2015 in Japanese football

2015 season
← 2014
2016 →

Japanese football in 2015.

J1 League

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Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the Clausura title, accumulating the most points in the overall table and thus getting a bye to the Championship final, where they met third-place Gamba Osaka, who had defeated Apertura champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the semifinal. Hiroshima won the two-legged final for their eighth overall Japanese title, regaining the record position they had set in 1970 and which they had held until the old Japan Soccer League folded.

Shimizu S-Pulse was relegated to the second tier for the first time, after being one of the co-founders of the J. League back in 1993 (a placement that was deemed questionable in many quarters due to their lack of JSL record). Following after cameo appearances were Montedio Yamagata, in their fourth season, and Matsumoto Yamaga, who was debuting in the top flight only four years after being promoted from what was the third tier at the time, the Japan Football League.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C) 34 23 5 6 73 30 +43 74 Club World Cup, Champions League group stage and J.League Championship Final
2 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 21 9 4 69 40 +29 72 Champions League group stage and J.League Championship 1st Round
3 Gamba Osaka 34 18 9 7 56 37 +19 63
4 FC Tokyo 34 19 6 9 45 33 +12 63 Champions League qualifying play-off[a]
5 Kashima Antlers 34 18 5 11 57 41 +16 59
6 Kawasaki Frontale 34 17 6 11 62 48 +14 57
7 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 15 10 9 45 32 +13 55
8 Shonan Bellmare 34 13 9 12 40 44 −4 48
9 Nagoya Grampus 34 13 7 14 44 48 −4 46
10 Kashiwa Reysol 34 12 9 13 46 43 +3 45
11 Sagan Tosu 34 9 13 12 37 54 −17 40
12 Vissel Kobe 34 10 8 16 44 49 −5 38
13 Ventforet Kofu 34 10 7 17 26 43 −17 37
14 Vegalta Sendai 34 9 8 17 44 48 −4 35
15 Albirex Niigata 34 8 10 16 41 58 −17 34
16 Matsumoto Yamaga (R) 34 7 7 20 30 54 −24 28 Relegation to 2016 J2 League
17 Shimizu S-Pulse (R) 34 5 10 19 37 65 −28 25
18 Montedio Yamagata (R) 34 4 12 18 24 53 −29 24
Updated to match(es) played on 28 November 2015. Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League Standings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ The winner of the 2015 Emperor's Cup qualified for the Group Stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League. Since the Emperor's Cup winner was Gamba Osaka who were the third-placed team, the qualifying play-off spot was awarded to the fourth-placed team.

J2 League

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Omiya Ardija won the title and returned to the top flight at the first attempt. Júbilo Iwata followed after two years of second-tier football. In the playoffs, Avispa Fukuoka survived the final against fourth-placed Cerezo Osaka with a draw and was promoted, putting an end to four years of second-tier wilderness.

At the bottom, Tochigi SC were relegated after 6 years in the second division, while Oita Trinita had the most shocking downfall, being a former J. League Cup winner and having played first-tier football only two seasons before, and losing a test-match series to Machida Zelvia.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Omiya Ardija (C, P) 42 26 8 8 72 37 +35 86 Promotion to 2016 J1 League
2 Júbilo Iwata (P) 42 24 10 8 72 43 +29 82
3 Avispa Fukuoka (O, P) 42 24 10 8 63 37 +26 82 Qualification for promotion playoffs[a]
4 Cerezo Osaka 42 18 13 11 57 40 +17 67
5 Ehime FC 42 19 8 15 47 39 +8 65
6 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 15 15 12 42 33 +9 60
7 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 18 5 19 59 58 +1 59
8 Tokyo Verdy 42 16 10 16 43 41 +2 58
9 JEF United Chiba 42 15 12 15 50 45 +5 57
10 Consadole Sapporo 42 14 15 13 47 43 +4 57
11 Fagiano Okayama 42 12 18 12 40 35 +5 54
12 Zweigen Kanazawa 42 12 18 12 46 43 +3 54
13 Roasso Kumamoto 42 13 14 15 42 45 −3 53
14 Tokushima Vortis 42 13 14 15 35 44 −9 53
15 Yokohama FC 42 13 13 16 33 58 −25 52
16 Kamatamare Sanuki 42 12 15 15 30 33 −3 51
17 Kyoto Sanga 42 12 14 16 45 51 −6 50
18 Thespakusatsu Gunma 42 13 9 20 34 56 −22 48
19 Mito HollyHock 42 10 16 16 40 47 −7 46
20 FC Gifu 42 12 7 23 37 71 −34 43
21 Oita Trinita (R) 42 8 14 20 41 51 −10 38 Qualification for relegation playoffs[b]
22 Tochigi SC (R) 42 7 14 21 39 64 −25 35 Relegation to 2016 J3 League
Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League Standing
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion playoffs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
  2. ^ The playoffs and direct exchange between J2 and J3 are subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2015 J3 League.

J3 League

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Only one season after being promoted from the fourth-tier JFL, Renofa Yamaguchi won the third tier at the first attempt. Machida Zelvia settled for second place but won the test match series easily against a crestfallen Oita Trinita.

There was no relegation from this division, but the Japan Football Association folded the U-22 team.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Renofa Yamaguchi (C, P) 36 25 3 8 96 36 +60 78 Promotion to 2016 J2 League
2 Machida Zelvia (P) 36 23 9 4 52 18 +34 78 Qualification to J2 League promotion playoffs[a]
3 Nagano Parceiro 36 21 7 8 46 28 +18 70
4 SC Sagamihara 36 17 7 12 59 51 +8 58
5 Kataller Toyama 36 14 10 12 37 36 +1 52
6 Gainare Tottori 36 14 8 14 47 41 +6 50
7 Fukushima United 36 13 10 13 42 48 −6 49
8 Blaublitz Akita 36 12 9 15 37 40 −3 45
9 FC Ryukyu 36 12 9 15 45 51 −6 45
10 Fujieda MYFC 36 11 4 21 37 61 −24 37
11 Grulla Morioka 36 8 11 17 36 47 −11 35
12 J.League U-22 Selection (W) 36 7 7 22 28 71 −43 28 Folded by JFA after the season.
13 YSCC Yokohama 36 7 6 23 24 58 −34 27
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2015. Source: JLeague.jp
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; (W) Withdrawn
Notes:
  1. ^ Only teams that hold a J2 license are eligible for promotion.


Japan Football League

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Vanraure Hachinohe won the Apertura title and an entry to the 2015 Emperor's Cup but fell in the Clausura stage to eventual winner Sony Sendai as well as to Kagoshima United, who won fourth-place overall, good enough for promotion to the J3 League.

There was no relegation, but SP Kyoto FC withdrew after the season. They will be replaced by Regional Promotion Series finalists ReinMeer Aomori and Briobecca Urayasu.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Sony Sendai (C) 30 21 8 1 48 21 +27 71
2 Vanraure Hachinohe 30 17 8 5 36 21 +15 59
3 Honda FC 30 21 5 4 73 22 +51 68
4 Kagoshima United (P) 30 18 6 6 46 25 +21 60 Promotion to 2016 J3 League
5 Azul Claro Numazu 30 16 6 8 36 28 +8 54
6 SP Kyoto FC 30 14 8 8 51 26 +25 50 Withdrawn
7 Nara Club 30 13 7 10 33 28 +5 46
8 FC Osaka 30 13 5 12 45 35 +10 44
9 Honda Lock 30 11 7 12 31 37 −6 40
10 Verspah Oita 30 10 7 13 40 47 −7 37
11 MIO Biwako Shiga 30 9 7 14 36 41 −5 34
12 Yokogawa Musashino 30 8 6 16 31 40 −9 30
13 Maruyasu Okazaki 30 6 3 21 27 61 −34 21
14 Ryutsu Keizai Dragons 30 6 3 21 27 62 −35 21
15 Fagiano Okayama Next 30 6 2 22 25 59 −34 20
16 Tochigi Uva 30 5 4 21 29 61 −32 19
Updated to match(es) played on 15 November 2015. Source: JFL website (in Japanese)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) head-to-head results; 5) disciplinary points; 6) draw
Winners of each stage will be ranked 1st and 2nd based on the championship results regardless of their total points.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Regional Leagues

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National team (Men)

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Results

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12 January 2015 AFC Asian Cup Japan  4–0  Palestine Australia Newcastle, Australia
18:00 UTC+11 Endo 8'
Okazaki 25'
Honda 43' (pen.)
Yoshida 49'
AFC Report Stadium: Newcastle Stadium
Attendance: 17,147
Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)
16 January 2015 AFC Asian Cup Iraq  0–1  Japan Australia Brisbane, Australia
19:00 UTC+10 AFC Report Honda 23' (pen.) Stadium: Brisbane Stadium
Attendance: 22,941
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
27 March International Friendly Japan  2–0  Tunisia Japan Ōita, Japan
19:37 JST Okazaki 78'
Honda 83'
JFA Report Stadium: Ōita Bank Dome
Attendance: 34,777
Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)
11 June International Friendly Japan  4–0  Iraq Japan Yokohama, Japan
19:03 JST Honda 5'
Makino 9'
Okazaki 32'
Haraguchi 84'
JFA Report Stadium: Nissan Stadium
Attendance: 63,877
Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)
2 August 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup North Korea  2–1  Japan China Wuhan, China
18:20 UTC+8 Ri Hyok-chol 78'
Pak Hyon-il 88'
EAFF Report Muto 3' Stadium: Wuhan Sports Center Stadium
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
13 October International Friendly Iran  1–1  Japan Iran Tehran, Iran
17:00 UTC+4:30 Torabi 45+1' FIFA Report Muto 48' Stadium: Azadi Stadium
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
17 November 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) round 2 Cambodia  0–2  Japan Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia
19:14 UTC+7:00 AFC Report Laboravy 52' (o.g.)
Honda 90'
Stadium: Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 29,871
Referee: Fu Ming (China)


  Win    Draw    Loss

Players statistics

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Player -2014 01.12 01.16 01.20 01.23 03.27 03.31 06.11 06.16 08.02 08.05 08.09 09.03 09.08 10.08 10.13 11.12 11.17 2015 Total
Yasuhito Endo 148(14) O(1) O O O - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4(1) 152(15)
Shinji Okazaki 85(40) O(1) O O O O(1) O(1) O(1) O - - - O O(2) O(1) O - O 13(7) 98(47)
Yasuyuki Konno 84(2) - O - - O O - - - - - - - - - - - 3(0) 87(2)
Makoto Hasebe 83(2) O O O O O - O O - - - O O O O O - 12(0) 95(2)
Yuto Nagatomo 76(3) O O O O - - O - - - - O O O - O O 10(0) 86(3)
Atsuto Uchida 72(2) - - - - O O - - - - - - - - - - - 2(0) 74(2)
Keisuke Honda 65(24) O(1) O(1) O(1) O O(1) O O(1) O - - - O(1) O(1) O(1) O O(1) O(1) 14(10) 79(34)
Eiji Kawashima 64(0) O O O O - O O O - - - - - - - - - 7(0) 71(0)
Shinji Kagawa 63(19) O O O(1) O O O O O - - - O(1) O(2) O O O O 14(4) 77(23)
Maya Yoshida 48(3) O(1) O O O O - O O - - - O(1) O O O O(1) O 13(3) 61(6)
Hiroshi Kiyotake 26(1) O O O - O - - - - - - - - O O O - 7(0) 33(1)
Hiroki Sakai 19(0) - - - - O - O O - - - O O - - O - 6(0) 25(0)
Gotoku Sakai 18(0) O O O O - O - - - - - - - O O - - 7(0) 25(0)
Masato Morishige 17(1) O O O O - O - - O O O O O(1) - O O - 12(1) 29(2)
Hotaru Yamaguchi 15(0) - - - - O - O - O O(1) O O O O - - O 9(1) 24(1)
Shusaku Nishikawa 15(0) - - - - - - - - O O - O O O O O O 8(0) 23(0)
Takashi Inui 14(2) O O O O - O - - - - - - - - - - - 5(0) 19(2)
Tomoaki Makino 14(1) - - - - O - O(1) O O O O - - O - - O 8(1) 22(2)
Yuya Osako 12(3) - - - - - O O O - - - - - - - - - 3(0) 15(3)
Shinzo Koroki 12(0) - - - - - - - - O O O O - - - - - 4(0) 16(0)
Toshihiro Aoyama 7(0) - - - - - O(1) - - - - - - - - - - - 1(1) 8(1)
Yoshinori Muto 6(1) O O O O O - O O - - - O O O O(1) O - 12(1) 18(2)
Yohei Toyoda 6(1) O - - O - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2(0) 8(1)
Hiroki Mizumoto 6(0) - - - - - O - - - - - - - - - - - 1(0) 7(0)
Mu Kanazaki 5(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O(1) - 1(1) 6(1)
Gaku Shibasaki 4(1) - - O O(1) - O(1) O O O O O - - - O - - 9(2) 13(3)
Kosuke Ota 4(0) - - - - - O - O - O - - - - - - - 3(0) 7(0)
Yosuke Kashiwagi 4(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O O 3(0) 7(0)
Genki Haraguchi 3(0) - - - - - - O(1) O - - - O O O O O O 8(1) 11(1)
Shuichi Gonda 2(0) - - - - O - - - - - - - - - - - - 1(0) 3(0)
Kensuke Nagai 1(0) - - - - O - O - O O O - - - - - - 5(0) 6(0)
Takashi Usami 0(0) - - - - O O(1) O O O O O O O O(1) O O O 13(2) 13(2)
Kengo Kawamata 0(0) - - - - O O(1) - - O O O - - - - - - 5(1) 5(1)
Wataru Endo 0(0) - - - - - - - - O O O - O - - - O 5(0) 5(0)
Hiroki Fujiharu 0(0) - - - - O - - - O - - - - - - - O 3(0) 3(0)
Takuma Asano 0(0) - - - - - - - - O O O - - - - - - 3(0) 3(0)
Yuki Muto 0(0) - - - - - - - - O(1) - O(1) - - - - - - 2(2) 2(2)
Shogo Taniguchi 0(0) - - - - - - O - O - - - - - - - - 2(0) 2(0)
Daiki Niwa 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - O - - - O - - 2(0) 2(0)
Koki Yonekura 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - O - - - O - - 2(0) 2(0)
Takumi Minamino 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O - O 2(0) 2(0)
Gen Shoji 0(0) - - - - - O - - - - - - - - - - - 1(0) 1(0)
Naoyuki Fujita 0(0) - - - - - - - - - O - - - - - - - 1(0) 1(0)
Shu Kurata 0(0) - - - - - - - - - O - - - - - - - 1(0) 1(0)
Masaaki Higashiguchi 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - O - - - - - - 1(0) 1(0)

National team (Women)

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Results

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2015.03.04 Japan 1–2 Denmark Portugal
Ando ?' ? ?'
? ?'
2015.03.09 Japan 1–3 France Portugal
Kawasumi ?' ? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
2015.03.11 Japan 2–0 Iceland Portugal
Miyama ?', ?'
2015.06.12 Japan 2–1 Cameroon Canada
Sameshima ?'
Sugasawa ?'
? ?'
2015.06.16 Japan 1–0 Ecuador Canada
Ogimi ?'
2015.06.27 Japan 1–0 Australia Canada
Iwabuchi ?'
2015.07.01 Japan 2–1 England Canada
Miyama ?'
?' (o.g.)
? ?'
2015.07.05 Japan 2–5 United States Canada
Ogimi ?'
?' (o.g.)
? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
2015.08.01 Japan 2–4 North Korea China
Masuya ?'
Sugita ?'
? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
? ?'
2015.08.04 Japan 1–2 South Korea China
Nakajima ?' ? ?'
? ?'
2015.08.08 Japan 2–0 China China
Yokoyama ?'
Sugita ?'
2015.11.29 Japan 1–3 Netherlands Netherlands
Sakaguchi ?' ? ?'
? ?'
? ?'

Players statistics

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Player -2014 03.04 03.06 03.09 03.11 05.24 05.28 06.08 06.12 06.16 06.23 06.27 07.01 07.05 08.01 08.04 08.08 11.29 2015 Total
Homare Sawa 197(82) - - - - O(1) O O O O O O - O - - - - 8(1) 205(83)
Aya Miyama 144(34) O - O O(2) O O O(1) O O O O O(1) O - - - O 13(4) 157(38)
Shinobu Ono 125(39) O - O O O O O O O O O O O - - - - 12(0) 137(39)
Kozue Ando 119(18) O(1) O O O O O O - - - - - - - - - - 7(1) 126(19)
Yuki Ogimi 112(52) O - O O O O(1) O O O(1) O O O O(1) - - - O 13(3) 125(55)
Azusa Iwashimizu 109(11) O - - O O O O O - O O O O - - - - 10(0) 119(11)
Yukari Kinga 92(5) O - O - O O - O - - - - - - - - - 5(0) 97(5)
Mizuho Sakaguchi 85(26) O O O O - O O O - O(1) O O O - - - O(1) 12(2) 97(28)
Miho Fukumoto 75(0) - O - O - O - - O - - - - - - - - 4(0) 79(0)
Rumi Utsugi 74(5) O O O O O O O O - O O O O - - - O 13(0) 87(5)
Nahomi Kawasumi 67(18) O O O(1) - O O O O - O O O O - - - - 11(1) 78(19)
Saki Kumagai 63(0) O - O - O O O O - O O O O - - - O 11(0) 74(0)
Aya Sameshima 57(3) O - O O O O - O(1) O O O O O - - - O 12(1) 69(4)
Megumi Takase 52(9) O O O O - - - - - - - - - O - O - 6(0) 58(9)
Ayumi Kaihori 46(0) - - O - - O - O - O O O O - - - - 7(0) 53(0)
Asuna Tanaka 30(3) - O O O - - - - O - - - - - O O - 6(0) 36(3)
Saori Ariyoshi 30(0) O O O O - O O - O O(1) O O O - - - O 12(1) 42(1)
Megumi Kamionobe 27(2) - O - O - - - O O - - - - O - - - 5(0) 32(2)
Mana Iwabuchi 25(3) - - - - - - - - O O O(1) O O - - - - 5(1) 30(4)
Yuika Sugasawa 24(8) O O(1) O O O O O O(1) O - - - O O O O O 14(2) 38(10)
Emi Nakajima 21(5) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O(1) O O 3(1) 24(6)
Kana Osafune 14(2) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O 1(0) 15(2)
Erina Yamane 13(0) O - - - O - O - - - - - - O - - O 5(0) 18(0)
Yuri Kawamura 11(1) - O(1) O - O O O - O - - - - O O O O 10(1) 21(2)
Rika Masuya 7(2) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O(1) - O O 3(1) 10(3)
Asano Nagasato 7(1) O O - O - - - - O - - - - - - - - 4(0) 11(1)
Kana Kitahara 7(0) - - - - - - - - O - - - - O - - - 2(0) 9(0)
Hikaru Naomoto 6(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O - - 2(0) 8(0)
Mina Tanaka 4(1) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O - 2(0) 6(1)
Mai Kyokawa 2(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O O - 3(0) 5(0)
Saori Arimachi 1(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O O O 4(0) 5(0)
Ami Sugita 1(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O(1) - O(1) O 3(2) 4(2)
Yumi Uetsuji 1(0) - O - O - - - - - - - - - - O - - 3(0) 4(0)
Ryoko Takara 1(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O - O - 2(0) 3(0)
Shiho Kohata 1(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - O - - - 1(0) 2(0)
Rie Azami 1(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O - - 1(0) 2(0)
Kumi Yokoyama 0(0) - O(1) - - - - - - - - - - - O O O(1) O 5(2) 5(2)
Ayaka Yamashita 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O O 3(0) 3(0)
Tomoko Muramatsu 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O O - 2(0) 2(0)
Hanae Shibata 0(0) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O - - 1(0) 1(0)

References

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