J. League Division 1

The J.League Division 1 (Jリーグ・ディビジョン1 J Rīgu Dibijon1^?) or J1 League (J1リーグ J1 Rīgu^?) is the top division of Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ Nippon Puro Sakkā Rīgu^?) and is the top professional association footballleague in Japan.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J.League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese association football league system. The second tier is represented by J. League Division 2. It is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life and thus officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J1 League.

History

For history of Japanese club association football before the inception of the professional league in 1993, see Japan Soccer League.

For detailed history of J.League Division 2, see J. League Division 2#History.

Modern phase (2009–2014)

Three major changes were seen starting in the 2009 season. First, starting that season, four clubs entered the AFC Champions League. Secondly, the number of relegation slots increased to three. Finally, the AFC Player slot was implemented starting this season. Each club will be allowed to have a total of four foreign players; however, one slot is reserved for a player that derives from an AFC country other than Japan. Also, as a requirement of being a member of the Asian Football Confederation, the J. League Club Licence regulations started in 2012 as one criterion of whether a club was allowed to stay in its division or to be promoted to a higher tier in professional level league. No major changes happened to J. League Division 1 as the number of clubs stayed at 18.

Future (2015–)

Starting from the 2015 season, the J. League will again change back to a two-stage "mini-league" (last held in 2004) with the winners of each stage then playing against teams that were runners-up from different "mini-league".^[12] A qualifying format will also ensure that teams who finish 4th or above can also enter this play-off stage.^[13] A similar idea was first discussed during committee meetings held in June 2013^[14]

J.League Division 1

Country	Japan
Confederation	AFC
Founded	1993
Number of teams	18
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	J. League Division 2
Domestic cup(s)	Emperor's Cup Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Japanese Super Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League
Current champions	Gamba Osaka (2014)
Most championships	Kashima Antlers (7 titles)
TV partners	SKY PerfecTV!
Website
2015 J. League Division 1