J2 History: 2004

In 2004, several trends became clearly apparent in the J2, and in the J.League in general. For one, the adverse influence of bad management, old-boy favouritism, excessive and unreasonable spending, poor relations with the local fans, and good old-fashioned corruption, began to take their toll on formerly proud clubs. Former J1 teams like Shonan Bellmare and Consadole Sapporo found themselves floundering at the bottom of the J2 table, due largely to the poor financial planning and wastrel habits of the head office. Consadole are perhaps the best example, since the team once boasted some of the most loyal and energetic supporters in the J.League. Nowadays, Consadole lags the league average in attendance, and its finances were so atrocious that the team had to sell off nearly all of its players at the end of 2003, leaving the team to finish dead last in the 2004 season.
But elsewhere, the sparks of local and regional individuality -- smothered for more than a century by the government's efforts to promote national harmony and unity -- began to ignite under small teams, turning them into not only a popular source of sports entertainment, but also a symbol of local pride and regional character. Teams from tiny towns like Yamagata and Kofu suddenly began attracting respectable crowds, and as attendances and local passion increased, so did the teams' fortunes. This trend could not have better implications for the league, since the so-called "hundred year plan" is founded on the idea that all major towns and cities in Japan should eventually have a local team, founded at the grassroots level and generating civic and regional pride while allowing people throughout the country to know the joy of football, and the thrill of supporting a club.
The trend of small-town pride expressing itself in football has its roots in the club teams from Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, in the years prior to the J.League's birth, but it has gained momentum as it spreads to other parts of the country -- first to football-mad towns like Niigata and Oita, then to Yamagata and Kofu. That fever had spread across the country, as towns and cities in every corner of the nation have begun forming JFL teams with the aim of eventually earning promotion to the J.League. In 2004, the first two clubs to ride that track to J.League glory were welcomed into the fold. After finishing first in the JFL, Tokushima Vortis became the first club from Shikoku to enter the J.League. They were followed shortly thereafter by Thespa Kusatsu, a club formed in a tiny onsen resort town in Gunma prefecture, which eventually managed to win J.League approval to advance, despite finishing third in the JFL, a goal behind Honda FC on goal difference.
Since the J1 was expanded from 16 to 18 teams at the end of 2004, no teams were relegated. Kawasaki Frontale clinched promotion after a dominating run which saw them clinch first place by late September and cruise to a phenomenal record of 34 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. Much later, they were joined by Omiya Ardija, who claimed second place.

. Team Pts GP W D L GF GA G.Dif
1 Kawasaki Frontale 105 44 34 3 7 104 38 +66
2 Omiya Ardija 87 44 26 9 9 63 38 +25
3 Avispa Fukuoka 76 44 23 7 14 56 41 +15
4 Montedio Yamagata 71 44 19 14 11 58 51 +7
5 Kyoto Purple Sanga 69 44 19 12 13 65 53 +12
6 Vegalta Sendai 59 44 15 14 15 62 66 -4
7 Ventroret Kofu 58 44 15 13 16 51 46 +5
8 Yokohama FC 52 44 10 22 12 42 50 -8
9 Mito Hollyhock 37 44 6 19 19 33 60 -27
10 Shonan Bellmare 36 44 7 15 22 39 64 -25
11 Sagan Tosu 35 44 8 11 25 32 66 -34
12 Consadole Sapporo 30 44 5 15 24 30 62 -32

PROMOTED:
Kawasaki Frontale
Omiya Ardija

RELEGATED:
-- NONE --

Joined from JFL:
Tokushima Vortis
Thespa Kusatsu