hiroshima Ryoma Watanabe FC Tokyo
May Shuhei Yomoda Yokohama FC Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe Shunsuke Mito Albirex Niigata
June Dani Poyatos Gamba Osaka Yoshinori Muto Vissel Kobe Takumu Kawamura Sanfrecce Hiroshima
July Shigetoshi Hasebe Avispa Fukuoka Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe Ken Iwao Urawa Red Diamonds
August Daiki Iwamasa Kashima Antlers Yuta Higuchi Kashima Antlers Marcos Júnior Sanfrecce Hiroshima
September Shigetoshi Hasebe Avispa Fukuoka Kazuya Konno Avispa Fukuoka Shunsuke Mito Albirex Niigata
October Satoshi Yamaguchi Shonan Bellmare Daiki Tomii Shonan Bellmare Kota Tawaratsumida FC Tokyo
November/December Takayuki Yoshida Vissel Kobe Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe Yuta Toyokawa Kyoto Sanga

Annual awards

Award Winner Club
Manager of the Year Shigetoshi Hasebe Avispa Fukuoka
Player of the Year Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe
Best Young Player Shunsuke Mito Albirex Niigata
Goal of the Year Ryoma Watanabe FC Tokyo
Best XI
Goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Defenders Alexander Scholz (Urawa Red Diamonds) Marius Høibråten (Urawa Red Diamonds) Seiya Maikuma (Cerezo Osaka) Gotoku Sakai (Vissel Kobe)
Midfielders Atsuki Ito (Urawa Red Diamonds) Yasuto Wakizaka (Kawasaki Frontale) Hotaru Yamaguchi (Vissel Kobe)
Forwards Anderson Lopes (Yokohama F. Marinos) Yuya Osako (Vissel Kobe) Yoshinori Muto (Vissel Kobe)

See also