| Competition: | J.League |
| Season: | 1996 |
| Winners: | Kashima Antlers 1st J.League title |
| Continentalcup1: | Asian Club Championship |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Kashima Antlers |
| League Topscorer: | Kazuyoshi Miura (23 goals) |
| Matches: | 240 |
| Total Goals: | 778 |
| Highest Attendance: | 50,974 - Reds vs. Sanga (May 15) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 4,491 - Sanfrecce vs. Avispa (November 6) |
| Average Attendance: | 13,353 |
| Prevseason: | 1995 |
| Nextseason: | 1997 |
The 1996 J.League season was the fourth season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 16 and ended on November 9.
The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League during the 1996 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, and Avispa Fukuoka were newly promoted teams from Japan Football League.
1 Subject to change during the season.
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.
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | 23 |
| 2 |  Edílson | Kashiwa Reysol | 21 |
| 3 | Evair | Yokohama Flügels | 20 |
| 4 |  Salvatore Schillaci | Júbilo Iwata | 15 |
| 5 | Magrão | Verdy Kawasaki | 13 |
| 6 |  Ivan Hašek | JEF United Ichihara | 12 |
| Yoshiyuki Hasegawa | Kashima Antlers | ||
| 8 | Mazinho | Kashima Antlers | 11 |
 Mladen Mladenović | Gamba Osaka | ||
| Dragan Stojković | Nagoya Grampus Eight | ||
| Koji Noguchi | Bellmare Hiratsuka | ||
| Masayuki Okano | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||
| Takuya Takagi | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
| Yasuyuki Moriyama | Nagoya Grampus Eight |
| Award | Recipient | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Seigo Narazaki | Yokohama Flügels | ||
| DF | Guido Buchwald | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||
| DF | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | ||
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | ||
| MF | Jorginho | Kashima Antlers | ||
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | ||
| MF | Masakiyo Maezono | Yokohama Flügels | ||
| MF | Motohiro Yamaguchi | Yokohama Flügels | ||
| FW | Dragan Stojković | Nagoya Grampus Eight | ||
| FW | Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | ||
| FW | Masayuki Okano | Urawa Red Diamonds |
