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

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.

Unfit to be a loverKoresawa

Koresawa “Unqualified as a Lover” [Music Video]

A breakup ballad from a male perspective that portrays the anguish and regret of the one who said goodbye.

It’s a self-cover sung from the viewpoint of the man who leaves the room in Koresawa’s signature song “Tabako.” Released as a digital single in June 2019, it was later included on the concept mini-album “Heartbreak Scrap” in January 2020.

Originally written for Miyuhan, the track drew attention with its music video featuring Ryusei Yokohama.

The song movingly captures the conflict of a man who ends the relationship precisely because he loves her, blaming not her but his own shortcomings.

Listening to it alongside “Tabako” deepens your understanding of the couple’s emotional misalignment.

Highly recommended for anyone who’s experienced the end of a cherished relationship or carries guilt over having hurt someone they love.

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.

I became someone else’s girlfriend.wacci

wacci “I Became Someone Else’s Girlfriend” Music Video

A song that captures the complex feelings of a woman telling her ex that she’s found a new partner.

Her current boyfriend is mature, kind, and makes her feel safe, yet she can’t help but remember how naturally she could be herself around her ex—the song carefully portrays that inner conflict.

Written by wacci’s vocalist Yohei Hashiguchi after hearing a story from a female friend, the track was released digitally in 2018.

Its popularity spread by word of mouth, and by 2021 it had surpassed 100 million total streams.

Recommended for anyone who wants to treasure their current relationship but can’t quite let go of lingering feelings for an ex.

Song of LoveKōda Kumi

Kumi Koda - 'Ai no Uta (album version)' ~ 20th Year Special Full Ver. ~

Released in September 2007 as her 37th single, this work is a deeply resonant ballad in which Kumi Koda sings from a new perspective she realized through giving love advice to friends and fans: “love is something you give.” She found inspiration while driving along the coast on a getaway to a hot spring inn, and wrote the lyrics immediately upon arrival.

They delicately portray a young woman’s aching heart as she senses a breakup approaching yet tries to convey unwavering love.

The song was featured in the MTI “music.jp” commercial and served as a support song for Fuji TV’s World Judo 2007.

Composed entirely of Kumi Koda’s vocals without any backing chorus, it centers on mid-to-low registers, making it easy to sing even for those who struggle with high notes, and it’s a track anyone who has experienced the end of a romance can relate to.

Love PhotosOtsuka Ai

Ai Otsuka / Love Photograph

Ai Otsuka’s 13th single, released in 2006.

Chosen as the theme song for the film “Heavenly Forest” (Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru), this piece is a poignant love song that expresses pure feelings for a past lover.

It’s a piano- and string-driven ballad in which the melody leaps in the chorus as if pouring out pent-up emotion, stirring a heart-wrenching sensation.

There’s even an anecdote that the song influenced the film’s title, which speaks to the power of its words.

The feeling of still loving someone after a breakup, and the inability to forget the happy moments locked in memory, is something many of us have experienced at least once.

It’s a song that brings tears with its pure, heartfelt longing for the one you love.