| Season | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kashima Antlers 2ndJ.League title |
| Relegated | Consadole Sapporo |
| Asian Club Championship | Kashima Antlers Júbilo Iwata |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 1,074 (3.51 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Masashi Nakayama (36 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 53,598 -Flügels vs.Marinos (September 15) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,091 -Vissel vs.JEF Utd. (October 14) |
| Average attendance | 11,982 |
←1997 1999 → | |
The1998 J.League season was the sixth season of theJ.League. The league began in March 21 and ended in November 14.For this year, the division was contested by 18 teams.Júbilo Iwata won the 1st stage andKashima Antlers won the 2nd stage. Kashima Antlers won the J.League title after winning both matches in theSuntory Championship.
The following eighteen clubs participated in J.League during the 1998 season. Of these clubs, Consadole Sapporo was the only newly promoted team fromJapan Football League.
First stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Júbilo Iwata | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 52 | 18 | +34 | 39 |
| 2 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 14 | +18 | 39 |
| 3 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight | 17 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 37 | 21 | +16 | 33 |
| 4 |  Yokohama Marinos | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 32 |
| 5 |  Kashima Antlers | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 32 |
| 6 |  Verdy Kawasaki | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 30 |
| 7 |  Urawa Red Diamonds | 17 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 28 |
| 8 | Yokohama Flügels | 17 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 26 |
| 9 |  Cerezo Osaka | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 23 |
| 10 |  Kashiwa Reysol | 17 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 22 |
| 11 | JEF United Ichihara | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 20 |
| 13 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 19 |
| 14 | Gamba Osaka | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 17 |
| 15 |  Kyoto Purple Sanga | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 16 |
| 16 |  Consadole Sapporo | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 11 |
| 17 |  Vissel Kobe | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 48 | −28 | 9 |
| 18 |  Avispa Fukuoka | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 22 | 47 | −25 | 7 |
Second stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 17 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 42 |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 21 | +34 | 39 |
| 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 33 |
| 4 | Yokohama Marinos | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 32 |
| 5 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 17 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 31 |
| 6 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 17 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 30 |
| 7 | Yokohama Flügels | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 25 |
| 8 | Kashiwa Reysol | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 25 |
| 9 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 24 |
| 10 | Consadole Sapporo | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 24 |
| 11 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 30 | −3 | 23 |
| 12 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 17 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 22 |
| 13 | Cerezo Osaka | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 21 |
| 14 | Vissel Kobe | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 16 |
| 15 | Avispa Fukuoka | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 38 | −27 | 14 |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 13 |
| 17 | Verdy Kawasaki | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 28 | −15 | 9 |
| 18 | JEF United Ichihara | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 44 | −26 | 4 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 1 – 2 | Kashima Antlers |
|---|---|---|
Nakayama 7' | Hasegawa 72' Muroi  110' |
| Kashima Antlers | 2 – 1 | Júbilo Iwata |
|---|---|---|
| Akita 39' Bismarck 41' | Fujita 84' |
On the aggregate table, JEF United Ichihara, Avispa Fukuoka, and Vissel Kobe had earned within the 15th-18th places in the tables for both 1997 and 1998, while Consadole Sapporo had achieved within the same span on its sole season on the J.League. (Gamba Osaka, who had finished between Sapporo and Kobe, was reprieved because of the collapse and resignation of Yokohama Flügels.) These clubs thus were entered in an elimination promotion/relegation tournament along withJapan Football League runners-upKawasaki Frontale, who unlike championsTokyo Gas had a base more qualifiable for the J.League.
| November 19, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Kawasaki Frontale | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium,Fukuoka |
| Kudo 24' Yamashita 89' Fernando 104' | Ito 17' Tuto 61' | Attendance: 12,535 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
Kawasaki formsJ.League Division 2 the next season. Fukuoka advances to the next round.
The winners of this round stay in J.League Division 1 and the losers play a final elimination series to determine the club relegated to Division 2.
| November 22, 1998 | Vissel Kobe | 2–1 | Consadole Sapporo | Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium,Kobe |
| Nagashima 34' (pen.) Kaimoto 41' | Tanada 50' | Attendance: 14,613 |
| November 26, 1998 Time | Consadole Sapporo | 0–2 | Vissel Kobe | Muroran Irie Stadium,Muroran |
| Tomàs 48' Watada 89' | Attendance: 4,525 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
| November 22, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 0–2 | JEF United Ichihara | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium,Fukuoka |
| Takeda 65' Scholten 76' | Attendance: 12,300 Referee:Leslie Mottram |
| November 26, 1998 | JEF United Ichihara | 2–1 | Avispa Fukuoka | Ichihara Stadium,Ichihara |
| Suzuki 49' Sakai 60' | Mori 63' | Attendance: 10,703 |
| December 2, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1–0 | Consadole Sapporo | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium,Fukuoka |
| Ueno 61' | Attendance: 12,526 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
| December 5, 1998 | Consadole Sapporo | 0–3 | Avispa Fukuoka | Muroran Irie Stadium,Muroran |
| Ueno 52' Fernando 84' Ishimaru 89' | Attendance: 8,372 Referee:Leslie Mottram |
Fukuoka stays in J.League Division 1. Consadole is relegated to newJ.League Division 2.
| Award | Recipient | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata |
| Rookie of the Year | Shinji Ono | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Manager of the Year |  Osvaldo Ardiles | Shimizu S-Pulse |
| Top Scorer | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata |
| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Seigo Narazaki | Yokohama Flügels | Japan |
| DF | Makoto Tanaka | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Yutaka Akita | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Dunga | Júbilo Iwata |  Brazil |
| MF | Daisuke Oku | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Shinji Ono | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Toshiya Fujita | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| FW | Atsushi Yanagisawa | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| FW | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
