Summary

The J1 League (Japanese: J1リーグ, Hepburn: Jē-wan Rīgu), a.k.a. the J.League or the Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 明治安田J1リーグ, Hepburn: Meiji Yasuda Jē-wan Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system.

Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. Both the J1 and J2 leagues are operated by the Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ, Nihon Puro Sakkā Rīgu).

Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian professional club football history. It was known as the J.League from 1993 to 1998 before becoming a two-division league, and as J.League Division 1 from 1999 to 2014. Vissel Kobe successfully defended their second consecutive title in the 2024 season, after previously winning it in the 2023 season.

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