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.
Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.
Meiji Yasuda 2016 J.League Championship (明治安田生命 2016 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.
League data site Source:[13] These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season.
League DataNotes:† Team played previous season in J2.