The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (2016 明治安田生命J3リーグ) is the 20th season of the third tier in Japanese football, and the 3rd season of the professional J3 League.

Meiji Yasuda J3 League
Season2016
ChampionsOita Trinita
PromotedOita Trinita
Matches played240
Goals scored592 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorerNoriaki Fujimoto
(Kagoshima United FC)
(15 goals)
Highest attendance11,065
Ōita vs YSCC Yokohama
(13 November)
Lowest attendance486
Morioka vs Ryukyu
(7 April)
Average attendance2,957
2015
2017

Clubs

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Osaka teams
Locations of the 2016 J3 League teams

To participate, a club must have held an associate 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 in Akita
Cerezo Osaka U23 Osaka, Osaka New club, ineligible for J2 promotion
Fukushima United Fukushima
Gainare Tottori All cities/towns in Tottori
Gamba Osaka U-23 Suita, Osaka, Osaka New club, ineligible for J2 promotion
Grulla Morioka Morioka, Iwate
Kagoshima United Kagoshima, Kagoshima Promoted from 2015 JFL
Kataller Toyama All cities/towns in Toyama Eligible for J2 promotion
Fujieda MYFC Fujieda, Shizuoka
Nagano Parceiro Nagano Eligible for J2 promotion
FC Ryukyu All cities/towns in Okinawa
SC Sagamihara Sagamihara, Kanagawa
Tochigi SC Tochigi, Tochigi Relegated from 2015 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

Competition rules

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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 the ASEAN partner country of J.League or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3 substitutes 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]

Promotion and relegation

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Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of the Japan 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 the JFL 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.

Managerial changes

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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

League table

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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 to 2017 J2 League
2 Tochigi SC 30 17 8 5 38 20 +18 59 Qualification to J2 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
Updated to match(es) played on 20 November 2016. Source: 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4th) head-to-head results; 5th) disciplinary points; 6th) draw
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.

Results

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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 match(es) played on 20 November 2016. Source: J. League data site
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

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Rank Scorer Club Goals
1   Noriaki Fujimoto Kagoshima United FC
15
2   Yusuke Goto Oita Trinita
14
3   Keita Tanaka FC Ryukyu
13
4   Yuichiro Edamoto Fujieda MYFC
12
5   Tsugutoshi Oishi Tochigi SC 11
  Yu In-soo FC Tokyo U-23
7   Ritsu Doan Gamba Osaka U-23 10
  Kazushi Mitsuhira Oita Trinita
9   Taku Ushinohama Grulla Morioka 9
  Hiroki Higuchi Fukushima United FC

Updated to games played on 20 November 2016
Source: J.League Data

Attendances

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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

References

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  1. ^ a b c Playing system and rules of 2016 J3 League (in Japanese), J.League, 15 December 2015[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Tournament schemes for 2016 J3 League (in Japanese), J.League, 15 December 2015[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "O [ W I t B V T C g b j [ X". Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  4. ^ "O [ W I t B V T C g b j [ X". Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  5. ^ "栃木サッカークラブ公式サイト Tochigi Soccer Club:倉田安治監督 契約期間満了のお知らせ". Archived from the original on 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  6. ^ "栃木サッカークラブ公式サイト Tochigi Soccer Club:横山雄次 新監督就任のお知らせ <コメント更新>". Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  7. ^ "松波 正信監督 来季の契約について".
  8. ^ "柱谷 哲二氏 監督就任のお知らせ".
  9. ^ "Ac長野パルセイロ". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  10. ^ "Ac長野パルセイロ". Archived from the original on 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  11. ^ "薩川了洋監督 退任のお知らせ | FC琉球公式サイト | FC Ryukyu Official Website". Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  12. ^ "金 鍾成氏 2016シーズントップチーム監督就任のお知らせ | FC琉球公式サイト | FC Ryukyu Official Website". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  13. ^ "SC相模原 オフィシャルブログ » 松原良香氏「スポーツダイレクター」就任のお知らせ". Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  14. ^ "SC相模原 オフィシャルブログ » 薩川了洋 監督就任のお知らせ". Archived from the original on 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  15. ^ "ニュース - KATALLER TOYAMA OFFICIAL WEB SITE". Archived from the original on 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  16. ^ "柳田伸明監督 辞任のお知らせ - トリニータNEWS|大分トリニータ公式サイト". Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  17. ^ "片野坂 知宏氏 監督就任のお知らせ - トリニータNEWS|大分トリニータ公式サイト". Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  18. ^ "中篠田善之監督就任のお知らせ". fctokyo.co.jp (in Japanese). 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  19. ^ "薩川監督退任および強化部へ異動のお知らせ". scsagamihara.com (in Japanese). 2016-08-18. Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  20. ^ "安永聡太郎 監督就任のお知らせ". scsagamihara.com (in Japanese). 2016-08-20. Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-30.