Latest J-Pop releases [December 2025]

SUPERSONIC171

171 – SUPERSONIC

This track comes from 171, a three-piece rock band from the Kansai region.

It’s a high-energy rock tune packed into a brief 2 minutes and 12 seconds, written and composed by Kana, the bassist and vocalist.

The song portrays a stance of shaking off everyday boredom and tearing ahead at one’s own pace.

Its message of charging forward with curiosity, unbound by the values of those around you, gives a push to anyone feeling stuck or uncertain.

It’s the perfect song when you need courage to dive into a new environment or want to reset your mood.

HanayukiAile The Shota

Aile The Shota / Hanayuki (Prod. UTA, LOAR) - Official Video -

While grounding his music in R&B, Aile The Shota has pursued pop that anyone can hum along to.

Released in December 2025, the winter ballad “Hanayuki” serves as the concluding piece of a seasonal song series that has been delivered across spring, summer, and autumn.

Set against imagery of snow piling up on winter nights and frosty white breaths, it depicts fragile memories that seem like they might vanish at a touch, and the feelings that nevertheless remain in the heart.

The composition features contributors including UTA, known for work with BTS and Daichi Miura, resulting in a classic love ballad reminiscent of the 2000s.

Included on the album “REAL POP 2,” released in February 2026.

meeting upM!LK

meeting up

This is a support song that stands by you in the lonely battle of entrance exams.

Written specifically for Nippon Cultural Broadcasting’s “Exam Student Support Campaign,” the piece also drew attention because member Jinto Yoshida served as the campaign’s character.

The “meeting up” in the title carries layered meanings—an appointment with your target destination of your chosen school, and a reunion with your future self.

The warm sound centered on piano and strings, with the five members’ vocals carefully layered, is truly wonderful.

Teens, be sure to give it a listen.

Snow Ghostflumpool

flumpool “Snow Ghost” Music Video

The four-piece rock band flumpool, known for their expansive vocals and steady band sound, has released numerous hit songs.

Their digital single “Snow Ghost,” released in December 2025, began when vocalist Ryuta Yamamura posted on social media in the height of summer that he wanted to write a winter song again.

Set in the snow-dusted streets of Tokyo, it tells a poignant love story that retraces memories with a former lover once walked beside.

The song’s world, which overlays feelings for someone now out of reach with the phantom of snow drifting through a winter night, strikes a deep chord.

It’s a winter song perfect for when you want to linger in memories of love.

TWILIGHTyama

yama『TWILIGHT』　Lyric Video

Released in December 2025 to mark the 5th anniversary of yama’s debut, this work is a lead single from the concept EP “C.U.T,” set for release in March 2026.

Serving as the gateway to a collection themed around the keywords “Chill out,” “Urban,” and “Tender,” it features a comfortably urban sound.

Set against a city at twilight, it portrays a desire to step slightly away from the everyday and set the heart free, with vocals over gentle beats that sink deep into the soul.

It’s a track I’d highly recommend as a soundtrack for a drive.

Haruka Kanatayosugala

yosugala – Haruka Kanata

Formed in 2022, yosugala is a rock idol group that has drawn attention for its guitar-driven sound and emotional vocals.

Their major-label debut track uses the moon in the night sky and shooting stars as motifs to portray the emotions of confronting loneliness and self-denial.

The lyrics, which affirm both our tough facade and our complexes just as they are, resonate with those of us living in a modern world where we tend to compare ourselves to others.

The song has been selected as the ending theme for Fuji TV’s “Zenryoku! Datsuryoku Times” starting in December 2025.

Lyrics by TKT, music and arrangement by EREN.

Hero interviewmei-chan

Hero Interview / Mei-chan

Starting with posting “I tried singing” videos on Niconico, Mei-chan made his major debut in 2017 with the album “This Is More or Less What’s Inside Mei-chan’s Head.” Released in December 2025, this work is a pep song that takes the familiar motif of the hero interview from sports broadcasts and overlays it onto people who are doing their best in everyday life.

The chorus, woven from a dazzling brass section and children’s voices, delivers a rush that makes you feel as if you’re being cheered on in a stadium.

It also carries a gentle message that resonates in your heart: the very act of continuing to move forward despite failures is what makes someone a hero.

It’s a must-listen for those starting a new chapter in life or anyone who wants to acknowledge their own daily efforts.