Tear-jerking love songs: classic and popular hits from Japanese music

Eine KleineYonezu Kenshi

Kenshi Yonezu – Eine Kleine

It’s a Tokyo Metro commercial song, but I think it can also be considered one of Kenshi Yonezu’s signature tracks.

He’s an artist who used to post original songs on Nico Nico Douga under the name “Hachi,” and one of his greatest appeals is his gentle yet powerful, beautiful singing voice.

Inekoine, told from the perspective of “atashi” (I), is a song that many women can deeply relate to.

Goodbye, AngelMEGA SHINNOSUKE

Sayonara Tenshisama

Mega Shinnosuke is an artist who has earned support for his genre-crossing musicality.

This track, included on his fifth album Tenshi-sama† released in November 2025, is a love song that portrays feelings for a cherished person one can no longer meet.

What stands out is how it refuses to deny the misery of heartbreak, choosing instead to carry it forward and keep moving on.

While the album also features tracks like the theme song for the TV anime “Hiroshi Nohara: The Way of Lunch,” this song—despite having no tie-in—plays a pivotal role at the core of the work.

Its bittersweet narrative, like being told goodbye at the very start of a film, is sure to gently accompany anyone seeking to heal the pain of a broken heart.

Feel the sorrow and faint hope distilled into 4 minutes and 41 seconds.

That’s not fair.Ochiai Wataru

Wataru Ochiai – That's Unfair (Music Video)

They’re someone who says they “love” me, but I know their heart isn’t here.

Even so, I can’t walk away, because those moments when they say it are the only ones that save me.

Wataru Ochiai’s 2021 release sings from the perspective of a woman sinking into a relationship so ambiguous it can’t even be labeled “more than friends, less than lovers,” moving between blaming the other person and loathing herself.

A phone placed face down as they leave; me almost grabbing their arm, then seeing them off with a smile—tiny details of daily life lay bare the reality that I’m not the one.

The simple arrangement, built around acoustic guitar and keys, is chosen to make the words stand out.

Precisely because the vocal delivery is calm and understated, the pain lands with raw immediacy.

After its 2021 release, the song charted in countries around the world, including Thailand, Laos, and Ireland.

The music video features actors Mizuki and Kento Hotta, and is approaching 900,000 views.

For anyone who knows the feeling of “a love you want to end but can’t,” this is a song that will gently stay by your side.

Stop this nightJUJU

JUJU “Stop This Night for Me”

This work delicately depicts that bittersweet moment when, on a night heavy with the sense of an impending breakup, the other person’s words of love only deepen the sorrow.

JUJU’s translucent vocals and the piano-centered arrangement gently draw out the unspoken tremors of the heart.

Released in November 2010, it gained attention as the theme song for the TV drama “Guilty: The Woman Who Made a Pact with the Devil.” It peaked at No.

10 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and was selected for the Excellence Award at the 53rd Japan Record Awards.

Many listeners will relate to the heart that can’t accept the end and the wish for time to stop.

It’s a song that quietly stays by your side when you’re carrying the pain of heartbreak.

Snow SmileBUMP OF CHICKEN

Snow Smile @ Zepp Sapporo

Among BUMP OF CHICKEN fans, the quintessential winter love song is “Snow Smile.” The fourth album “Yggdrasil,” which includes this track, is in my opinion the finest masterpiece among BUMP’s albums.

not enoughwacci

wacci 'Tarina i' Music Video

This is a heartbreak song overflowing with poignancy, capturing the emotional turmoil of trying to sever lingering feelings for an ex.

Featured on wacci’s 2019 album Empathy, the track stands out for its lyrics written from a woman’s perspective.

Though she still has feelings, the protagonist’s struggle to choose a clean break in order to move forward is deeply affecting.

Positioned as a side story to “Betsu no Hito no Kanojo ni Natta yo,” a one-take recording was also released in 2020.

It’s a must-listen for anyone who’s gone from mutual love to one-sided, or who wants to move on but can’t quite bring themselves to do it.

GraduationMy Hair is Bad

My Hair is Bad – Graduation (Official Video)

A track by My Hair is Bad that tells the story of two people sensing changes in their relationship amid the bustle of a station and the cityscape.

It was included on the EP “Jidai o Atsumete,” released in May 2016, and was produced as a kind of sequel to the previous song “Makka.” From the perspective of a timid, awkward young person, the song vividly portrays the growing distance between former lovers.

Its theme is a farewell as a rite of passage—putting a period on a relationship and moving on to the next stage.

Driven by a fast-paced 8-beat and dynamic arrangement, Tomomi Shiiki’s husky voice conveys the ebb and flow of emotion.

It’s a song that stays with you when you want to put an end to an ambiguous relationship with an ex and need the courage to face forward and start walking.