| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 26 February – 4 December |
| Champions | Kawasaki Frontale (4th title) |
| Relegated | Tokushima Vortis Oita Trinita Vegalta Sendai Yokohama FC |
| Champions League | Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos Vissel Kobe Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 920 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Leandro Damião Daizen Maeda (23 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0 FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Urawa Red Diamonds 0–5 Kawasaki Frontale (21 March 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Kashima Antlers 5–3 Yokohama F. Marinos (15 May 2021) Yokohama FC 5–3 Tokushima Vortis (16 October 2021) Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0 FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Longest unbeaten run | 25 matches Kawasaki Frontale |
| Longest winless run | 13 matches Yokohama FC |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Avispa Fukuoka Oita Trinita |
| Highest attendance | 30,657[1] Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 Kawasaki Frontale (4 December 2021) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,899[1] Yokohama FC 0–3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7 April 2021) (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
| Total attendance | 2,531,007[1] |
| Average attendance | 6,661[1] (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
← 2020 2022 → | |
The 2021 J1 League, also known as the 2021 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2021 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2021 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was seventh season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The league began on 26 February and ended on 4 December 2021.
Kawasaki Frontale were the reigning champions, having won their third title in 2020 with four rounds to play.[2] They successfully retained the title, again with four rounds to play.[3]
On 20 November 2021, Oita Trinita, Vegalta Sendai, and Yokohama FC were relegated to J2 League with two games to play. On the final matchday, Tokushima Vortis was relegated back to J2 League after just one season.