2011 J.League Division 2
# 2011 J.League Division 2

The 2011 J.League Division 2 season was the 40th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 13th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season began on March 5 and finished on December 3. Due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the season was put on hold from March 12 to April 23.

FC Tokyo won the tournament and returned to J1 immediately after unfortunate relegation that happened last season. By virtue of winning the 2011 Emperor's Cup final, they earned a berth in the 2012 AFC Champions League as well. Sagan Tosu and Consadole Sapporo finished second and third, respectively, and also won the promotion. Consadole are returning to the top flight after three years of absence, while for Tosu this is the first promotion in their history.

Sagan became the last of original ten J2 teams to reach J1, passing the inglorious moniker of the longest-staying D2 dweller to Mito HollyHock.

## Teams

As in the previous seasons, the size of the league was increased by one team to twenty overall. Gainare Tottori as 2010 Japan Football League champions were promoted.

Kashiwa Reysol as champions of the 2010 season, runners-up Ventforet Kofu and third-placed team Avispa Fukuoka were promoted to the 2011 J.League Division 1. Kashiwa made their immediate return to the top division, while Kofu and Fukuoka ended three- and four-year tenures in the J2. The three teams were replaced by FC Tokyo, Kyoto Sanga FC and Shonan Bellmare, who were relegated at the end of the 2010 J.League Division 1 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Shonan only made a cameo appearance at the D1, Kyoto re-entered the second level of the Japanese league pyramid after three years, and Tokyo eventually had to return to the J2 for the first time after eleven seasons.

| Club Name | Home Town(s) | Note(s) |
| - | - | - |
| Consadole Sapporo | Sapporo, Hokkaidō | |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | |
| Gainare Tottori | All cities/towns in Tottori | Promoted from JFL in 2010 |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns in Toyama | |
| Kyoto Sanga FC | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | Relegated from J1 League in 2010 |
| Mito HollyHock | Mito, Ibaraki | |
| Oita Trinita | All cities/towns in Ōita | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto | |
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | |
| Shonan Bellmare | Southcentral cities/town in Kanagawa | Relegated from J1 League in 2010 |
| Thespa Kusatsu | All cities/towns in Gunma | |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Relegated from J1 League in 2010 |
| Tokyo Verdy | Tokyo | |
| Yokohama FC | Yokohama, Kanagawa | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FC Tokyo (C, P) | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 67 | 22 | +45 | 77 | Promotion to 2012 J.League Division 1 and Qualification to 2012 Champions League |
| 2 | Sagan Tosu (P) | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 68 | 34 | +34 | 69 | Promotion to 2012 J.League Division 1 |
| 3 | Consadole Sapporo (P) | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 68 | Promotion to 2012 J.League Division 1 |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 65 | |
| 5 | Tokyo Verdy | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 59 | |
| 6 | JEF United Chiba | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 58 | |
| 7 | Kyoto Sanga | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 58 | |
| 8 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 58 | |
| 9 | Thespa Kusatsu | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 57 | |
| 10 | Tochigi SC | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 56 | |
| 11 | Roasso Kumamoto | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 51 | |
| 12 | Oita Trinita | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 50 | |
| 13 | Fagiano Okayama | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 48 | |
| 14 | Shonan Bellmare | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 46 | |
| 15 | Ehime FC | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 44 | |
| 16 | Kataller Toyama | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 43 | |
| 17 | Mito HollyHock | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 42 | |
| 18 | Yokohama FC | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 40 | 54 | −14 | 41 | |
| 19 | Gainare Tottori | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 31 | |
| 20 | FC Gifu | 38 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 39 | 83 | −44 | 24 | |

* ↑ FC Tokyo, as winners of the 2011 Emperor's Cup, also qualified for the group stage of the 2012 AFC Champions League

## Results

| Home \ Away | BEL | CON | EHI | FAG | GAI | GIF | GIR | HOL | JEF | KAT | ROS | SAG | SAN | SPA | TOC | TOK | TRI | VER | VOR | YFC |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Shonan Bellmare | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 7–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Consadole Sapporo | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Ehime FC | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Gainare Tottori | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–6 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| FC Gifu | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 4–3 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Mito HollyHock | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| JEF United Chiba | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Kataller Toyama | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Sagan Tosu | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Thespa Kusatsu | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Tochigi SC | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Oita Trinita | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 7–2 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 4–1 |
| Yokohama FC | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Yohei Toyoda | Sagan Tosu | 23 |
| 2 | Takuma Abe | Tokyo Verdy | 16 |
| 3 | Masaki Fukai | JEF United Chiba | 14 |
| 3 | Manabu Saitō | Ehime FC | 14 |
| 5 | Ricardo Lobo | Tochigi SC | 12 |
| 5 | Yoshihiro Uchimura | Consadole Sapporo | 12 |
| 7 | Yasuhito Morishima | Oita Trinita | 11 |
| 8 | Roberto César | FC Tokyo | 10 |
| 8 | Ryota Hayasaka | Sagan Tosu | 10 |
| 8 | Tomoki Ikemoto | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 10 |
| 8 | Yuya Kubo | Kyoto Sanga | 10 |

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FC Tokyo | 333,680 | 35,911 | 6,795 | 17,562 | $−30.1%^†$ |
| 2 | Consadole Sapporo | 199,162 | 39,243 | 4,609 | 10,482 | $−2.4%^†$ |
| 3 | JEF United Chiba | 183,911 | 16,360 | 6,955 | 9,680 | $−17.2%^†$ |
| 4 | Oita Trinita | 166,807 | 27,519 | 4,859 | 8,779 | $−16.1%^†$ |
| 5 | Sagan Tosu | 146,893 | 22,532 | 3,724 | 7,731 | $+16.6%^†$ |
| 6 | Fagiano Okayama | 137,911 | 10,490 | 4,111 | 7,258 | $+1.4%^†$ |
| 7 | Shonan Bellmare | 131,918 | 10,425 | 3,680 | 6,943 | $−37.4%^†$ |
| 8 | Roasso Kumamoto | 131,624 | 25,005 | 2,847 | 6,928 | $+0.3%^†$ |
| 9 | Kyoto Sanga | 119,591 | 12,287 | 2,386 | 6,294 | $−40.1%^†$ |
| 10 | Yokohama FC | 109,632 | 16,813 | 1,853 | 5,770 | $−0.4%^†$ |
| 11 | Tokyo Verdy | 108,482 | 28,832 | 2,164 | 5,710 | $+1.3%^†$ |
| 12 | Tokushima Vortis | 98,925 | 11,916 | 2,165 | 5,207 | $+12.9%^†$ |
| 13 | Tochigi SC | 93,848 | 9,953 | 2,493 | 4,939 | $+18.8%^†$ |
| 14 | FC Gifu | 78,273 | 6,684 | 2,150 | 4,120 | $+32.6%^†$ |
| 15 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 76,976 | 7,080 | 1,336 | 4,051 | $−3.3%^†$ |
| 16 | Gainare Tottori | 70,152 | 8,212 | 1,787 | 3,692 | $+5.8%^‡$ |
| 17 | Ehime FC | 66,022 | 7,634 | 1,563 | 3,475 | $−20.8%^†$ |
| 18 | Mito HollyHock | 63,637 | 5,227 | 1,273 | 3,349 | $−7.2%^†$ |
| 19 | Kataller Toyama | 62,233 | 8,663 | 1,716 | 3,275 | $−26.6%^†$ |
| 20 | Thespa Kusatsu | 61,018 | 6,520 | 1,266 | 3,211 | $−27.4%^†$ |
| | League total | 2,440,695 | 39,243 | 1,266 | 6,423 | $−4.1%^†$ |

Updated to games played on December 3, 2011 Source: J. League Division 2 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J1. $^‡$ Team played previous season in JFL.

