2020 J1 League
The 2020 J1 League, also known as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was sixth season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The league began on 21 February and eventually ended on 19 December 2020. The league was planned to have a season break to avoid clashing with the 2020 Summer Olympics, but the Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 February – 19 December 2020 |
| Champions | Kawasaki Frontale (3rd title) |
| Relegated | None |
| AFC Champions League | Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka Nagoya Grampus Cerezo Osaka |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 857 (2.8 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Michael Olunga (28 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Urawa Red Diamonds 6–0 Vegalta Sendai (18 October 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Consadole Sapporo 1–6 Kawasaki Frontale (15 August 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Nagoya Grampus 6–2 Urawa Red Diamonds (8 August 2020) Yokohama F. Marinos 6–2 Urawa Red Diamonds (14 November 2020) |
| Longest winning run | 12 matches Kawasaki Frontale |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 matches Kawasaki Frontale |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches Vegalta Sendai |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Shimizu S-Pulse |
| Highest attendance | 34,521 Yokohama F. Marinos 1–2 Gamba Osaka (23 February 2020) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,948 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4–1 Shimizu S-Pulse (9 September 2020) (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
| Total attendance | 1,773,481 |
| Average attendance | 5,796 (including matches played behind closed doors) |
← 2019 2021 → | |
Yokohama F. Marinos were the defending champions while Kashiwa Reysol and Yokohama FC entered the league as promoted teams from the 2019 J2 League, replacing Júbilo Iwata and Matsumoto Yamaga who were relegated to the 2020 J2 League.