Recommended tear-jerking songs for women: classic and popular J‑pop tracks

Please forget it.Yorushika

Yorushika – Please Forget (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

It’s a heartbreak song by Yorushika that tightens your chest with its bittersweet love—the kind that wishes happiness for an ex while saying “please forget me.” Released in July 2024 as the theme song for the drama “GO HOME: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Unidentified Persons Consultation Office,” the track sets gentle melodies against a narrator who recalls precious memories they shared, even as they wish those memories to be forgotten.

Yet behind those words lies the true feeling of “please don’t actually forget,” a confession that’s sure to loosen your tear ducts.

Vocalist suis’s clear, translucent voice conveys this self-sacrificial and contradictory form of love with painfully delicate nuance.

On nights when you want to face the pain of heartbreak alone, listening to this song will feel as if it speaks for you and quietly stays by your side.

harborsupittsu

Spitz / Minato

It’s a song released in 2016.

The poignant lyrics about longing to see someone and Masamune Kusano’s beautiful singing voice bring me to tears.

You can feel the sorrow of only being able to meet someone who has departed within your memories, as well as a kind of resolve to meet them once more.

beetle (specifically, a rhinoceros beetle)aiko

aiko - 'Kabutomushi' music video

It’s a song by aiko that portrays a delicate heart: identifying with an insect that protects itself with a hard shell yet is fragile inside, and acting tough precisely because it’s in love.

Like that insect that cannot survive the winter, the song foresees the end of love, yet its deep affection moves you as it tries to accept even the sadness as a cherished memory.

Released in November 1999, it was also used as the ending theme for TBS’s CDTV.

If you’ve ever found yourself putting on a brave front in front of someone you like, you’ll understand this all too well! As you listen, may you embrace that awkwardness as a part of yourself and find the courage to step forward into tomorrow.

one grainwacci

wacci “Hitotsubu” Music Video

Released on October 29, 2025, this song is a poignant ballad told from the perspective of the one who chose to end the relationship.

Created as one half of a two-part project by wacci themed around the end of love, it forms a compelling pair with “Kanojo Janakunaru no ni,” which was released in September.

The lyrics gently examine each long-suppressed feeling, the warm sound of piano and strings offers close support, and Yohei Hashiguchi’s earnest vocals strike straight to the heart.

Interweaving regret and resolve as the protagonist carries both a lost everyday life and a safeguarded future, this work will resonate all the more deeply with anyone who has ever shed tears over their own decision.

Never again…BENI

BENI – Never Again…

“I just want to hear your voice one more time, but I can’t.” This is BENI’s renowned ballad that sings of a heartbreakingly painful wish.

The lyrics, torn between lingering feelings for an unforgettable lover and the resolve to tell oneself there’s no going back to the past, will squeeze the hearts of anyone bearing the same pain.

There’s even an anecdote that BENI herself unexpectedly shed tears during the music video shoot, which speaks to the depth of emotion poured into this piece.

Released in December 2008 and tied in with a MBS-affiliated TV program, its memorable melody—marked by piano and strings—surely lingers in many listeners’ minds.

Also included on the album “Bitter & Sweet,” this song might be the perfect one to let a few quiet tears fall to.

Then, why?Abe Mao

Then, why?

This is a poignant ballad by Mao Abe that sings of the helpless feeling when you realize you were the only one who was serious, after being led on by someone’s suggestive behavior.

The regret of having believed the words of a capricious, cat-like partner, and the pain that makes you want to demand, “Then why did you say that?” ride on her emotional vocals and pierce straight into your heart.

The song is included on the album “Su.” released in June 2011.

Remarkably, Abe wrote it during her high school years, and the pure, youthful cry of the heart resonates with raw intensity.

When you’re suffering from a lover’s ambiguous attitude and have nowhere to put your feelings, listening to this can feel as though it’s speaking for you.

Its gut-wrenching lyrics, paradoxically, will gently wrap your loneliness in warmth.

The thing I wanted mostMakihara Noriyuki

Noriyuki Makihara “The Thing I Wanted Most” with lyrics

Makihara Noriyuki’s 32nd single, “The One I Wanted Most,” was released in 2004.

Because the song was featured in various dramas and commercials, many people may find its chorus familiar.

Makihara’s songs often have a heartwarming, gentle quality.

This track, too, is a moving piece that reminds us of kindness toward others and can even shift our own way of thinking.

We all want to be kind to someone at any time and be the kind of person who makes others feel good, don’t we?

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