Most In-Form defenders in J3 League 2026

The most in-form defenders in J3 League in 2026, ranked on Field Insider.

Most in-form goalkeepers in J3 League Most in-form midfielders in J3 League Most in-form attackers in J3 League Best defenders in J3 League Top-scoring defenders in J3 League Most valuable defenders in J3 League

At a glance

Ri Thae-Ha of Roasso Kumamoto is the standout for raw talent across defenders in J3 League, with a Field Insider Rating of 35.4, and K. Minoda has been the form player this season, grading 43.9, and G. Egawa leads the scoring with 6 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: Y. Hasegawa has improved his Season rating most, up +9.1 on last season. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, H. Iwasaki of Tochigi SC is the most valuable name in this group at 4.6.

Matsumoto Yamaga · 22/23→25/26

Most improved

Y. Hasegawa+9.1SsN

Parceiro Nagano · 21/22→25/26

50 players · ranked by best this seasonCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	K. Minoda Centre-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	27	44	2832.6%
2	R. Kawakami Centre-back	Kanazawa	31	24	14
3	T. Akiyama Centre-back	Osaka	32	23	14
4	H. Iwasaki Centre-back	Tochigi SC	23	21	29
5	Yoshitaka Aoki Full-back	Kagoshima United	28	21	24
6	K. Yamawaki Full-back	Kitakyushu	25	18±0%	29±0%
7	Y. Tsujioka Centre-back	Kitakyushu	24	18±0%	28±0%
8	W. Hiramatsu Full-back	Tochigi SC	26	17	24
9	Y. Hasegawa Full-back	Parceiro Nagano	29	16124.7%	1760.8%
10	S. Tachino Full-back	Osaka	33	16	9
11	S. Nikaido Centre-back	Gainare Tottori	25	16	26
12	K. Tomita Centre-back	Parceiro Nagano	30	15	15
13	K. Sugiyama Centre-back	Kitakyushu	28	15	20
14	M. Tokida Centre-back	Sagamihara	28	15	19
15	H. Sugii Full-back	Kagoshima United	26	15	27
16	Y. Takahashi Centre-back	Thespakusatsu Gunma	27	14	22
17	T. Nonomura Centre-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	28	14	18
18	S. Kozuki Full-back	Kochi United	26	13	25
19	K. Chibu Centre-back	Kagoshima United	31	13	13
20	H. Nukui Centre-back	Gainare Tottori	29	13	18
21	K. Kitazume Full-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	34	1277.1%	1627.4%
22	G. Egawa Centre-back	Kagoshima United	26	12	26
23	K. Inoue Centre-back	Azul Claro Numazu	25	12	24
24	S. Mihara Centre-back	Azul Claro Numazu	25	12	25
25	H. Sugita Centre-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	22	12	26
26	D. Matsumoto Centre-back	Kanazawa	28	12265.6%	2349.8%
27	M. Kaneura Centre-back	Gainare Tottori	26	12	23
28	S. Kikuchi Centre-back	Renofa Yamaguchi	23	11	27
29	K. Kai Centre-back	FC Gifu	31	11	14
30	R. Ohata Centre-back	Thespakusatsu Gunma	28	11	19
31	N. Yamamoto Centre-back	Kanazawa	31	1134.7%	1464%
32	K. Ikoma Full-back	Nara Club	28	11	20
33	Y. Tsukegi Centre-back	Kamatamare Sanuki	31	11	14
34	S. Maruyama Centre-back	Kitakyushu	27	11	22
35	T. Shinozaki Centre-back	Azul Claro Numazu	28	11	18
36	D. Fukagawa Centre-back	Kochi United	27	10	20
37	Daiki Higuchi Full-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	25	10	25
38	N. Suzu Centre-back	Fukushima United	26	10	24
39	R. Araki Full-back	FC Ryukyu	25	10	28
40	S. Sagou Full-back	Kamatamare Sanuki	24	10	26
41	R. Yamamoto Full-back	Renofa Yamaguchi	26	9	23
42	S. Nose Centre-back	Thespakusatsu Gunma	23	9	25
43	Y. Ono Centre-back	Parceiro Nagano	30	9	13
44	H. Oshima Full-back	Gainare Tottori	26	9	24
45	J. Suzuki Centre-back	FC Ryukyu	30	9	15
46	J. Ninomiya Centre-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	22	9	26
47	G. Matsumura Centre-back	Matsumoto Yamaga	24	9	24
48	M. Yamada Centre-back	Fukushima United	31	8	13
49	H. Fujiharu Centre-back	FC Ryukyu	37	82666.7%	617.6%
50	Y. Okuda Centre-back	Nara Club	29	8	16