Mito HollyHock sealed a landmark moment in their long, winding history on November 29, clinching the 2025 J.League 2 title and securing promotion to the top flight for the first time ever. Joining them are V-Varen Nagasaki, whose runners-up finish sends them back to the J1 for the first time since 2018.
For Mito—a club that has lived in the J2 for 25 consecutive seasons—the final day arrived carrying both promise and tension. Back-to-back defeats had turned what once looked like a comfortable coronation into a nervy, fragile sprint to the line. But at K’s denki Stadium Mito, with thousands of anxious supporters filling every corner of the ground, Naoki Mori’s unglamorous, all-domestic side steadied themselves and delivered a composed 2–0 victory over Oita Trinita to complete the most significant achievement in their history.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Mori admitted afterwards, speaking to Kyodo. “We stumbled right before the finish line and made our fans worry, but being able to seal promotion here, in front of them, means everything. Next year, we want to shake up the J1.”
Over in Tokushima, Nagasaki—who began the day as league leaders—were held to a hard-fought 1–1 draw by Tokushima Vortis. It was enough to keep them in the automatic promotion places, but not enough to keep them first. Level with Mito on 70 points, they slipped to second on goal difference, though they will nonetheless be pleased to join Avispa Fukuoka in flying the Kyushu flag in the top flight next term.
The drama, however, was far from over. JEF United Chiba, a former powerhouse who have now spent 15 straight years adrift in the second tier, finished just a single point short of the top two. But they sent an emphatic message ahead of the promotion playoffs, dismantling FC Imabari 5–0. JEF now enter the four-team J1 playoff alongside Tokushima, Júbilo Iwata, and newly promoted RB Omiya Ardija, who rounded out the top six.
At the opposite end of the table, the mood was far more somber. Bottom-placed Ehime FC—whose relegation had been confirmed weeks earlier—were joined in the drop by Renofa Yamaguchi and Roasso Kumamoto. Renofa’s spirited 3–2 win over Omiya on the final day ultimately proved meaningless as results elsewhere consigned them to J3, while Kumamoto’s 0–0 draw with Ventforet Kofu wasn’t enough to lift them out of danger. Instead, it was Kataller Toyama—who spent much of the year in the relegation zone—who pulled off a remarkable great escape, capping a late surge with a stunning 4–1 demolition of Blaublitz Akita to secure safety.
Replacing the relegated trio next season will be 2025 J.League 3 champions Tochigi City—who have completed an extraordinary three consecutive promotions to rise from non-league football to J2 in just three years—J3 runners-up Vanraure Hachinohe, and the eventual winners of the J3 promotion playoff featuring FC Osaka, Tegevajaro Miyazaki, Kagoshima United, and Zweigen Kanazawa.