The 2018 Meiji YasudaJ2 League (2018 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season was the 47th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 20th season since the establishment of J2 League.
Clubs
The participating clubs are listed in the following table:
The total number of foreign players is restricted to five per club. Clubs can register up to four foreign players for a single match-day squad, of which a maximum of three are allowed from nations outside the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
Source: 2018 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE League table Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abOnly teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion play-offs. 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.
^Direct exchange between J2 and J3 is subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2018 J3 League.
Updated to match(es) played on 17 November 2018. Source: J.League Data Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Promotion–Relegation Playoffs
2018 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2018 J1参入プレーオフ)
Because Machida Zelvia did not own a J1 license for the 2019 season, they were ineligible to participate in the play-offs. Thus, Yokohama FC, finishing third in the season, received a bye into the second round, from which the winner will play the team finishing 16th in J1.