| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Oita Trinita |
| Promoted | Oita Trinita |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 592 (2.47 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Noriaki Fujimoto (Kagoshima United FC) (15 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 11,065 Ōita vsYSCC Yokohama (13 November) |
| Lowest attendance | 486 Morioka vsRyukyu (7 April) |
| Average attendance | 2,957 |
←2015 2017 → | |
The2016Meiji YasudaJ3 League (2016 明治安田生命J3リーグ) was the 20th season of the third tier in Japanesefootball, and the 3rd season of the professional J3 League.
To participate, a club must have held anassociate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2015, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation license issued by the J.League Council. The J.League has confirmed the following clubs participating in the 2016 J3 season:
| Club name | Home town | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blaublitz Akita | All cities/towns inAkita | |
| Cerezo Osaka U23 | Osaka,Osaka | New club, ineligible for J2 promotion |
| Fukushima United | Fukushima | |
| Gainare Tottori | All cities/towns inTottori | |
| Gamba Osaka U-23 | Suita, Osaka, Osaka | New club, ineligible for J2 promotion |
| Grulla Morioka | Morioka, Iwate | |
| Kagoshima United | Kagoshima,Kagoshima | Promoted from2015 JFL |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns inToyama | Eligible for J2 promotion |
| Fujieda MYFC | Fujieda, Shizuoka | |
| Nagano Parceiro | Nagano | Eligible for J2 promotion |
| FC Ryukyu | All cities/towns inOkinawa | |
| SC Sagamihara | Sagamihara, Kanagawa | |
| Tochigi SC | Tochigi, Tochigi | Relegated from2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotion |
| FC Tokyo U23 | Tokyo | New club, ineligible for J2 promotion |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita | Relegated from 2015 J2, eligible for J2 promotion |
| YSCC Yokohama | Yokohama,Kanagawa |
For this season, the league is played in two rounds (home-and-away), each team playing a total of 30 matches.[1]
Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Also for this season, three foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from theASEAN partner country of J.League or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3substitutes will be allowed in a game.[2] The three under-23 clubs can have up to three overage players and one of them must be a goalkeeper.[1]
Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of theJapan Football League in recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange with the 22nd placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with the 21st placed J2 club. If either or both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, the playoffs and/or direct exchange will not be held in accordance with the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs. Also, if an under-23 squad finishes in either one of the top 2 or both positions, the next-placed, promotion-eligible club takes automatic promotion to J2. Another next-placed eligible club will contest the playoff if any under-23 club occupies third to fourth place or both and the J3 champion is eligible for promotion.[1]
No relegation to theJFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by the J.League for J3 participation and finish within the top 4 of the JFL.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of separation | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of announcement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grulla Morioka |  Naoki Naruo | 18 November 2015 | Retired[3] | Akihiko Kamikawa | 18 November 2015[4] |
| Tochigi SC | Yasuharu Kurata | 11 December 2015 | Contract expired[5] | Yuji Yokoyama | 11 December 2015[6] |
| Gainare Tottori | Masanobu Matsunami | 22 November 2015 | Contract expired[7] | Tetsuji Hashiratani | 13 December 2015[8] |
| Nagano Parceiro | Hajime Eto | 1 December 2015 | Contract expired[9] | Fumitake Miura | 14 December 2015[10] |
| FC Ryukyu | Norihiro Satsukawa | 31 October 2015 | Contract expired[11] |  Kim Jong-song | 14 December 2015[12] |
| SC Sagamihara | Yoshika Matsubara | 3 December 2015 | End of caretaker spell[13] | Norihiro Satsukawa | 26 December 2015[14] |
| Kataller Toyama | Shigeo Sawairi (GM) | – | End of caretaker spell | Yasutoshi Miura | 26 December 2015[15] |
| Oita Trinita | Nobuaki Yanagida | 7 December 2015 | Resigned[16] | Tomohiro Katanosaka | 4 January 2016[17] |
| FC Tokyo U23 | Takayoshi Amma | 26 July 2016 | Promoted to first team coach[18] | Tadashi Nakamura | 26 July 2016 |
| SC Sagamihara | Norihiro Satsukawa | 18 August 2016 | Resigned[19] | Sotaro Yasunaga[20] | 20 August 2016 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oita Trinita(C, P) | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 50 | 24 | +26 | 61 | Promotion to2017 J2 League |
| 2 | Tochigi SC | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 59 | Qualification toJ2 promotion playoffs[a] |
| 3 | Nagano Parceiro | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 52 | |
| 4 | Blaublitz Akita | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 50 | |
| 5 | Kagoshima United | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 50 | |
| 6 | Kataller Toyama | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 49 | |
| 7 | Fujieda MYFC | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 45 | |
| 8 | FC Ryukyu | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 44 | |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka U-23 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 36 | |
| 11 | SC Sagamihara | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 46 | −17 | 35 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 32 | |
| 13 | Grulla Morioka | 30 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 30 | |
| 14 | Fukushima United | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 30 | |
| 15 | Gainare Tottori | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 30 | |
| 16 | YSCC Yokohama | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 51 | −36 | 20 |
| Home \ Away | BLA | C23 | FUK | GAI | G23 | GRU | KGU | KAT | MYF | PAR | RYU | SGM | TOC | T23 | TRI | YSC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaublitz Akita | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | |
| Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Fukushima United | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | |
| Gainare Tottori | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | |
| Gamba Osaka U-23 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | |
| Grulla Morioka | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Kagoshima United | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | |
| Kataller Toyama | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Fujieda MYFC | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | |
| Nagano Parceiro | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| FC Ryukyu | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| SC Sagamihara | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | |
| Tochigi SC | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| FC Tokyo U-23 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Oita Trinita | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| YSCC Yokohama | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source:J.League Data
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oita Trinita | 116,563 | 11,065 | 5,408 | 7,771 | +3.2%† |
| 2 | Nagano Parceiro | 75,274 | 10,377 | 3,905 | 5,018 | +6.0%† |
| 3 | Tochigi SC | 73,756 | 8,586 | 2,864 | 4,917 | −4.8%† |
| 4 | SC Sagamihara | 65,161 | 7,582 | 2,912 | 4,344 | +32.0%† |
| 5 | Kagoshima United | 54,979 | 4,975 | 2,024 | 3,665 | +39.7%‡ |
| 6 | Kataller Toyama | 54,113 | 5,081 | 2,691 | 3,608 | +27.9%† |
| 7 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 41,957 | 7,653 | 1,375 | 2,797 | n/a† |
| 8 | Blaublitz Akita | 36,371 | 5,371 | 1,339 | 2,425 | +21.4%† |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka U-23 | 36,021 | 8,038 | 1,066 | 2,401 | n/a† |
| 10 | Gainare Tottori | 28,471 | 3,450 | 1,321 | 1,898 | −1.8%† |
| 11 | Fukushima United | 25,172 | 3,052 | 1,045 | 1,678 | +30.2%† |
| 12 | FC Ryukyu | 23,418 | 4,565 | 948 | 1,561 | +4.2%† |
| 13 | Fujieda MYFC | 22,965 | 2,257 | 904 | 1,531 | +38.8%† |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka U-23 | 22,326 | 4,915 | 713 | 1,488 | n/a† |
| 15 | Grulla Morioka | 17,816 | 2,888 | 486 | 1,188 | −4.1%† |
| 16 | YSCC Yokohama | 15,277 | 1,614 | 568 | 1,018 | +10.8%† |
| League total | 709,640 | 11,065 | 486 | 2,957 | +21.6%† |
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source:J. League Data
Notes:
† from J2,‡ from JFL
