2019 J1 League
The 2019 J1 League, also known as the '''2019 Meiji Yasuda Life for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993.
Kawasaki Frontale were the defending champions.
Clubs
A total of 18 clubs contested the league. There were only two changes from 2018, since Kashiwa Reysol and V-Varen Nagasaki were relegated to the 2019 J2 League while Júbilo Iwata defeated Tokyo Verdy in the promotion/relegation play-off. 2018 J2 League champions Matsumoto Yamaga returned to the J1 League after three seasons of absence, while Oita Trinita returned to the top tier after six seasons.| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Last season |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium | 41,484 20,861 | J1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | Miyagi Prefecture | Yurtec Stadium Sendai | 19,694 | J1 |
| Kashima Antlers | Ibaraki Prefecture | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 40,728 | J1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Saitama Prefecture | Saitama Stadium 2002 | 63,700 | J1 |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | J1 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kanagawa Prefecture | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | 26,232 | J1 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Kanagawa Prefecture | Nissan Stadium Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium | 72,327 15,046 | J1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | Kanagawa Prefecture | Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka | 18,500 | J1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka Prefecture | IAI Stadium Nihondaira | 20,339 | J1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | Shizuoka Prefecture | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | J1 |
| Nagoya Grampus | Aichi Prefecture | Paloma Mizuho Stadium Toyota Stadium | 27,001 45,000 | J1 |
| Gamba Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Panasonic Stadium Suita | 39,694 | J1 |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Yanmar Stadium Nagai Kincho Stadium | 18,007 47,853 | J1 |
| Vissel Kobe | Hyōgo Prefecture | Noevir Stadium Kobe | 30,134 | J1 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima Prefecture | Edion Stadium Hiroshima | 36,894 | J1 |
| Sagan Tosu | Saga Prefecture | Best Amenity Stadium | 24,130 | J1 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Nagano Prefecture | Sunpro Alwin | 20,396 | J2 |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita Prefecture | Ōita Bank Dome | 31,997 | J2 |
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Vissel Kobe |  | Mutual consent | 17 April 2019 |  | 17 April 2019 |
| Sagan Tosu |  Lluís Carreras | Mutual consent | 5 May 2019 |  Kim Myung-hwi | 7 May 2019 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse |  Jan Jönsson | Mutual consent | 12 May 2019 | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | 14 May 2019 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds |  Oswaldo de Oliveira | Mutual consent | 28 May 2019 | Tsuyoshi Otsuki | 28 May 2019 |
| Vissel Kobe | | Mutual consent | 8 June 2019 |  | 8 June 2019 |
| Jubilo Iwata | Hiroshi Nanami | Mutual consent | 30 June 2019 | Hideto Suzuki | 1 July 2019 |
| Jubilo Iwata | Hideto Suzuki | Resigned for health reasons | 15 August 2019 | Fernando Jubero | 20 August 2019 |
| Nagoya Grampus | Yahiro Kazama | Sacked | 23 September 2019 |  Massimo Ficcadenti | 23 September 2019 |
| Shonan Bellmare | Cho Kwi-jea | Resigned from mid term | 8 October 2019 | Bin Ukishima | 10 October 2019 |
Foreign players
As of 2019 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad. Players from J.League partner nations are exempt from these restrictions.- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Former players | - |
| Consadole Sapporo | Anderson Lopes | Lucas Fernandes |  Jay Bothroyd | Gu Sung-yun | Kim Min-tae |  Chanathip Songkrasin | ||||
| Vegalta Sendai | Diogo Acosta | Ramon Lopes |  Simão Mate Junior |  Ryang Yong-gi |  Jakub Słowik | Kim Jung-ya | - | |||
| Bueno | Leandro | Léo Silva | Serginho | Jung Seung-hyun | Kwoun Sun-tae | - | ||||
| Ewerton | Fabrício | Maurício Antônio |  Quenten Martinus |  Andrew Nabbout | - | |||||
| Arthur Silva | Diego Oliveira | Jael | Na Sang-ho | Oh Jae-suk | Yu In-soo | Nattawut Suksum | Jang Hyun-soo | - | ||
| Jesiel | Leandro Damião | Maguinho | Jung Sung-ryong | Caio César | - | |||||
| Edigar Junio | Erik | Marcos Júnior | Mateus | Thiago Martins |  Dušan Cvetinović | Park Iru-gyu | Theerathon Bunmathan |  Ippei Shinozuka | - | |
| Shonan Bellmare | Crislan | Freire |  Ömer Tokaç | Lelêu Rafael Dumas | - | |||||
| Eduardo | Paulinho | Serginho | Goh Dong-min | Jo Jin-woo |  Esmaël Gonçalves | Leandro Pereira | - | |||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Douglas | Elsinho | Junior Dutra | Renato Augusto | Jong Tae-se | Hwang Seok-ho | Wanderson | - | ||
| Júbilo Iwata | Adaílton | Fábio | Lukian |  Fozil Musaev |  Lorenzo Ebecilio | Krzysztof Kamiński |  Gerson Rodrigues Eren Albayrak | - | ||
| Nagoya Grampus | Mitchell Langerak | Eduardo Neto | Gabriel Xavier | Jô | João Schmidt | Mateus | - | |||
| Gamba Osaka | Ademilson | Patric | Kim Young-gwon | David Concha | Markel Susaeta | Hwang Ui-jo Oh Jae-suk | - | |||
| Cerezo Osaka |  Leandro Desábato | Pierce Waring | Bruno Mendes | Souza |  Matej Jonjić | Kim Jin-hyeon | - | |||
| Vissel Kobe | Dankler | Wellington |  Thomas Vermaelen | Lukas Podolski |  Joan Oumari | Andrés Iniesta | David Villa | Sergi Samper | Kim Seung-gyu | - |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Douglas Vieira | Leandro Pereira | Rhayner | Emil Salomonsson | Patric Besart Berisha | - | ||||
| Sagan Tosu | Tiago Alves | An Yong-woo | Cho Dong-geon | Kim Min-ho | Park Jeong-su | Isaac Cuenca |  Víctor Ibarbo Karlo Bručić Nino Galović Fernando Torres | - | ||
| Oita Trinita | Mun Kyung-gun | Thitipan Puangchan | - |
League table
Positions by round
Promotion–Relegation Playoffs
Results table
Season statistics
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
;Note4 Player scored 4 goals
Attendances
Awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
| J.League Manager of the Year | Tomohiro Katanosaka | Oita Trinita |
| J.League Most Valuable Player | Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| J.League Rookie of the Year | Ao Tanaka | Kawasaki Frontale |