| Season | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Júbilo Iwata 3rdJ.League title 4thJapanese title |
| Relegated | Sanfrecce Hiroshima Consadole Sapporo |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 683 (2.85 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Naohiro Takahara (26 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 57,902Reds vs.Júbilo (July 13) |
| Lowest attendance | 3,287JEF Utd. vsVegalta (September 18） |
| Average attendance | 16,368 |
←2001 2003 → | |
The2002 J.League Division 1 season was the tenth season since the establishment of theJ.League Division 1. The league began on March 2 and ended on November 30. The Suntory Championship was not held, becauseJúbilo Iwata was the winner of both stages. At the end of the season,Sanfrecce Hiroshima andConsadole Sapporo were relegated to J2.
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The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2002 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vegalta Sendai were promoted from Division 2.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 17 | +22 | 36 | Qualification to theSuntory Championship |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 15 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 11 | +17 | 33 | |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 29 | |
| 4 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 27 | |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers[a] | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 27 | |
| 6 | Kyoto Purple Sanga[b] | 15 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 18 | +8 | 24 | |
| 7 | Shimizu S-Pulse[c] | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 24 | |
| 8 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 23 | |
| 9 | Vegalta Sendai[b] | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 20 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 17 | |
| 11 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 14 | |
| 12 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 13 | |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 12 | |
| 14 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 20 | 31 | −11 | 11 | |
| 15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 26 | −12 | 10 | |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 15 | 35 | −20 | 6 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 13 | +20 | 35 | Qualification to theSuntory Championship |
| 2 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 27 | |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers[a] | 15 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 26 | |
| 4 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 24 | |
| 5 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 22 | |
| 6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 22 | |
| 7 | Kyoto Purple Sanga[b] | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 22 | |
| 8 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 21 | |
| 9 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 21 | |
| 10 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 19 | |
| 11 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 19 | −3 | 18 | |
| 12 | Shimizu S-Pulse[c] | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 17 | |
| 13 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 16 | |
| 14 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 16 | |
| 15 | Vegalta Sendai[b] | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 30 | −13 | 12 | |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 29 | −14 | 9 |
The Suntory Championship was not held, becauseJúbilo Iwata was winner of both stages.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 72 | 30 | +42 | 71 | Champion and qualified for the2004 AFC Champions League[a] |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 30 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 55 | |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 59 | 32 | +27 | 54 | |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers[b] | 30 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 53 | |
| 5 | Kyoto Purple Sanga[c] | 30 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 46 | Cup-Winner2002 Emperor's Cup qualified for the AFC Champions League 2003–04[d] |
| 6 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 30 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 45 | |
| 7 | JEF United Ichihara | 30 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 41 | |
| 8 | Shimizu S-Pulse[e] | 30 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 41 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 30 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 39 | |
| 10 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 37 | |
| 11 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 30 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 35 | |
| 12 | Kashiwa Reysol | 30 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 32 | |
| 13 | Vegalta Sendai[c] | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 32 | |
| 14 | Vissel Kobe | 30 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 31 | |
| 15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 30 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 26 | Relegated to the2003 J.League Division 2 |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 30 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 30 | 64 | −34 | 15 |
| Pos | Footballer | Club | Goals | PK | GP | Shots | Goals Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Naohiro Takahara | Júbilo Iwata | 26 | 2/2 | 27 | 79 | 1.04 |
| 2nd |  Magrão | Gamba Osaka | 22 | 5/5 | 29 | 81 | 0.73 |
| 3rd | Ueslei | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 20 | 2/2 | 27 | 115 | 0.76 |
| 4th | Marcos | Vegalta Sendai | 18 | 2/2 | 24 | 79 | 0.72 |
| 5th | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | 16 | 1/1 | 29 | 79 | 0.54 |
| Edmundo | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 5/5 | 26 | 110 | 0.57 | ||
 Choi Yong-soo | JEF United Ichihara | 7/8 | 23 | 74 | 0.68 | ||
| 8th | Emerson Sheik | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 1/1 | 24 | 118 | 0.61 |
| Amaral | FC Tokyo | 4/4 | 29 | 72 | 0.54 | ||
| 10th | Will | Yokohama F. Marinos | 14 | 2/2 | 24 | 97 | 0.55 |
| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Hitoshi Sogahata (1) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Hideto Suzuki (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| DF | Makoto Tanaka (2) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| DF | Naoki Matsuda (2) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami (2) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Mitsuo Ogasawara (2) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Takashi Fukunishi (3) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Toshiya Fujita (3) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| FW | Emerson Sheik (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Brazil |
| FW | Masashi Nakayama (4) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| FW | Naohiro Takahara (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.
| Team | Attendance (Average) | |
|---|---|---|
| Division 1 | Division 2 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 394,445 (26,296) | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 361,613 (24,108) | |
| FC Tokyo | 332,597 (22,173) | |
| Vegalta Sendai | 327,925 (21,862) | |
| Kashima Antlers | 323,855 (21,590) | |
| Albirex Niigata | 472,507 (21,478) | |
| Consadole Sapporo | 287,098 (19,140) | |
| Júbilo Iwata | 248,462 (16,564) | |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 244,848 (16,323) | |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 226,926 (15,128) | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 224,443 (14,963) | |
| Gamba Osaka | 191,429 (12,762) | |
| Oita Trinita | 271,669 (12,349) | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 169,716 (11,314) | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 164,111 (10,941) | |
| Vissel Kobe | 157,011 (10,467) | |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 155,276 (10,352) | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 174,951 (7,952) | |
| JEF United Ichihara | 118,460 (7,897) | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 142,808 (6,491) | |
| Omiya Ardija | 115,846 (5,266) | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 115,431 (5,247) | |
| Ventforet Kofu | 108,108 (4,914) | |
| Shonan Bellmare | 100,125 (4,551) | |
| Sagan Tosu | 85,586 (3,890) | |
| Montedio Yamagata | 82,601 (3,755) | |
| Yokohama FC | 76,498 (3,477) | |
| Mito HollyHock | 60,262 (2,739) | |
