| Competition: | Meiji Yasuda J1 League |
| Winners: | Kawasaki Frontale (1st title) |
| Relegated: | Ventforet Kofu Albirex Niigata Omiya Ardija |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Kawasaki Frontale Kashima Antlers Cerezo Osaka Kashiwa Reysol |
| Matches: | 306 |
| Total Goals: | 793 |
| League Topscorer: | Yū Kobayashi (Kawasaki Frontale) (23 goals)[1] |
| Biggest Home Win: | (7 April 2017) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (14 May 2017) |
| Highest Scoring: | (7 April 2017) (14 May 2017) (1 July 2017) (29 July 2017) |
| Longest Wins: | (8 matches) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | (15 matches) |
| Longest Winless: | (16 matches) |
| Longest Losses: | (6 matches each) |
| Highest Attendance: | 57,447[2] (4 May 2017) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 4,692 (29 October 2017) |
| Attendance: | 5,778,178 |
| Average Attendance: | 18,883 |
| Prevseason: | 2016 |
| Nextseason: | 2018 |
| Season: | 2017 |
The 2017 J1 League (known as the 2017 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2017 明治安田生命J1リーグ) for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was third season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The season began on 25 February 2017 and ended on 2 December. Fixtures for the 2017 season were announced on 26 January 2017.[3]
Kashima Antlers were the defending champions. Consadole Sapporo, Shimizu S-Pulse and Cerezo Osaka entered as the three promoted teams from the 2016 J2 League.
The league was won by Kawasaki Frontale, winning their first major title while in J1 and 40 years after their first season in the Japanese top division.
A total of 18 clubs will contest the league, including 15 sides from the 2016 season and three promoted from the 2016 J2 League. This will include the two top teams; Consadole Sapporo and Shimizu S-Pulse from the J2 League, and the winners of the play-offs; Cerezo Osaka.
The three promoted clubs replace Nagoya Grampus, Shonan Bellmare and Avispa Fukuoka. Former J1 League champion Nagoya Grampus were relegated to the J2 League for the first time in their history.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seiro | Denka Big Swan Stadium | 42,300 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Southeast Ibaraki Prefecture | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 40,728 | |
| Omiya Ardija | Saitama | NACK5 Stadium | 15,500 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka & Sakai | Yanmar Stadium Nagai | 47,816 | |
| Consadole Sapporo | All Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome | 41,484 | |
| Yokohama & Yokosuka | Nissan Stadium | 72,327 | ||
| Kawasaki, Kanagawa | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | 26,232 | ||
| Gamba Osaka | Northern Osaka Prefecture | Suita City Football Stadium | 39,694 | |
| Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | ||
| Saitama | Saitama Stadium | 63,700 | ||
| Kashiwa, Chiba | Kashiwa Soccer Stadium | 15,900 | ||
| Shizuoka | IAI Stadium Nihondaira | 20,339 | ||
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | Tosu Stadium | 24,490 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima | Hiroshima Big Arch | 50,000 | |
| Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | ||
| Vegalta Sendai | Sendai | Yurtec Stadium | 19,694 | |
| Ventforet Kofu | All Yamanashi Prefecture | Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium | 17,000 | |
| Kobe | Noevir Stadium Kobe | 30,132 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata |  | Resigned | 7 May 2017[5] | 17th | | 11 May 2017 | |
| Omiya Ardija | Hiroki Shibuya | Sacked | 28 May 2017[6] | 18th | Akira Ito | 28 May 2017 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Masatada Ishii | Sacked | 31 May 2017[7] | 7th | Go Oiwa | 31 May 2017 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hajime Moriyasu | Resigned | 4 July 2017[8] | 17th |  | 10 July 2017 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Mihailo Petrović | Sacked | 31 July 2017[9] | 8th | Takafumi Hori | 31 July 2017 | |
| Vissel Kobe | Nelsinho Baptista | Sacked | 16 August 2017[10] | 11th | Takayuki Yoshida | 16 August 2017 | |
| FC Tokyo | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | Sacked | 10 September 2017[11] | 10th | Takayoshi Amma | 10 September 2017 | |
| Omiya Ardija | Akira Ito | Sacked | 5 November 2017[12] | 17th | Masatada Ishii | 5 November 2017 |
The total number of foreign players is restricted to five per club. For matchday squad registration, a club can register up to four foreign players, but a maximum of three can be from outside the AFC. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, and Qatar) are exempt from these club registration and matchday squad registration restrictions.[13]
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the summer transfer window.
As of matches played on December 2nd, 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | ||||
| 2 | 22 | ||||
| 3 | 20 | ||||
| 4 | 14 | ||||
| align=center rowspan=3 | 5 | align=center rowspan=3 | 12 | ||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | |||||
| Kashiwa Reysol | |||||
| 8 | 11 | ||||
As of matches played on December 2nd, 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | ||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 2 | align=center rowspan=2 | 10 | ||
| Cerezo Osaka | |||||
| align=center rowspan=4 | 4 | align=center rowspan=4 | 9 | ||
| Kawasaki Frontale | |||||
| Cerezo Osaka | |||||
| FC Tokyo | |||||
| align=center rowspan=3 | 8 | align=center rowspan=5 | 8 | ||
| Júbilo Iwata | |||||
| Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7–0 (H) | ||||
| 3–3 (H) | ||||
| Albirex Niigata | 4–2 (A) | |||
| 5–0 (H) | ||||
