JFL clubs may be affiliated to
companies, or be entirely autonomous clubs or reserve teams of these. Until 2010, university clubs (which as a rule do not play in the Japanese football league system) were recommended by the Japan University Football Association and played off against bottom JFL teams for entrance. B-teams are allowed to participate but only A-squads of truly autonomous clubs are eligible for J.League associate membership, and with it, promotion to the J.League.
Promotion from JFL A club that satisfied the following criteria was promoted to J.League Div. 2 (for the 2012 and 2013 seasons): • Had J.League associate membership • Finished the season in the top two in JFL • If
only the champion had been an associate member, it was automatically promoted. • If
both the champion and runner-up had been associate members, the champion is automatically promoted and the runner-up plays a promotion/relegation series against the second-to-last club in the J2. • If
only the runner-up had been an associate member, it plays the promotion/relegation series against the last club in the J2. • Passed the final inspection by the J.League Committee. With the establishment of the J3 League in the 2014 season, the top 2 requirements are no longer necessary should a team that is approved by J.League Committee and is a J.League associate member. However, they start in the J3 instead. The JFL is the highest tier of amateur level football in Japan again, but they still serve the purpose of helping potential J.League clubs to participate in the J3. At a J.League board meeting in August 2021, 60 clubs, of which 20 are J3, were targeted for the entire league, and a possibility that J3 would have exceeded 20 clubs by the 2023 season was brought up. Mitsuru Murai, the J.League chairman, revealed that he was discussing how to adjust to 20 clubs. At this time, he was asked, "If there is a possibility of the [J3] league having 21 teams, is it okay to understand that there are teams that will fall from J3 to JFL?" While under consideration, he admitted that the J3 and JFL were considering the introduction of relegation to the latter league as early as after the 2022 season. Later in November, Murai announced that promotion from and relegation to the JFL had been planned for the end of 2023. In early January 2023, the J.League introduced the J3–JFL promotion/relegation playoffs, enabling the possibility for teams to be relegated from the J3. The system of promotion and relegation between the J3 and the JFL can be determined by the eligibility (promotion to J3 requires a J.League license) of the JFL's champions and runners-up for the season. • If
only the JFL champions hold a license, they replace automatically the J3's 20th-placed team. • If
only the JFL runners-up hold a license, there are promotion/relegation playoffs with the J3's 20th-placed team. • If
both the JFL champions and runners-up hold a license, there is automatic exchange between the JFL champions and the J3's 20th-placed team, and the runners-up compete in two-legged playoffs with the J3's 19th-placed team. • If
both the JFL champions and runners-up do not hold a license, no exchange takes place; the teams placed third and below in the league standings, even if one of them holds a J3 license, are not entitled to promotion and the playoffs.
Relegation from JFL The team at the bottom of the league faces a direct relegation, exchanging its place with
Japanese Regional Football Champions League winner, with the team ranked 15th playing the relegation/promotion play-off against the team finishing second in that competition. The number of teams relegated varies depending on the outcome of the play-off or the number of teams withdrawn from the JFL. This use until 2025 season. From 2026–27 onwards, the two bottom teams are directly relegation without playoffs due to abolish promotion relegation play-off JFL/Regional Leagues.
Emperor's Cup eligibility Until 2008, only the club at the top of the standings at half-season (17 matches completed) was qualified for the
Emperor's Cup, entering it at the third round along with the clubs in J2, but the allotment was widened to the top three clubs in 2010 due to the expansion of J2. Every other club must qualify through a qualifying cup in their own prefecture and then must enter at the first round. In 2015, only the winner of the apertura (first half) qualified.
JFL XI In 1999 (
Bangabandhu Cup) and from 2014 to 2019, a JFL XI team played off-season matches against guest teams. The 2016 season also featured an JFL East vs JFL West all-star encounter.
JFL Cup In the spring of 2026, as a result of Japan's transition to a European calendar, a special
JFL Cup will take place as a transition season to the
2026–27 season. That season's clubs, including newly relegated
Azul Claro Numazu and promoted
J-Lease FC and
Vonds Ichihara will compete. ==2026–27 season==