| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kashima Antlers 8th J.League title 8th Japanese title |
| Relegated | Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare Avispa Fukuoka |
| AFC Champions League | Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka |
| Club World Cup | Kashima Antlers |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 805 (2.63 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Leandro (Vissel Kobe) Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) (19 goals each) |
| Highest attendance | 59,837 Urawa vs Kashima (3 December) |
| Lowest attendance | 5,870 Fukuoka vs Nagoya (2 July) |
| Average attendance | 17,968 |
← 2015 2017 →
All statistics correct as of 3 November 2016. | |
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2016 明治安田生命J1リーグ) season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. This was second season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.
For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.