Overpopulation in certain area is a clear phenomenon in Japan. The Kanto and Kansai areas are definitely the most densely populated in the country, so much so that’s common knowledge to find YouTube videos where content creators are showing their rushed lives in the city or their tiny apartments, which though cost a lot. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of space in the rest of the country, especially in the North.
And that goes as well for football in Japan. The J1 titles have been mostly won in those two areas: when you try to include Ibaraki and Shizuoka Prefectures into Kanto, basically the only title outside of Kanto and Kansai were the three won by Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the one by Nagoya Grampus in 2010, and… that’s it. We could have had other exceptions, sure: take the J1 title run by Vegalta Sendai in 2012, who almost won it all.
Nonetheless, Japanese football developed mostly in those areas. There are several teams who made their way from Kyushu, playing in J1 regularly – Sagan Tosu, Oita Trinita, V-Varen Nagasaki, Avispa Fukuoka. But what about the North? That’s where the struggles are harder, and they might even become harsher given the change of calendar: with the J.League aligning to the European calendar, several games will be played in full Winter, another challenge for those teams.
But a fact is a fact: the J2 League 2026-27 season, which is about to start, will see a lot of Northern teams. Actually, they will make up for the majority of the league, and that’s something unique, which we’ve rarely witnessed in the history of professional Japanese football. And some of them won’t be bystanders, but true protagonists in the second division.
Northern Star
It’s always been tough developing teams from the North. In comparison, the teams from the South of Japan did way better, and when I’m talking about “South”, I’m meaning below Hiroshima. Kyushu had in rotation almost everyone in J1, while many squads were able to be in the second division as well. In the North, it’s different – whether because of the climate, or the struggle to have good players staying in those squads.
Sure, I could mention a few virtuoso examples. In the 2010s, Vegalta Sendai almost won a J1 title after the tragic 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, played in the AFC Champions League, and reached an Emperor’s Cup final. Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo lived almost a full decade in the top-flight, and reached a J.League Cup final. Albirex Niigata were able to rise again from their ashes, reach a J.League Cup final, and then descended into J2 again.
And while it’s a bummer that all these teams couldn’t lift the trophy after those finals (they all lost their final acts), it’s understandable. It’s not easy to build up in the North, although I always hoped for something different. Nonetheless, the last 18 months have been circling around this reality, giving us an incredible coincidence: the next season of the J2 League will be full of teams from the North, being almost the majority in the second division.
If we consider “North” everything above Ibaraki, we’re gonna have seven-eight clubs from that zone of the country – the disputed one is Kataller Toyama: do you consider Toyama a Northern city? Look at the pile of snow they get every year blocking their streets and I’d say it’s a resounding “yes”. The North will have more clubs than the Kanto area (7, if you stretch it to Shizuoka), and the South (Kyushu lost both Roasso Kumamoto and V-Varen Nagasaki).
How stars aligned in the J2 League
Speaking of last season – the North got one through Albirex Niigata. To be honest, I’m really fearing for their lives in the next season. Most of their talents are gone, head coach choice isn’t exactly inspiring, and I don’t see too much happening for them. If they get a mid-table season, it’d be a success. Staying out of trouble and keeping a certain average attendance afloat should be their mantra for 2026-27.
Then you have the newcomers in Vanraure Hachinohe, whose story has been described precisely in this piece mid-season in 2025. I think they’re destined as well to a really difficult season – they haven’t done too much in the transfer market window, they lost their head coach, and their performances in the 100-Year Vision League didn’t look inspiring. But again: it’s a miracle they’re in the second division!
And then you have the teams who were already there. I’d split them into two separate categories. The first one is with the clubs who shouldn’t put too many surprises on the table: Montedio Yamagata will probably have another anonymous season; Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo will definitely do better than last year under head coach Kenta Kawai, but it’s hard to see more than a play-off run; Blaublitz Akita and Iwaki FC will definitely surprise many, but play-offs seem a stretch.
I’d rather look at the second category of teams – the expected surprises, who by the way played the final to win the J2-J3 tournament in the provisional tournament. And if, at this point, you’d expect Vegalta Sendai to finally make the step back to the top-flight, Kataller Toyama raised more than one eyebrow in the 100-Year Vision League, almost winning the whole thing despite being one man down the whole game. They’re THE team to watch next season in J2.
The Future Outlook
Furthermore, I don’t think this situation is about to change. The North is about to keep the J2 League as their playground. Even if all the forecasts I’ve just made will become reality, the North will just lose two teams – Vegalta to J1 and Vanraure back to J3 – but all these clubs are developing in the right direction, both on and off-the-pitch.
Blaublitz Akita kept a certain stability in the dugout (Ken Yoshida is the longest-serving head coach among the current ones in the three pro-divisions), and they’re looking to build a new stadium. Montedio Yamagata as well are looking towards a new stadium, which would be helpful for them. Iwaki FC might not need a new stadium, but they have the support of Under Armour and a scouting which does miracles for them.
Kataller Toyama are doing good numbers revenues-wise as well (they increased them steadily), while Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo are indeed back to the second division, but they used wisely their decade in J1 and established a very strong relation with Thailand and their audience, having featured many Thai players over the years. About Albirex… yeah, sorry, I don’t have anything to say about them.
In the end, the North might be an interesting polar star to watch for the Japanese football development. It’s a bit of revenge as well towards the South, which instead has a lot of teams in J3 this season, and saw two just dropping there from the second division (and I’d add a couple of them might even risk a JFL drop in 2026-27). We’ll see if the North can be stronger than its snowy Winters and dark storms.
