Stylish Unrequited Love Songs: Heart-Fluttering Must-Listen Japanese Hits and Hidden Gems
When your heart feels full with thoughts of someone you love, listening to a song that stays close to your feelings might lift your spirits and help you move lightly to the next step.
Stylish unrequited love songs—with highly relatable lyrics and soothing melodies that embrace the feeling of being in love—shine with a special charm among Japanese music.
This time, we’re introducing a selection of unrequited love songs distinguished by their sophisticated sound.
May you find one song that gently wraps around the feelings you hold in your heart.
Stylish Unrequited Love Songs: Heart-Melting Must-Listen J-Pop Hits & Hidden Gems (1–10)
You don’t listen to rock.NEW!aimyon
A signature song by Aimyon that blends the sweet tang and faint bitterness of youth, gripping listeners’ hearts and never letting go.
Released in August 2017 as her third single, this track portrays a clumsy crush: trying to convey one’s feelings to someone who isn’t into rock through a beloved record.
Many will likely see their younger selves in the earnest “I,” wishing to close even a little of the distance.
Upon release, it earned power-play rotation at 42 radio stations nationwide, catapulting her recognition.
When you’re wrestling with the frustration of unrequited love, why not listen to this song for a dose of courage?
Unrequited loveAimer
A female singer with a soulful, smoky voice you can’t forget once you hear it—Aimer.
This song, provided by Takahito Uchisawa of androp, is a straightforward love song about deep, enduring affection.
It carries a vow to keep loving the other person even as they grow older, and a wish to always feel as fresh as when they first met, creating a warm, happy atmosphere that evokes a future with someone special.
The track is included on the album “daydream,” released in September 2016, and also served as the opening theme for the music program CDTV.
Unlike a sad unrequited-love song, it’s a heartwarming number that brings back the pure feelings of a first crush.
NAOHY
This is a song by HY, a band from Okinawa, that gently accompanies a one-sided love.
The lyrics, written by vocalist Izumi Nakasone based on a close friend’s real experience, vividly capture the pain and frustration of being drawn to someone more each time you meet them—so real it tightens your chest.
Released in April 2006, the track was included on the album “Confidence,” which reached No.
1 on the Oricon charts.
It has since appeared on compilations like the best-of album “STORY ~HY BEST~,” and continues to be loved across generations.
The crystal-clear piano melody and powerful vocals resonate with hearts burdened by feelings with nowhere to go.
On nights when you want to sort through your emotions, try listening quietly.
CHE.R.RYYUI
This is a cute love song by YUI that portrays exchanges over a cell phone with someone you like.
A single message can make your heart race, and you find yourself resisting the urge to reply right away.
It’s the kind of bittersweet, unrequited feeling that makes you think, “I know exactly how that feels!” Released in March 2007 as her eighth single and featured in a KDDI “LISMO!” commercial, the song became a huge hit that captured many hearts.
When your chest is full of feelings of love, listening to it will surely lift your spirits.
It’s a heart-fluttering track that feels like it’s cheering on your romance.
366 daysHY
A representative ballad by HY, a mixed-genre band from Okinawa, that I want anyone who’s experienced a devastating heartbreak to hear.
It’s included on their 2008 album “HeartY” and was chosen as the theme song for the drama and film “Akai Ito” (Red Thread).
This work portrays a painfully pure love—the more you try to forget, the more you think of the other person.
Izumi Nakasone’s soulful, heartfelt vocals, who wrote the lyrics, seem to speak for those aching emotions.
On nights when your chest is overflowing with helpless longing, this song will surely stay gently by your side.
My name is Unrequited Loveindigo la End
A bittersweet, frustrating crush sung over a light, stylish sound.
This song portrays a one-sided love stuck in that ambiguous space of more than friends, not quite lovers—a situation that breeds frustration.
You want to say you like them, but you’re afraid of breaking the comfortable rhythm you already share.
Many listeners will likely relate to those conflicted feelings.
This track is by Indigo la End, the band led by Enon Kawatani.
It was first performed at their Nippon Budokan show in November 2022, and fans have been eagerly awaiting its release.
If you’re struggling with the distance between you and the one you like, this song will gently embrace your heart.
AitaiKato Miria
A straightforward portrayal of unrequited love for someone who loves another—this is Kato Miliyah’s renowned ballad.
No matter how much it hurts, I don’t need to be number one; I just want to be loved…
The protagonist’s heartrending cry comes through palpably.
Featured on the album “Ring,” released in July 2009, the song also added depth to the film “Villain” as an insert track.
Beginning with a melancholy piano melody, the R&B-tinged track beautifully captures the agony of a love that cannot be.
This is a song especially for those whose hearts ache with feelings they know can never be returned, yet cannot stop.