2023 J3 League Explained

Competition:	Meiji Yasuda J3 League
Season:	2023
Dates:	4 March – 2 December
Winners:	Ehime FC 1st J3 title 2nd D3 title
Promoted:	Ehime FC Kagoshima United
Matches:	380
Total Goals:	930
League Topscorer:	Ren Komatsu (19 goals)
Biggest Home Win:
Longest Wins:	Ehime FC (5 matches)
Longest Losses:	Giravanz Kitakyushu (6 matches)
Longest Winless:	SC Sagamihara (15 matches)
Longest Unbeaten:	Ehime FC (13 matches)
Highest Attendance:	12,458 Nagano Parceiro 2–1 Matsumoto Yamaga (13 May)
Lowest Attendance:	650 Azul Claro Numazu 0–1 Vanraure Hachinohe (18 March)
Attendance:	1,141,166 ^[1]
Average Attendance:	3,003
Prevseason:	2022
Nextseason:	2024

The 2023 J3 League, referred to as the for sponsorship reasons, is the 10th season of the J3 League under its current name.

Changes from the previous season

Iwaki FC and Fujieda MYFC were promoted to the J2 League after being champions and runners-up of last season's J3.

FC Ryukyu and Iwate Grulla Morioka were relegated from the J2 League after relatively short stints at the 2nd division, with Ryukyu spending four seasons, and Iwate spending just a single season. The clubs finished as 21st and 22nd-placed team at the 2022 J2 League, respectively.

Nara Club and FC Osaka were promoted to the J3 League after being respectively, champions and runners-up of last season's JFL. Both teams are making their debut in the J3 League after obtaining a J.League License, to enable their promotion from the JFL.

This season is the first of the J3 League to have 20 teams, seeing an increase from last season's 18 teams. About the number of teams, there will be no future changes, as the J.League confirmed that from 2024, all the three professional leagues would have 20 teams in each.

Overview

Promotion and relegation

This season will be the first to feature promotion/relegation from the Japan Football League, enabling the possibility for teams to be relegated from the J3.^[2] The system of promotion/relegation between the leagues can be determined by the eligibility (Promotion to J3 requires a J.League license) of the JFL's champions and runners-up for the season.

• If only the JFL champions holds a license, there will be automatic promotion/relegation with the J3's 20th-placed team.
• If only the JFL runners-up holds a license, there will be promotion/relegation play-offs with the J3's 20th-placed team.
• If both the JFL champions and runners-up hold a license, there will be automatic promotion/relegation between the JFL champions and the J3's 20th-placed team, and promotion/relegation play-offs with the J3's 19th-placed team.
• If both the JFL champions and runners-up do not hold a license, no promotion/relegation between J3 and JFL will take place.

The dates and the host teams of the promotion/relegation play-off were pre-determined by the J.League. In case it happens, it will be played in two legs on 9 and 16 December, with the J3 team hosting the second leg.

Participating clubs

Club name	Home town	Stadium	Capacity	Last season	Licence
Azul Claro Numazu	Numazu	Ashitaka Stadium	5,104	J3 (15th)	J2
Ehime FC	All cities/towns in Ehime	Ningineer Stadium	21,401	J3 (7th)	J1
Fukushima United	Fukushima	Toho Stadium	21,000	J3 (11th)	J1
Gainare Tottori	All cities/towns in Tottori	Axis Bird Stadium	16,033	J3 (12th)	J2
	All cities/towns in Gifu	Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium	26,109	J3 (14th)	J1
Giravanz Kitakyushu	Kitakyushu, Fukuoka	Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu	15,066	J3 (13th)	J1
FC Imabari	Imabari	Imabari Satoyama Stadium	5,316	J3 (5th)	J2
Iwate Grulla Morioka	All cities/towns in Iwate	Iwagin Stadium & Kitakami Stadium	4,946	J2 (22nd; Relegated)	J1
Kagoshima United	Kagoshima	Shiranami Stadium	19,934	J3 (3rd)	J1
Kamatamare Sanuki	All cities/towns in Kagawa	Pikara Stadium	30,099	J3 (17th)	J1
Kataller Toyama	All cities/towns in Toyama	Toyama Athletic Stadium	28,494	J3 (6th)	J1
Matsumoto Yamaga	Cities/towns in Nagano	Sunpro Alwin	20,396	J3 (4th)	J1
Nagano Parceiro	Nagano	Nagano U Stadium	15,491	J3 (8th)	J2
Nara Club	All cities/towns on Nara	Rohto Field Nara	30,600	JFL (1st; Promoted)	J2
FC Osaka	Higashiōsaka, Osaka	Hanazono Rugby Stadium	27,346	JFL (2nd; Promoted)	J3
FC Ryukyu	All cities/towns in Okinawa	Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium	12,270	J2 (21st; Relegated)	J1
SC Sagamihara	Sagamihara	Gion Stadium	15,300	J3 (18th)	J2
Tegevajaro Miyazaki	Miyazaki & Shintomi, Miyazaki	Unilever Stadium Shintomi	5,357	J3 (9th)	J2
Vanraure Hachinohe		Prifoods Stadium	5,200	J3 (10th)	J2
YSCC Yokohama	Yokohama	Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium	15,454	J3 (16th)	J2

Personnel and kits

Club	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Main shirt sponsor
Azul Claro Numazu	Masashi Nakayama	Takuya Sugai	Penalty	Usui
Ehime FC	Kiyotaka Ishimaru	Kenta Tokushige	Jogarbola	Ningineer Network
Fukushima United	Mitsumasa Yoda	Shun Obu	Hummel	Toho Bank
Gainare Tottori	Kohei Masumoto	Koki Ishii	Soccer Junky	San-in Godo Bank
FC Gifu	Yusaku Ueno	Yoshihiro Shoji	Razzoli	Hot Staff
Giravanz Kitakyushu	Kazuaki Tasaka	Ryosuke Tada	Penalty	Toto
FC Imabari	Naoto Kudo	Keishi Kusumi	Asics	Unicharm
Iwate Grulla Morioka	Tetsuji Nakamikawa	Atsutaka Nakamura	Kelme	Nova
Kagoshima United	Yasuaki Oshima	Kenta Hirose	Angua	Satsuma Shimabijin
Kamatamare Sanuki	Atsushi Yoneyama		Angua	Rexxam
Kataller Toyama	Michiharu Otagiri	Kosei Wakimoto	Goldwin	YKK AP
Matsumoto Yamaga	Masahiro Shimoda	Akira Ando	Adidas	Epson
Nagano Parceiro	Riki Takagi	Takuya Akiyama	Penalty	Hokto
Nara Club	Julián Marín Bazalo	Yuki Kotani	Squadra	Daiwa House
FC Osaka	Ryo Shigaki	Shusuke Sakamoto	bonera	OM-X
FC Ryukyu	Kim Jong-song	Ryunosuke Noda	sfida	GMO Coin
SC Sagamihara	Kazuyuki Toda	Akihiko Takeshige	Gol.	Gion
Tegevajaro Miyazaki	Mitsuo Kato	Kenji Dai	Yonex	Enatsu Shoji Holdings
Vanraure Hachinohe	Nobuhiro Ishizaki	Naoyuki Yamada	Hummel	Atmix
YSCC Yokohama	Kazuki Kuranuki	Kento Dodate	Bonera	Sanshin

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing		Exit date		Position in table	Incoming	Incoming date
			Announced on	Departed on			Announced on	Arrived on
FC Ryukyu	Kazuki Kuranuki	Sacked	16 May		17th	Tetsuhiro Kina	16 May		^[3]
Gainare Tottori	Kim Jong-song	Sacked	19 June		18th	Kohei Masumoto (interim)	20 June		^[4]
Fukushima United	Toshihiro Hattori	Sacked	12 July		18th	Mitsumasa Yoda	18 July		^[5]
FC Imabari	Riki Takagi	Sacked	15 August		6th	Naoto Kudo	16 August		^[6]
Kagoshima United	Naoto Otake	Sacked	22 August		5th	Yasuaki Oshima	23 August		^[7]
Nagano Parceiro	Yuki Richard Stalph	Sacked	27 August		15th	Riki Takagi	30 August		^[8]
YSCC Yokohama	Kei Hoshikawa	Sacked	28 August		18th	Kazuki Kuranuki	30 August		^[9]
Giravanz Kitakyushu	Kazuaki Tasaka	Resigned	5 September		20th	Shinji Kobayashi	5 September		^[10] ^[11]
FC Ryukyu	Tetsuhiro Kina	Sacked	15 September		18th	Kim Jong-song	15 September		^[12]
Iwate Grulla Morioka	Yoshika Matsubara	Sacked	19 September		14th	Tetsuji Nakamikawa	20 September		^[13]
Tegevajaro Miyazaki	Hiroshi Matsuda	Sacked	26 September		17th	Mitsuo Kato	27 September		^[14]

Foreign players

From the 2021 season onwards, there is no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad.^[15] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Qatar) were exempted from these restrictions.

• Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the summer transfer window.
• Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, holds the nationality of a J.League partner nation, or is exempt from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from an approved type of school in the country.^[16]

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Left mid-season
Azul Claro Numazu	Igor Gabriel	Mikhael Akatsuka	Raul Sudati	Shunkun Tani
Ehime FC	Ben Duncan
Fukushima United
Gainare Tottori	Mun In-ju
FC Gifu	Ono Cholhwan
Giravanz Kitakyushu	Koh Seung-jin	Mikel Agu	Eduardo de Queiroz Melo	Ikechukwu Eboko
FC Imabari	Marcus Índio	Jon Ander Serantes	Park Soo-bin	Ralf Seuntjens	Filip Piszczek		Dudu
Iwate Grulla Morioka	Cristiano	Douglas Oliveira	Au Yeung Yiu Chung	Jang Hyun-soo	Kenneth Otabor	Ri Yong-jik
Kagoshima United	Weslley
Kamatamare Sanuki
Kataller Toyama	Arthur Silva	Gabriel Nascimento	Matheus Leiria
Matsumoto Yamaga	Lucas Rian	Paulinho	Víctor Ibáñez
Nagano Parceiro	Ryu Nugraha	Kim Min-ho
Nara Club	Arnau Riera
FC Osaka	Woo Sang-ho						Efrain Rintaro João Victor Maykon Douglas Jean Marie Dongou
FC Ryukyu	Kelvin	Cho Eun-su	Jeon Ji-wan	Danny Carvajal	Sadam Sulley
SC Sagamihara
Tegevajaro Miyazaki
Vanraure Hachinohe	Oriola Sunday
YSCC Yokohama	Carlos Arroyo	Loris Tinelli	Promise Ugochukwu

Stadiums

Primary venues to be used in the 2023 J3 League season:

Azul Claro Numazu	Ehime FC	Fukushima United	Gainare Tottori	FC Gifu	Giravanz Kitakyushu	FC Imabari
Ashitaka Park Stadium	Ningineer Stadium	Toho Stadium	Axis Bird Stadium	Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium
Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 21,401	Capacity: 21,000	Capacity: 16,310	Capacity: 11,999	Capacity: 15,300	Capacity: 5,316
Iwate Grulla Morioka	Kagoshima United	Kamatamare Sanuki	Kataller Toyama	Matsumoto Yamaga	Nagano Parceiro	Nara Club
Iwagin Stadium	Shiranami Stadium	Pikara Stadium	Toyama Stadium	Sunpro Alwin	Nagano U Stadium	Rohto Field Nara
Capacity: 4,946	Capacity: 12,606	Capacity: 22,338	Capacity: 18,588	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 15,515	Capacity: 30,600
FC Osaka	FC Ryukyu	SC Sagamihara	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	Vanraure Hachinohe	YSCC Yokohama	All J3 stadiums
Hanazono Rugby Stadium	Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium	Sagamihara Gion Stadium	Unilever Stadium Shintomi	Prifoods Stadium	Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium
Capacity: 27,346	Capacity: 12,270	Capacity: 15,300	Capacity: 5,354	Capacity: 5,124	Capacity: 15,440

Season statistics

Goal contributions

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[17]
1	Ren Komatsu	Matsumoto Yamaga	19
2	Hayato Asakawa	Nara Club	16
3	Noah Kenshin Browne	Azul Claro Numazu	12
	Riki Matsuda	Ehime FC
5	Sho Fukuda	YSCC Yokohama	11
	Ryunosuke Noda	FC Ryukyu
	Masashi Wada	Iwate Grulla Morioka

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists^[18]
1	Yusuke Kikui	Matsumoto Yamaga	9
	Marcus Índio	FC Imabari
	Shunsuke Motegi	Ehime FC
4	Kaili Shimbo	Iwate Grulla Morioka	8
5	Noah Kenshin Browne	Azul Claro Numazu	7
	Nao Eguchi	Kamatamare Sanuki
	Kotaro Tokunaga	Azul Claro Numazu

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	^[19]
1	Tatsunari Nagai	FC Osaka	16
2	Kenta Tanno	Iwate Grulla Morioka	12
3	Jun Kodama	YSCC Yokohama	9
	Shinji Okada	Nara Club
	Yusuke Taniguchi	Vanraure Hachinohe

Discipline

Player

• Most yellow cards: 11^[20]
  • Takahiro Nakazato (YSCC Yokohama)
• Most red cards: 2 ^[21]
  • Ayumu Matsumoto (FC Gifu)
  • Marcus Índio (FC Imabari)

Club

• Most yellow cards: 65 ^[22] (FC Ryukyu)
• Most red cards: 4 ^[23] (FC Gifu)

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Monthly MVP		Goal of the Month		References
	Manager	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
February/March	Yoshika Matsubara	Iwate Grulla Morioka	Tsuyoshi Miyaichi	Iwate Grulla Morioka	Kelvin	FC Ryukyu	^[24]
April	Julián Marín Bazalo	Nara Club	Hayato Asakawa	Nara Club	Ren Komatsu	Matsumoto Yamaga	^[25] ^[26] ^[27]
May	Naoto Otake	Kagoshima United	Sho Fukuda	YSCC Yokohama	Rio Yoshitake	SC Sagamihara	^[28]
June	Yusako Ueno	FC Gifu	Yoji Sasaki	Kataller Toyama	Haruto Shirai	FC Ryukyu	^[29] ^[30] ^[31]
July	Kiyotaka Ishimaru	Ehime FC	Shumpei Fukahori	Ehime FC	Takahiro Kitsui	FC Osaka	^[32] ^[33] ^[34]
August	Mitsumasa Yoda	Fukushima United	Charles Nduka	FC Gifu	Shunsuke Tanimoto	Ehime FC	^[35] ^[36] ^[37]
September	Yasuaki Oshima	Kagoshima United	Takahiro Kitsui	FC Osaka		Kataller Toyama	^[38] ^[39] ^[40]
October	Kazuki Kuranuki	YSCC Yokohama	Rei Yonezawa	Kagoshima United		AC Nagano Parceiro	^[41] ^[42] ^[43]
November/December	Nobuhiro Ishizaki	Vanraure Hachinohe	Matheus Leiria	Kataller Toyama	Tatsuma Sakai	Nara Club	^[44] ^[45] ^[46]

See also

National association

• Japan Football Association (JFA)

League

• Japanese association football league system
  • J.League
    • 2023 J1 League
    • 2023 J2 League

• • 2023 Japan Football League

Cup

• 2023 Emperor's Cup (national open cup)

External links

• Official website, JLeague.jp

Notes and References

1. Web site: ２０２３明治安田生命Ｊ３リーグ. 20 September 2023. ja. data.j-league.or.jp.
2. Web site: 2023シーズン以降のＪ３クラブ・ＪＦＬクラブの入れ替えについて. 6 January 2023. 6 January 2023. ja. jleague.jp. Japan Professional Football League.
3. Web site: 倉貫一毅監督 解任のお知らせ. ja. 16 May 2023. 16 May 2023.
4. Web site: トップチーム監督交代および体制変更のお知らせ. ja. 20 June 2023. 20 June 2023.
5. Web site: 依田 光正 監督就任のお知らせ. ja. 24 August 2023. 18 July 2023.
6. Web site: 【トップチーム】工藤 直人 氏トップチーム監督就任のお知らせ . www.fcimabari.com . Japanese . 23 August 2023.
7. Web site: 大島 康明ヘッドコーチの監督就任について . ja . 26 August 2023. 22 August 2023.
8. Web site: 髙木理己 氏 監督就任のお知らせ . ja . 30 August 2023. 30 August 2023.
9. Web site: 倉貫一毅氏 監督就任のお知らせ . ja . 30 August 2023. 30 August 2023.
10. Web site: 田坂 和昭 監督　辞任のお知らせ . ギラヴァンツ北九州 . ja . 5 September 2023 . 5 September 2023.
11. Web site: 小林伸二スポーツダイレクター 監督就任のお知らせ . ギラヴァンツ北九州 . ja . 5 September 2023. 5 September 2023.
12. Web site: 金鍾成（キン・ジョンソン） 氏　監督就任のお知らせ . ja . 15 September 2023. 15 September 2023.
13. Web site: 【チーム】中三川哲治ユース監督　トップチーム監督就任のお知らせ. 20 September 2023. ja. 20 September 2023. grulla-morioka.jp. Iwate Grulla Morioka.
14. Web site: 加藤光男コーチ　監督就任のお知らせ. 27 September 2023. ja. 27 September 2023. tegevajaro.com. Tegevajaro Miyazaki.
15. Web site: 「ホームグロウン制度」の導入と「外国籍選手枠」の変更について. JLeague.jp. live. ja . Japan Professional Football League. 20 November 2018. About the introduction of the "homegrown system" and the change of the "foreign player quota". https://web.archive.org/web/20181120082513/https://www.jleague.jp/release/post-56861/ . 20 November 2018 .
16. Web site: プロサッカー選手の契約、登録および移籍に関する規則. ja. Japan Football Association. Rules for contracting, registering and transferring professional soccer players. JFA.jp. 1 March 2022.
17. Web site: Goals. Japan Professional Football League. 29 November 2022.
18. Web site: Assists. Japan Professional Football League. 29 November 2022.
19. Web site: Clean Sheets (GK). Japan Professional Football League. 29 November 2022.
20. Web site: J3 2023 Yellow cards. Japan Professional Football League. 29 November 2022.
21. Web site: J3 2023 Red Cards. Japan Professional Football League. 29 November 2022.
22. Web site: Club yellow cards . Japan Professional Football League . 29 November 2022.
23. Web site: Club red cards . Japan Professional Football League . 29 November 2022.
24. Web site: 2・3月度「２０２３明治安田生命Ｊリーグ KONAMI月間MVP」を発表！「２０２３明治安田生命ＪリーグKONAMI月間ベストゴール」、「月間優秀監督賞」も決定！. 18 April 2023. 18 April 2023. jleague.jp. Japan Professional Football League.
25. Web site: Michael Skibbe wins Manager of the Month for April after leading Sanfrecce into title hunt. 13 June 2023. 16 May 2023. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League.
26. Web site: Ryoma Watanabe's breathtaking finish wins Konami Goal of the Month for April. 13 June 2023. 16 May 2023. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League.
27. Web site: Douglas Vieira wins April Konami Monthly MVP for goal scoring heroics. 13 June 2023. 16 May 2023. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League.
28. Web site: 5月度「２０２３明治安田生命Ｊリーグ KONAMI月間MVP」を発表！「２０２３明治安田生命ＪリーグKONAMI月間ベストゴール」、「月間優秀監督賞」も決定！. 13 June 2023. 13 June 2023. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League.
29. Web site: Dani Poyatos named Manager of the Month after guiding Gamba to sensational June . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 18 July 2023 . 18 July 2023.
30. Web site: Yoshinori Muto named Konami Monthly MVP after scintillating June . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 18 July 2023 . 18 July 2023.
31. Web site: Takumu Kawamura wins Konami Goal of the Month for electric run and finish . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 18 July 2023 . 18 July 2023.
32. Web site: Shigetoshi Hasebe wins Manager of the Month after Avispa Fukuoka’s perfect July . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 16 August 2023 . 15 August 2023.
33. Web site: Yuya Osako wins Konami Monthly MVP again as Vissel star takes July honorse . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 16 August 2023 . 15 August 2023.
34. Web site: Ken Iwao’s half-field goal takes home Konami Goal of the Month for July . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 16 August 2023 . 15 August 2023 . The best goal in J3 was awarded to FC Osaka’s Takahiro Kitsui for his stoppage time winner in Matchweek 16. .
35. Web site: Daiki Iwamasa wins Manager of the Month after guiding Kashima up table in August . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 20 September 2023 . 12 September 2023.
36. Web site: Yuta Higuchi wins Konami Monthly MVP for romping August . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 20 September 2023 . 12 September 2023.
37. Web site: Marcos Júnior’s amazing move wins him Konami Goal of the Month for August . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 20 September 2023 . 12 September 2023.
38. Web site: Shigetoshi Hasebe named Manager of the Month for Fukuoka’s terrific September. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 23 October 2023 . 17 October 2023.
39. Web site: Kazuya Konno wins Konami Monthly MVP for spectacular September. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 23 October 2023 . 17 October 2023.
40. Web site: Shunsuke Mito’s silky move wins him Konami Goal of the Month for September. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 23 October 2023 . 17 October 2023.
41. Web site: Yamaguchi wins Manager of the Month for Bellmare’s outstanding October News . J.LEAGUE . 3 December 2023 . en.
42. Web site: Daiki Tomii’s heroics in Bellmare goal win him Konami Monthly MVP for October News . J.LEAGUE . 3 December 2023 . en.
43. Web site: Tawaratsumida’s spectacular solo effort wins Konami Goal of the Month for October News . J.LEAGUE . 3 December 2023 . en.
44. Web site: Yoshida wins Manager of the Month for clinching Vissel Kobe's first title. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 6 December 2023 . 4 December 2023.
45. Web site: Yuya Osako wins Konami Monthly MVP for November and December. JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 6 December 2023 . 4 December 2023.
46. Web site: Toyokawa's beautiful touch, turn and finish wins Konami Goal of the Month for October . JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League . 6 December 2023 . 4 December 2023.