| Season | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kashima Antlers 1st J. League title |
| Asian Club Championship | Kashima Antlers |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 778 (3.24 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kazuyoshi Miura (23 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 50,974 - Reds vs. P-Sanga (May 15) |
| Lowest attendance | 4,491 - Sanfrecce vs. Avispa (November 6) |
| Average attendance | 13,353 |
← 1995 1997 → | |
The 1996 J.League season was the fourth season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 16, 1996, and ended on November 9, 1996.
The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League during the 1996 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, and Avispa Fukuoka were newly promoted from Japan Football League (former).
In the 1996 season, the league abolished the split-season format and followed a single-season format; sixteen clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 30 games per club. The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. A club received 3 points for any win, 1 point for PK loss, and 0 pts for regulation or extra time loss. The clubs were ranked by points, and tie breakers are in the following order:
The club that finished at the top of the table was declared season champion.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kashima Antlers | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 66 | 1996 J.League Champions Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup*, 1997/98 ACC, and 1997 Super Cup |
| 2 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight | 30 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 63 | Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup* |
| 3 |  Yokohama Flügels | 30 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 63 | |
| 4 |  Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 62 | |
| 5 |  Kashiwa Reysol | 30 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 67 | 52 | +15 | 60 | |
| 6 |  Urawa Red Diamonds | 30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 59 | |
| 7 |  Verdy Kawasaki | 30 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 57 | |
| 8 | Yokohama Marinos | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 42 | |
| 9 | JEF United Ichihara | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 40 | |
| 10 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 37 | |
| 11 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 36 | |
| 12 |  Gamba Osaka | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 33 | |
| 13 | Cerezo Osaka | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 38 | 56 | −18 | 30 | |
| 14 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 30 | |
| 15 |  Avispa Fukuoka | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 29 | |
| 16 |  Kyoto Purple Sanga | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 54 | −32 | 24 |
| Award | Recipient | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Jorginho | Kashima Antlers | |
| Rookie of the Year |  Toshihide Saito | Shimizu S-Pulse | |
| Manager of the Year | Nicanor | Kashiwa Reysol | |
| Top Scorer | Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | 23 goals. |
In 2004, J. League introduced a series of two test matches called League Promotion/relegation Series between the sixteenth-place J. Division 1 (J1) club and third-place J.league Division 2 (J2) club. The winner of this game receives the third and final ticket to J1 in the following season, with the first two going to the first- and second-place J2 teams at the end of the season.
The 2006 J.League Division 1 season was the 14th season since the establishment of the J.League. It began on March 4 and ended on December 2.
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The 2007 J.League Division 1 season was the 15th season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 3 and ended on December 1.
The 2003 season was the 11th season since the establishment of the J.League. The league began on March 15 and ended on November 29.
The 2002 season was the tenth season since the establishment of the J.League. The league began on March 2, 2002 and ended on November 30, 2002. The Suntory Championship was not held, because Júbilo Iwata was winner of both stages. At the end Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Consadole Sapporo were relegated to J2.
The J.League 1995 season is the third season of the J.League Division 1. The league fixture began on March 18, 1995, and ended on November 1995. The Suntory Championship '95 took place on November 30 and December 6, 1995.
The 2008 J. League Division 2 season is the 37th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 10th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 8 and ended on December 6.
The 2007 J. League Division 2 season is the 36th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 9th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season began on March 3 and ended on December 1.
The 2004 J. League Division 2 season is the 33rd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 6th season since the establishment of J2 League.
The 2005 J.League Division 2 season was the 34th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 7th season since the establishment of J2 League.
1996 Verdy Kawasaki season
1996 Yokohama Flügels season
The 1996 season was Shimizu S-Pulse's fifth season in existence and their fourth season in the J1 League. The club also competed in the Emperor's Cup, the J.League Cup, and the Suntory Cup. The team finished the season tenth in the league and won the J.League Cup.
1996 Kyoto Purple Sanga season
1996 Avispa Fukuoka season
1997 Kyoto Purple Sanga season
1997 Avispa Fukuoka season
The 82nd Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 2002 season.
The 2023 J.League Cup, known as the 2023 J.League YBC Levain Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition. Opposed to the previous editions, the competition did not use the away goals rule. No byes awarded for the knockout stage and thus no knockout round playoffs.
