In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in what’s new in J-pop.

With that in mind, here’s where you come in: I’m one person with one set of musical preferences, so please embed any other new J-pop tracks you’ve enjoyed in the comments so we can get a fuller spectrum each week.

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2023-2025 Index

2026 Index: Dec 28 – Jan 3 // Jan 4 – Jan 10 // Jan 11 – Jan 17 // Jan 18 – Jan 24 // Jan 25 – Jan 31 // Feb 1 – Feb 7 // Feb 8 – Feb 14 // Feb 15 – Feb 21 // Feb 22 – Feb 28 // Mar 1 – Mar 7 // Mar 8 – Mar 14 // Mar 15 – Mar 21 // Mar 22 – Mar 28 // Mar 29 – Apr 4 // Apr 5 – Apr 11 // Apr 12 – Apr 18 // Apr 19 – Apr 25

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THIS WEEK: April 26 – May 2

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Ayumu Imazu – Classic

An enjoyable throwback funk track.

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Choshinsei – Hot

This group just continues to chug along, crafting very solid pop music. This song is fun, if a bit generic.

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Creepy Nuts – Fright

The performance is very passionate. That’s all I’ve got.

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Exile B Happy – Exile B Opapi (Kaze No Fune) (ft. Yoshio Kojima)

Fun but silly.

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HATENA – Sanjo

This kind of indie pop/rock always seems to trend in Japan. It does very little for me.

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H//PE Princess – Stolen

I wrote about this here. It’s kind of a Korean/Japanese hybrid. It’s okay.

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Ji Blue – Keshiki (song of the week!)

I’ll always love a good cheering song.

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Mika Nakashima – Look In My Eyes

A nice ballad.

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M!LK – IDOLPOWER

A bit frantic. Bring me back my old M!LK, please!

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Misia – The Last Dance With You

I like how classic and classy this sounds.

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Mrs. Green Apple – Wind And Town

I wrote about this song already but now it has a music video.

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MYNAME – Cool

Not nearly as cool as their older stuff.

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Orange Range – Dramatic Heibon

Certainly not what I think of when I imagine a Kamen Rider theme.

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PERKERS – Pressure Dynamite

The band name is making me giggle for some reason. Song is cute.

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PG – Skyrocket

Well… they’ve certainly transitioned to a new sound…

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The Rampage – Black Tokyo (song of the week!)

I already wrote about this song, but now it has a music video. I miss Kazuma!

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Ryosuke Yamada – Magic Music

Very in line with his group’s occasional swing/big band moments. Not my thing, unfortunately.

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SHOW-WA & MATSURI – June Bride

It’s a team-up of the retro acts. This is a nice, melodic bit of yearning.

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Tsubaki Factory – Mappira datteba!

A boilerplate Hello Project song.

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White Jam – I Miss You

That video thumbnail…
This group is so weird. The song’s not bad, though. The sexy gimmick is such an odd choice, as usual.

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Yena – Mirror Mirror

Not as strong as her Korean work, sadly.