| Competition: | Meiji Yasuda J1 League |
| Winners: | Kashima Antlers 8th J.League title 8th Japanese title |
| Relegated: | Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare Avispa Fukuoka |
| Continentalcup1: | AFC Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka |
| Continentalcup2: | Club World Cup |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Kashima Antlers |
| Matches: | 306 |
| Total Goals: | 805 |
| League Topscorer: | Leandro (Vissel Kobe) Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) (19 goals each) |
| Highest Attendance: | 59,837 Urawa vs Kashima (3 December) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 5,870 Fukuoka vs Nagoya (2 July) |
| Average Attendance: | 17,968 |
| Prevseason: | 2015 |
| Nextseason: | 2017 |
| Updated: | 3 November 2016 |
| Season: | 2016 |
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2016 明治安田生命J1リーグ) season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. This was second season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.
For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.
| Club Name | Coach | Home Town(s) | Stadium | Capacity | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata |  Tatsuma Yoshida | Niigata City & Seirō, Niigata | Big Swan Stadium | 42,300 | 15th in 2015 | |
| Masatada Ishii | Southeast Ibaraki Prefecture | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 40,728 | 5th in 2015 | ||
| Omiya Ardija | Hiroki Shibuya | Saitama City, Saitama | NACK5 Stadium | 15,500 | Promoted from J2 League in 2015 | |
| Masami Ihara | Fukuoka City, Fukuoka | Level-5 Stadium | 22,563 | Promoted from J2 League in 2015 (through a play-off system) | ||
| Cho Kwi-jea | Shonan part of Kanagawa | Shonan Stadium Hiratsuka | 18,500 | 8th in 2015 | ||
 Erick Mombaerts | Yokohama & Yokosuka, Kanagawa | Nissan Stadium | 72,327 | 7th in 2015 | ||
| Yahiro Kazama | Kawasaki City, Kanagawa | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | 26,232 | 6th in 2015 | ||
| Gamba Osaka | Kenta Hasegawa | Northern Osaka Prefecture | Suita City Football Stadium | 40,000 | 2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League third-placed team and Emperor's Cup winners) | |
 Boško Gjurovski | All Aichi Prefecture | Mizuho Athletic Stadium | 27,000 | 9th in 2015 | ||
| Hiroshi Nanami | Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | Promoted from J2 League in 2015 | ||
| Mihailo Petrović | Saitama City, Saitama | Saitama Stadium | 63,700 | 2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League runners-up) | ||
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Kashiwa, Chiba | Kashiwa Soccer Stadium | 15,900 | 10th in 2015 | ||
| Sagan Tosu |  Massimo Ficcadenti | Tosu, Saga | Tosu Stadium | 24,490 | 11th in 2015 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hajime Moriyasu | Hiroshima City, Hiroshima | Hiroshima Big Arch | 50,000 | 2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League winners) | |
| Yoshiyuki Shinoda | Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | 2016 AFC Champions League participant (as 2015 J.League fourth-placed team) | ||
| Vegalta Sendai | Susumu Watanabe | Sendai, Miyagi | Yurtec Stadium | 19,694 | 14th in 2015 | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Satoru Sakuma | All Yamanashi Prefecture | Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium | 17,000 | 13th in 2015 | |
 Nelsinho Baptista | Kobe, Hyōgo | Misaki Park Stadium | 30,132 | 12th in 2015 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of separation | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of announcement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashiwa Reysol | Tatsuma Yoshida | End of 2015 season | Mutual consent[1] | Milton Mendes | 30 October 2015 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Akira Nishino | Mutual consent[2] | Takafumi Ogura | 24 November 2015 | ||
| Albirex Niigata | Masaaki Yanagishita | Mutual consent[3] | Tatsuma Yoshida | 12 December 2015 | ||
| FC Tokyo | Massimo Ficcadenti | 27 November 2015 | Signed by Sagan Tosu[4] | Hiroshi Jofuku | 28 December 2015 | |
| Sagan Tosu | Hitoshi Morishita | 7 January 2016 | Contract terminated[5] | Massimo Ficcadenti[6] | 7 January 2016 | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Milton Mendes | 12 March 2016 | Resigned[7] | Takahiro Shimotaira | 12 March 2016 | |
| FC Tokyo | Hiroshi Jofuku | 24 July 2016 | Sacked[8] [9] | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | 26 July 2016 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Takafumi Ogura | 23 August 2016 | Sacked[10] |  Boško Gjurovski | 23 August 2016 |
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Teams play a single round-robin in the first stage and a single round-robin in the second stage.[12] After that an overall table is calculated and a championship stage is played. The winners of the first and second stages and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall rankings advance to the championship stage. The team that finishes atop the overall table automatically qualifies for the final, while the remaining teams play-off for the other spot in the final.
Meiji Yasuda 2016 J.League Championship (明治安田生命 2016 Jリーグチャンピオンシップ)
The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table. The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final. The remaining teams playoff for the other spot in the final.
------------
Source: J. League data site
| Award | Recipient | Club | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Kengo Nakamura | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| Rookie of the Year | Yosuke Ideguchi | Gamba Osaka |
| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Urawa Red Diamonds | |||
| DF | Kashima Antlers | |||
| DF | FC Tokyo | |||
| DF | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | |||
| DF | Urawa Red Diamonds | |||
| MF | Urawa Red Diamonds | |||
| MF | Urawa Red Diamonds | |||
| MF | Kawasaki Frontale | |||
| MF | Yokohama F. Marinos | |||
| FW | Kawasaki Frontale | |||
| FW | Leandro | Vissel Kobe |
Source:[13]
These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include the Championship stages attendances.
Nejc Pecnik
Krzysztof Kaminski
