| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 26 February – 4 December |
| Champions | Kawasaki Frontale 4th J1 title 4thJapanese title |
| Relegated | Tokushima Vortis Oita Trinita Vegalta Sendai Yokohama FC |
| Champions League | Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos Vissel Kobe Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 920 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Leandro Damião Daizen Maeda (23 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Urawa Red Diamonds 0–5 Kawasaki Frontale (21 March 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Kashima Antlers 5–3 Yokohama F. Marinos (15 May 2021) Yokohama FC 5–3 Tokushima Vortis (16 October 2021) Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0 FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Longest unbeaten run | 25 matches Kawasaki Frontale |
| Longest winless run | 13 matches Yokohama FC |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Avispa Fukuoka Oita Trinita |
| Highest attendance | 30,657[1] Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 Kawasaki Frontale (4 December 2021) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,899[1] Yokohama FC 0–3Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7 April 2021) (excluding matches playedbehind closed doors) |
| Total attendance | 2,531,007[1] |
| Average attendance | 6,661[1] (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
←2020 2022 → | |
The2021 J1 League, also known as the2021Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese:2021 明治安田生命J1リーグ,Hepburn:2021 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of theJ1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was seventh season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The league began on 26 February and ended on 4 December 2021.
Kawasaki Frontale were the reigning champions, having won their third title in2020 with four rounds to play.[2] They successfully retained the title, again with four rounds to play.[3]
On 20 November 2021,Oita Trinita,Vegalta Sendai, andYokohama FC were relegated to J2 League with two games to play. On the final matchday,Tokushima Vortis was relegated back to J2 League after just one season.
There were no teams relegated the previous season due toimpacts related to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4] Instead, four relegation places were applied for the current season to reduce the total number of teams from 20 back to 18.[5]
Two teams were promoted from the2020 J2 League:Tokushima Vortis won the title and clinched a second promotion to J1 (the first came in2013), whileAvispa Fukuoka came second, returning to J1 after five seasons.[6]
As of 2019 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[25] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) were exempted from these restrictions.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale(C) | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 92 | Qualification for theAFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 82 | 35 | +47 | 79 | |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 73 | Qualification for theAFC Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 69 | |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 66 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 63[a] | Qualification for theAFC Champions League group stage[b] |
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 59 | |
| 8 | Avispa Fukuoka | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 54 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 53 | |
| 10 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 51 | |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 49 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 48 | |
| 13 | Gamba Osaka | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 44 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 54 | −17 | 42 | |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 41 | |
| 16 | Shonan Bellmare | 38 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 37[a] | |
| 17 | Tokushima Vortis(R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 36 | Relegation to theJ2 League |
| 18 | Oita Trinita(R) | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 35 | |
| 19 | Vegalta Sendai(R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 28 | |
| 20 | Yokohama FC(R) | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 77 | −45 | 27 |
| Home \ Away | ANT | AVI | BEL | CER | CON | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | REY | RED | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | VEG | VIS | VOR | YFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashima Antlers | — | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 5–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–5 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 8–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Gamba Osaka | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3[a] | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Sagan Tosu | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 4–0 |
| Oita Trinita | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 5–3 | — |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Vissel Kobe | 3–4 (H)[32][33] | 20 March 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 3–0 (A)[34] | 1 May 2021 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Yokohama F. Marinos | 5–3 (H)[35] | 15 May 2021 | |
| Vissel Kobe | Yokohama FC | 5–0 (H)[36] | 23 June 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Oita Trinita | 5–1 (H)[37] | 15 August 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Vegalta Sendai | 5–0 (H)[38] | 21 August 2021 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kashiwa Reysol | 3–0 (A)[39] | 18 September 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 8–0 (H)[40] | 6 November 2021 | |
| Gamba Osaka | Oita Trinita | 3–2 (A)[41] | 7 November 2021 |