Tear-jerking J-pop from the ’90s. Hit songs and real tearjerkers.
The 1990s were the era in J-pop history when CDs sold the most, and countless timeless classics were born that are still loved in the 2020s.
It was truly J-pop’s golden age, with artists and bands from a wide range of genres scoring hit after hit—an important period that greatly expanded the possibilities of Japanese music.
From among the dazzling array of brilliant 90s songs, this time we’re highlighting “tear-jerkers”: masterpieces that remain etched in both the record books and our memories.
Whether you lived through that time or you’re a younger music fan who’s recently gotten into 90s Japanese music, be sure to check them out.
- Iconic ballads of 90s J-pop: nostalgic mega-hits and fan favorites
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for women in their 40s: classic and popular Japanese tracks
- A roundup of hit love songs from the ’90s
- Tear-jerking songs I want to sing at karaoke
- A heartbreak song that was a hit in the 90s. Classic and popular tracks in Japanese music.
- A hidden gem among tearjerker songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- A coming-of-age song that was a hit in the ’90s. A classic and popular track in Japanese music.
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- Classic and hit songs by nostalgic Japanese bands from the 1990s
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for women in their 50s: classic and popular Japanese hits
- The nostalgic atmosphere tugs at your heartstrings. Tear-jerker songs from the Showa era.
- Heisei-era heartbreak songs: A roundup of classic tracks from the ’90s to the 2010s
Tear-jerking J-pop of the ’90s. Hit songs and sob-inducing tracks (51–60)
Soap bubbleNagabuchi Tsuyoshi
Boosted by the popularity of the tie-in TV drama of the same name, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi’s 24th single became a million-seller.
Released in October 1991, it topped the Oricon weekly chart and sold over 1.1 million copies in total.
The lyrical guitar-riff intro and the folk-rock sound centered on acoustic guitar lend the entire track a wistful atmosphere.
Recorded in Los Angeles with top American session musicians, it achieves a grand, expansive sonic image.
The lyrics are emotional, portraying someone who, while confronting the injustices of society, keeps struggling to launch their dreams again and again.
It’s a track you’ll want to hear if you’ve faced setbacks but are trying to look ahead, or on nights when you want to savor life’s bitterness and hope at the same time.
Embracing sleepless nightsZARD
It’s a heartbreak song by the well-known ZARD.
Sung with a clear, expansive voice about a past love, it’s both refreshing and tinged with sadness.
The kind of all-out love you can only have as a girl can feel embarrassingly sweet when you look back on it as an adult.
This song captures exactly that feeling.
Come, spring.Matsutōya Yumi
With its indescribably melancholic melody line and lyrics that feel so natural on the tongue, this is a song I always remember when spring arrives.
Some of you may have sung it or heard it played at graduation ceremonies, right? When you sense the arrival of spring, a nostalgic someone comes to mind… I think that feeling lives in everyone’s heart, regardless of gender.
CAN YOU CELEBRATE?Amuro Namie
In 2018, Namie Amuro sadly retired from the entertainment industry.
Since her debut in the 1990s, she produced numerous major hits in partnership with Tetsuya Komuro, and sparked social phenomena such as the emergence of countless girls who imitated her fashion—dubbed “Amurers.” She truly is a songstress the Heisei era can be proud of.
Among her works, “CAN YOU CELEBRATE?”, released once in 1997 and a massive hit, remains a beloved wedding staple even well into the 2020s.
Commissioned as a “Komuro-style wedding song,” its lyrics—rendered in Komuro’s distinctive turns of phrase—movingly portray a future walked together by two lovers.
Even so, it’s astonishing to remember that Amuro, who delivers the song with a mature, black-music-inspired vocal style, was only 19 at the time.
Summertime BluesWatanabe Misato
While the tune is upbeat, the song captures a woman’s feelings as she looks back on the man she broke up with.
It vividly brings back the scenes and the maiden’s heart that once fretted over even a single outfit, wondering how he saw her when they first started dating.
Yet when she gazes out over the sea of memories, old wounds start to ache… It’s the kind of relatable lyric that stirs the heart—something almost anyone has experienced.