Relegated from J1, both Shimizu S-Pulse and Júbilo Iwata were the only Shizuoka-based J1 teams last season.
J3 winners Iwaki FC and runners-up Fujieda MYFC were both promoted from the J3 League.
For the first time ever since the 2004 season, three teams from the same prefecture participate in the J2 League, as Shimizu S-Pulse, Júbilo Iwata and Fujieda MYFC are all based on Shizuoka Prefecture.
[11] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
If a match was tied in the play-offs, the team with the higher rank won.