Most In-Form defenders in J2 League 2026

The most in-form defenders in J2 League in 2026, ranked on Field Insider.

Most in-form goalkeepers in J2 League Most in-form midfielders in J2 League Most in-form attackers in J2 League Best defenders in J2 League Top-scoring defenders in J2 League Most valuable defenders in J2 League

At a glance

H. Tanaka of Tokushima Vortis is the standout for raw talent across defenders in J2 League, with a Field Insider Rating of 55.7, and T. Shirai has been the form player this season, grading 66.2, and M. Jonjić leads the scoring with 3 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: M. Ito has improved his Season rating most, up +29.2 on last season, while S. Matsumura's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +1 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, H. Tanaka of Tokushima Vortis is the most valuable name in this group at 11.5.

Shonan Bellmare · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

M. Ito+29.2SsN

Yokohama FC · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best this seasonCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	T. Shirai Full-back	Vanraure Hachinohe	29	66	19
2	H. Yukie Centre-back	Vanraure Hachinohe	30	57	16
3	K. Yamazaki Centre-back	Jubilo Iwata	30	4988%	3310.7%
4	A. Fukumori Full-back	Consadole Sapporo	33	43152.7%	1738.1%
5	Y. Sato Centre-back	Tochigi City	28	41	22
6	H. Tanaka Centre-back	Tokushima Vortis	22	4013366.7%	5630.8%
7	M. Ito Centre-back	Yokohama FC	34	40270.4%	1714.8%
8	N. Yamada Centre-back	Tokushima Vortis	23	37	40
9	M. Jonjić Centre-back	Tochigi City	35	3777.2%	857%
10	H. Suzuki Centre-back	Tochigi City	26	35	26
11	D. Kato Centre-back	Jubilo Iwata	28	34	26
12	K. Shimbo Full-back	Yokohama FC	24	32	50
13	K. Yamakoshi Centre-back	Tokushima Vortis	33	32668.3%	1234.1%
14	R. Okui Centre-back	Tochigi City	36	31186.9%	766%
15	Y. Matsumoto Centre-back	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	26	30	26
16	Y. Suzuki Centre-back	Shonan Bellmare	32	2827.9%	2426.9%
17	H. Aoki Centre-back	Tokushima Vortis	25	27	36
18	Y. Takagi Centre-back	Tokushima Vortis	28	2695.5%	2744.6%
19	Soichiro Tsutsumi Full-back	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	25	26	28
20	K. Kuroki Centre-back	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	27	26	23
21	Y. Horigome Centre-back	Consadole Sapporo	32	25101.6%	2224.4%
22	Gabriel Centre-back	Omiya Ardija	31	251300%	1834.2%
23	W. Shimoguchi Centre-back	Omiya Ardija	28	25	27
24	S. Inoue Centre-back	Vegalta Sendai	26	252127.3%	3416.8%
25	M. Sugata Centre-back	Vegalta Sendai	29	24	2439.6%
26	K. Iwatake Centre-back	Yokohama FC	30	24±0%	2345%
27	Y. Shimokawa Full-back	Tegevajaro Miyazaki	31	23	16
28	K. Tachi Centre-back	Shonan Bellmare	28	232477.8%	329.8%
29	S. Suzuki Full-back	Omiya Ardija	25	23	27
30	K. Konomi Centre-back	Consadole Sapporo	19	21	28
31	T. Son Centre-back	Imabari	27	21	30
32	R. Mori Full-back	Albirex Niigata	25	21	28
33	A. Simmons Full-back	Tochigi City	23	20	19
34	R. Ishio Centre-back	Vegalta Sendai	25	2099%	363%
35	R. Nozawa Centre-back	Ventforet Kofu	27	19	26
36	T. Inui Centre-back	Tochigi City	30	19	14
37	T. Ezaki Centre-back	Jubilo Iwata	26	18	34
38	M. Yoshida Centre-back	Sagan Tosu	24	18	3616.3%
39	R. Morishita Centre-back	Sagan Tosu	27	18	30
40	S. Ogawa Centre-back	Sagan Tosu	27	18	33
41	M. Fitzgerald Centre-back	Albirex Niigata	38	1829.9%	1331.6%
42	R. Nishio Centre-back	Omiya Ardija	25	1834.3%	523%
43	S. Okaniwa Centre-back	Iwaki	27	175533.3%	3616.1%
44	S. Matsumura Centre-back	Shonan Bellmare	22	16912.5%	442.3%
45	K. Funaki Centre-back	Albirex Niigata	28	1542.4%	3722.9%
46	J. Geria Centre-back	Albirex Niigata	33	15	15
47	K. Ohno Centre-back	Shonan Bellmare	37	1544.1%	647.5%
48	R. Motegi Centre-back	Omiya Ardija	30	15	22
49	Y. Koide Centre-back	Ventforet Kofu	32	1533%	1563.9%
50	Matheus Pereira Centre-back	Oita Trinita	29	14102.9%	2147.6%