For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the Championship Stage and advanced to the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.
Meiji Yasuda 2015 J.League Championship (明治安田生命 2015 Jリーグチャンピオンシップ) The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second Stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table.
The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final.
League DataNotes:† Team played previous season in J2.