List of Japanese football champions

The Japanese football champions are the winners of the top league in Japan, the Japan Soccer League from 1965 to 1992 and the J1 League since then.

Japanese League (1st tier)
Japan Soccer League (1965–1971)
Japan Soccer League Division 1 (1972–1992)
J.League (1993–1998)
J.League Division 1 (1999–2014)
J1 League (2015–present)
Country
 Japan
Founded
1965
Number of teams
18 (2022 season)
Current champions
Yokohama F. Marinos (2022)
Most successful club
Kashima Antlers
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
(8 titles each)

Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Tokyo Verdy are the only teams that have won the title four times in a row (in 1965–1968 as Toyo Industries and in 1991–1994 as Yomiuri S.C./Verdy Kawasaki respectively). Notice that from 1985 to 1992 Japanese football adjusted to the "fall-spring" season schedule (common in most of Europe) but after establishment of J.League switched back to "spring-fall" scheme (common in North America, East Asia, and Nordic European latitudes).

List of champions

Teams in bold have completed the double of the title and the Emperor's Cup in the same season. In 1985 no double was possible due to the season's timeframe change; thus, the doubles completed between then and 1992 are won in the middle of the season.

Numbers in parentheses indicate number of wins at the date. Leading goalscorer's nationality is at the time of award and does not necessarily indicate the national team played for.

Japan Soccer League (1965–1971)

Year Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Leading goalscorer Goals
Toyo IndustriesYawata SteelFurukawa Electric Japan Mutsuhiko Nomura (Hitachi)15
Toyo Industries (2)Yawata SteelFurukawa Electric Japan Aritatsu Ogi (Toyo Industries)14
Toyo Industries (3)Furukawa ElectricMitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Takeo Kimura (Furukawa Electric)15
Toyo Industries (4)Yanmar DieselMitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)14
Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesToyo IndustriesYawata Steel Japan Hiroshi Ochiai (Mitsubishi Motors)12
Toyo Industries (5)Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesHitachi SC Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)16
Yanmar DieselMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesNippon Steel Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)11

Japan Soccer League Division 1 (1972–1992)

Year Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Leading goalscorer Goals
Hitachi SCYanmar DieselToyo Industries Japan Akira Matsunaga (Hitachi)12
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (2)Hitachi SCYanmar Diesel Japan Akira Matsunaga (Hitachi)11
Yanmar Diesel (2)Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesHitachi SC Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)21
Yanmar Diesel (3)Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesHitachi SC Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)17
Furukawa ElectricMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesFujita Industries Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)15
Fujita IndustriesMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesHitachi SC Brazil Carvalho (Fujita Industries)23
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (3)Yanmar DieselFujita Industries Japan Kunishige Kamamoto (Yanmar Diesel)
Brazil Carvalho (Fujita Industries)
15
Fujita Industries (2)Yomiuri SCHitachi SC Brazil Ruy Ramos (Yomiuri)14
Yanmar Diesel (4)Fujita IndustriesFurukawa Electric Japan Hiroyuki Usui (Hitachi)14
Fujita Industries (3)Yomiuri SCMitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Hiroshi Yoshida (Furukawa Electric)14
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (4)Yanmar DieselFurukawa Electric Japan Hiroyuki Usui (Hitachi)13
Yomiuri SCNissan MotorsFujita Industries Brazil Ruy Ramos (Yomiuri)10
Yomiuri SC (2)Nissan MotorsYamaha Motors Japan Tetsuya Totsuka (Yomiuri)14
Furukawa Electric (2)NKK SCHonda Motors Japan Hiroshi Yoshida (Furukawa Electric)16
Yomiuri SC (3)NKK SCMitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Toshio Matsuura (NKK)17
Yamaha MotorsNKK SCMitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Toshio Matsuura (NKK)11
Nissan MotorsANA SCYamaha Motors Brazil Adílson (Yamaha Motors)11
Nissan Motors (2)Yomiuri SCANA SC Brazil Renato (Nissan Motors)17
Yomiuri SC (4)Nissan MotorsHonda Motors Japan Tetsuya Totsuka (Yomiuri)
Japan Tsuyoshi Kitazawa (Honda Motors)
Brazil Renato (Nissan Motors)
10
Yomiuri SC (5)Nissan MotorsYamaha Motors Brazil Toninho (Yomiuri)18

Treble with the JSL Cup

J.League (1993–1998)

In 1992, professional J.League was established. All teams elected to it stripped themselves of corporate identities and adopted their own names. From 1993 to 2005 (except for 1996 season), and in 2015 and 2016, the league was contested in an Apertura and Clausura manner, thus the "runners-up" for these seasons are actually the winners of one of these tournaments which lost to the winners of the playoff. The "third places" are the highest-scoring teams in the aggregate table which were not involved in the playoff. If there was no playoff due to the champions winning both stages, the third place is the second-best points earning team who are not the champions.

Year Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Leading goalscorer Goals
Transition period; top flight clubs only play the J.League Cup, but Japan Football League plays inaugural season
Verdy Kawasaki (6)Kashima AntlersShimizu S-Pulse Argentina Ramón Díaz (Yokohama Marinos)28
Verdy Kawasaki (7)Sanfrecce HiroshimaKashima Antlers Germany Frank Ordenewitz (JEF United Ichihara)30
Yokohama Marinos (3)Verdy KawasakiNagoya Grampus Eight Japan Masahiro Fukuda (Urawa Red Diamonds)32
Kashima AntlersNagoya Grampus EightYokohama Flügels Japan Kazuyoshi Miura (Verdy Kawasaki)23
Júbilo Iwata (2)Kashima AntlersYokohama Marinos Cameroon Patrick M'Boma (Gamba Osaka)25
Kashima Antlers (2)Júbilo IwataShimizu S-Pulse Japan Masashi Nakayama (Júbilo Iwata)36

J.League Division 1 (1999–2014)

Top flight becomes J.League Division 1 in 1999.

Year Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Leading goalscorer Goals
Júbilo Iwata (3)Shimizu S-PulseKashiwa Reysol South Korea Hwang Sun-hong (Cerezo Osaka)24
Kashima Antlers (3)Yokohama F. MarinosKashiwa Reysol Japan Masashi Nakayama (Júbilo Iwata)20
Kashima Antlers (4)Júbilo IwataJEF United Ichihara Brazil Will (Consadole Sapporo)20
Júbilo Iwata (4)Yokohama F. MarinosGamba Osaka Japan Naohiro Takahara (Júbilo Iwata)26
Yokohama F. Marinos (4)Júbilo IwataJEF United Chiba Brazil Ueslei (Nagoya Grampus Eight)22
Yokohama F. Marinos (5)Urawa Red DiamondsGamba Osaka Brazil Emerson (Urawa Red Diamonds)27
Gamba OsakaUrawa Red DiamondsKashima Antlers Brazil Araújo (Gamba Osaka)33
Urawa Red Diamonds (5)Kawasaki FrontaleGamba Osaka Brazil Washington (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Brazil Magno Alves (Gamba Osaka)
26
Kashima Antlers (5)Urawa Red DiamondsGamba Osaka Brazil Juninho (Kawasaki Frontale)22
Kashima Antlers (6)Kawasaki FrontaleNagoya Grampus Brazil Marquinhos (Kashima Antlers)21
Kashima Antlers (7)Kawasaki FrontaleGamba Osaka Japan Ryoichi Maeda (Júbilo Iwata)20
Nagoya GrampusGamba OsakaCerezo Osaka Australia Joshua Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus)
Japan Ryoichi Maeda (Júbilo Iwata)
17
Kashiwa Reysol (2)Nagoya GrampusGamba Osaka Australia Joshua Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus)19
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (6)Vegalta SendaiUrawa Red Diamonds Japan Hisato Satō (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)22
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7)Yokohama F. MarinosKawasaki Frontale Japan Yoshito Ōkubo (Kawasaki Frontale)26
Gamba Osaka (2)Urawa Red DiamondsKashima Antlers Japan Yoshito Ōkubo (Kawasaki Frontale)18

Treble with the J.League Cup

J1 League (2015–present)

The league was renamed to J1 League in 2015.

Year Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Leading goalscorer Goals
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (8)Gamba OsakaUrawa Red Diamonds Japan Yoshito Ōkubo (Kawasaki Frontale)23
Kashima Antlers (8)Urawa Red DiamondsKawasaki Frontale Brazil Leandro (Vissel Kobe)
Nigeria Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
19
Kawasaki FrontaleKashima AntlersCerezo Osaka Japan Yū Kobayashi (Kawasaki Frontale)23
Kawasaki Frontale (2)Sanfrecce HiroshimaKashima Antlers Brazil (Nagoya Grampus)24
Yokohama F. Marinos (6)FC TokyoKashima Antlers Japan Teruhito Nakagawa (Yokohama F. Marinos)
Brazil Marcos Júnior (Yokohama F. Marinos)
15
Kawasaki Frontale (3)Gamba OsakaNagoya GrampusKenya Michael Olunga (Kashiwa Reysol)28
Kawasaki Frontale (4)Yokohama F. MarinosVissel KobeBrazil Leandro Damião (Kawasaki Frontale)
Japan Daizen Maeda (Yokohama F. Marinos)
23
Yokohama F. Marinos (7)Kawasaki FrontaleSanfrecce Hiroshima Brazil Thiago Santana (Shimizu S-Pulse)14

Total titles won

Location of Japanese football champions
Japanese football champions in the Greater Tokyo Area

Thirteen clubs have been champions, though only ten have won the title since the establishment of J. League. Of these ten, Kashima Antlers, Gamba Osaka, Nagoya Grampus and Kawasaki Frontale have never been Japan Soccer League champions.

All Japanese champion clubs still exist and are competing in the J. League; however, some may have moved from their Japan Soccer League locations they won the title at, or may have cut off ties with their original parent company.

Years in italic indicate Japan Soccer League seasons. Clubs in bold compete in J1 as of the 2023 season; clubs in italic no longer exist.

ClubChampionsRunners-upWinning seasonsRunners-up seasons
Hiroshima Prefecture Sanfrecce Hiroshima 8 3 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 2012, 2013, 2015 1969, 1994, 2018
Ibaraki Prefecture Kashima Antlers 8 3 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 1993, 1997, 2017
Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama F. Marinos 7 8 1988–89, 1989–90, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2019, 2022 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2000, 2002, 2013, 2021
Tokyo Tokyo Verdy 7 4 1983, 1984, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993, 1994 1979, 1981, 1989–90, 1995
Saitama Prefecture Urawa Red Diamonds 5 11 1969, 1973, 1978, 1982, 2006 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2016
Osaka Prefecture Cerezo Osaka 4 4 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980 1968, 1972, 1978, 1982
Kanagawa Prefecture Kawasaki Frontale 4 4 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 2006, 2008, 2009, 2022
Shizuoka Prefecture Júbilo Iwata 4 3 1987–88, 1997, 1999, 2002 1998, 2001, 2003
Kanagawa Prefecture Shonan Bellmare 3 1 1977, 1979, 1981 1980
Osaka Prefecture Gamba Osaka 2 3 2005, 2014 2010, 2015, 2020
Chiba Prefecture JEF United Chiba 2 1 1976, 1985 1967
Chiba Prefecture Kashiwa Reysol 2 1 1972, 2011 1973
Aichi Prefecture Nagoya Grampus 1 2 2010 1996, 2011
Kanagawa Prefecture NKK SC 0 3 1985, 1986–87, 1987–88
Fukuoka Prefecture Nippon Steel Yawata 0 2 1965, 1966
Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama Flügels 0 1 1988–89
Shizuoka Prefecture Shimizu S-Pulse 0 1 1999
Miyagi Prefecture Vegalta Sendai 0 1 2012
Tokyo FC Tokyo 0 1 2019

Wins by region

This is a breakdown by Japanese region, as clubs have moved cities before and even during the J.League period. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Júbilo Iwata, Yokohama F. Marinos, Cerezo Osaka, Nagoya Grampus and Kawasaki Frontale are the only champion clubs who have always been based in their respective cities.

Note that JFA divides Japan into nine regions rather than the more traditional eight, splitting Chūbu into Hokushin'etsu and Tōkai. See Japanese Regional Leagues for further detail.

Region Number of titles Clubs
Kantō 38 Kashima Antlers (8), Tokyo Verdy (7), Yokohama F. Marinos (7), Urawa Red Diamonds (5), Kawasaki Frontale (4), Shonan Bellmare (3), JEF United Chiba (2), Kashiwa Reysol (2)
Chūgoku 8 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (8)
Kansai 6 Cerezo Osaka (4), Gamba Osaka (2)
Tōkai 5 Júbilo Iwata (4), Nagoya Grampus (1)

See also

Sources

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