J3 League is a relatively young league, but can you name the best season ever? It’s tough to tell, right? Would it be the 2015 one, when Renofa Yamaguchi barely made it for promotion after dominating the league and almost blew it? Was it 2020, when Blaublitz Akita crushed the opposition in the silence of COVID? Or was it 2024, when Kataller Toyama won promotion in the first edition of the play-offs for the tier with the last kick of the final game?
You could have different opinions. But what if the next one could be the best one ever? Yeah, because at its 13th season, the J3 League promises fireworks for the next one. For different reasons, the development of the third tier had a unique trajectory. Given how J1 and J2 seeded the football environment in Japan, the J3 League had a sturdy rise, with the league talking even of a possible “J4” in the works for the end of this decade.
Meanwhile, though, we’re ready for one of the most balanced seasons we might witness. There are interesting squads, but no clear dominance in sight. They’re sides with many problems, but it would be tough to forecast a clear last place. And the 100-Year Vision League added even more confusion… which makes it more fun for neutrals, doesn’t it?
The Coaches
Let’s take coaches here – there are so many interesting stories. I think this is the best pool of coaches the third tier ever had. Maybe there are not so many who are on the rise, but definitely most of them are expert and ready for the fight. Take the great elders: Takeshi Oki did a revolution with Roasso Kumamoto, which crushed into a painful relegation last year. What does he do? He moves to Ehime FC, another relegated team, to have some quiet and rebuild his plan.
What about Tomohiro Katanosaka? Seven years ago, he won “Manager of the Year” from the J.League for his amazing job with Oita Trinita, and I still think he doesn’t take enough credit for what he did. But after the bad aventure in Osaka, and a grey return in Oita, he decided to restart from… Roasso Kumamoto, exactly. He’ll have the youth in his hand, and the chance to shape it for a new beginning.
And what about Nobuhiro Ishizaki? At 68 years old, he could just enjoy life outside of football, especially after bringing Vanraure Hachinohe to J2 – probably his major achievement, and the list is really long. Nonetheless, he opted to stay in J3, coaching Matsumoto Yamaga, who desperately need a head coach who can steer the ship back to the second tier. And last season was a pretty evident proof of that.
I named three, but there are so many questions: can Shinji Kobayashi still make it at 65, after theoretically retiring? Will Fukushima United FC still be this entertaining under madman Shuhei Terada? What does exactly Takahiro Shimotaira in Kochi? Will Michiharu Otagiri confirm his excellent J3 track record with Renofa Yamaguchi? And what about Kiyotaka Ishimaru, who promises to be a dark wizard also for FC Gifu, after what he built in Ehime? Lots of stories.
The Records
Consider also this: several records could be broken. There are two that almost certainly will fall down. The first is about the all-time top-scoring leader, a title that Tsugutoshi Oishi has been holding on since 2020 (with 73 goals). But now Hiroki Higuchi is four goals shy of that record (after taking the record for games played in the division), Rei Yonezawa is fit again and three goals away (he’ll play for Kamatamare Sanuki), and Hayato Asakawa isn’t far away (nine goals shy).
Furthermore, Kazuyoshi Miura will 99% take another record to add to his resume – he’s gonna become the oldest player to ever feature in the J3 League, after taking that same record for the second division and the top-flight. The current record for the oldest player to ever feature in a J3 match is held by Teruyoshi Ito, who played with Azul Claro Numazu in 2024 at the age of 50 years, 2 months, and 24 days. Miura just scored the other day in the First Round of the Emperor’s Cup, he’s definitely locked in.
Furthermore, we could witness the best average attendance ever, after the record was already broken in 2025. Given how the promoted teams from J3 in 2025 were Vanraure Hachinohe (17th for average attendance), Tegevajaro Miyazaki (15th), and Tochigi City FC (10th), a raise is gonna come no matter what. When you take in account that the average from the relegated teams in J2 was at least 50% better than these teams, despite a probable dip, this has great potential.
Two more data: a) we could see a new record for the manager with the most matches in the tier’s history, since the leader is currently Kim Jong-song and he’s out of the job, while Yuki Richard Stalph could overcome him after 16 matches with SC Sagamihara; b) there’s a new Prefecture in pro-football, with Reilac Shiga who won the relegation play-off against Azul Claro and they’re ready to battle for their survival.
The Uncertainty
I honestly struggle to remember a more balanced context at the starting line of a J3 League season. It’s all up in the air – it’s hard to point out towards a clear favourite to go up, and it’s not super easy either to guess who might go down. Will anyone go down? Last two seasons added drama in the post-season with two relegation playouts (both won by the JFL team), but I wouldn’t bet on that either!
Relegated teams are not exactly favourites. Roasso Kumamoto have a lot to work on, after coming back to J2 in an incredible manner (I still can’t wrap my head around HOW they managed to get relegated). Ehime FC had a complete reshuffle, and they’ll probably look to find a proper identity, while Renofa Yamaguchi have a soldi coach and a good roster, but they haven’t played in J3 since 2015. And the J3 League, I can assure, changed a lot in a decade.
FC Gifu looked encouraging in the transitional tournament. Matsumoto Yamaga finally found some life back thanks to Ishizaki’s arrival in the dugout. Kagoshima United FC showed some progress and they might look for a third promotion to J2 in their history. SC Sagamihara were not exactly special subjects, but they had a strong performance in the last six months. And Tochigi SC could be a dark horse (I would have put there Kochi United as well, but they lost their manager…).
Point is: you might find the third tier of Japanese football underwhelming, but the attendances should be good, the rivalries interesting, and we might find ourselves into a 2005 J1-version of the title run and/or promotion contention. And I would pay money from own pockets to see that happening, because the ChaosEnergyLeague™ must be there also in the third division. And 2026-27 seems the best chance to see that happening.
