A song of forbidden love. A heartrending, sorrowful love song.
A forbidden love you can’t tell anyone about.
If you’re reading this article, perhaps you’re experiencing a similar kind of love.
If so, there are probably many painful moments.
I’ve gathered some songs I want you to hear.
They capture the pain of falling for someone who already has a lover or partner and feeling lost, or knowing it won’t come true yet being unable to give up.
When things are tough, try finding one song that stays close to your feelings.
Like when someone listens to you, it might make your heart feel just a little lighter.
Songs of forbidden love. A heartrending, sad love song (1–10)
I like indigo.NEW!indigo la End
This song portrays the frustration of being stuck in an ambiguous relationship, unable to get closer or farther apart.
The nocturnal atmosphere that seems to conjure vivid scenes—crafted by Enon Kawatani—and the supple band ensemble beautifully color the aching feelings of love.
Released digitally in advance in May 2016 and included the following month as the opening track of indigo la End’s album “Aiiro Music,” it expresses not a dramatic confession or ending, but those inexplicable emotions that linger right beside everyday life.
It may resonate with those harboring a secret love they can’t tell anyone about, or those troubled by an unattainable romance.
ConcealerNEW!SUPER★DRAGON
Even if it means piling on lies and secrets, I want to protect the relationship we have now.
This SUPER★DRAGON track captures that desperate feeling closing in on your heart.
The quiet anxiety of someone living while hiding memories and emotions from the past surges alongside a bass-driven sound.
Released in November 2025, it was chosen as the ending theme for the TV drama “You Are the One at Fault.” Highlighting the dark aesthetic the group has cultivated since the album “SUPER X,” the song meshes perfectly with the mood of a love-and-hate drama.
It’s recommended for anyone burdened with an unshareable secret, yet irresistibly drawn into a forbidden love.
When you know it’s not allowed but still can’t cut ties, this is a song that gently stays close to your heart.
lingering scentNEW!indoor cats.
Though the romance should be over, even when I swear to forget, the memories left behind keep holding me back.
This song captures the aching feeling of a presence that should be gone and the heart-clenching emotions that linger in the room like a scent.
indoor cats., a band rooted in R&B, weave a jazzy sound centered on piano and organ that quietly seeps into unresolved memories and the aftertaste of a forbidden love.
The track appears on their first album, “Hodokenai Blue,” released in March 2024.
It’s sure to gently accompany those who are struggling with a love they just can’t cut off, and those who, late at night, hold feelings they can’t tell anyone.
A Kiss of Affected SplendorNEW!shallm
A song you’ll want to listen to on nights when you’re tormented by relationships that can’t be smoothed over with pretty words and emotions you can’t show anyone.
Set to a thrilling arrangement that fuses jazz and rock, it portrays the true feelings behind superficial words and the aching emotions you long to say but can’t.
This track was released in July 2025 by shallm, who had put out the album “charme” in October 2024.
It was written as the opening theme for the Thursday drama “Love Prohibited.” Give it a listen when you’re lost in the fate of an unattainable love and wishing someone would quietly stay by your side.
I’ll take it to the grave.NEW!Arukosaito
A heartbreaking rock ballad about the end of a secret love that can’t be told to anyone, and the resolve to bury those memories deep within and keep living.
Vivid, lifelike scenes—evoking the air of everyday life and platforms of Kansai train stations—heighten the reality of an unattainable love and tighten the chest.
This song is a signature work by Arcosite, included on the album “Until It Becomes a Memory,” released in March 2022.
It later resonated widely on social media, becoming a major topic in 2023 as its annual streams surged.
Blending quiet sorrow with the unique intensity of a band, this piece will surely stay close on nights when you struggle with an unrequited relationship and want to weep alone in silence.
From the season that feels like it will freezeNEW!Aimer
A winter song by Aimer that sings of a poignant heart trapped in an irreversible flow of time amid an icy cold.
Released in February 2017, it was chosen as the opening theme for the TV drama “Love Theft, Winter,” whose love-and-hate twists drew much attention.
An extended version was later included on her best album “BEST SELECTION ‘noir,’” and this work stands as a symbol of the darker side of her discography that carves deeply into the emotions.
Even knowing it won’t be rewarded, one cannot sever the obsession and lingering attachment that continue to burn deep inside.
It’s a quiet companion for those who bear the pain of a secret love they cannot tell anyone about.
In loveNEW!HY
A jewel-like ballad that gives you the courage to take one step forward from the depths of sorrow at the end of a secret love you can’t tell anyone about.
HY, a band from Okinawa, wrote it as the theme song for the film “366 Days,” released in January 2025.
The track was released in December 2024 and is also included on the album “TIME,” which came out in January 2025.
Created as an answer song 16 years after the masterpiece “366 Days,” which etched the pain of unrequited love, this work features beautiful male and female harmonies that resonate together, gently affirming that even deeply wounding experiences have meaning.
It’s a song that will likely resonate with those who, while carrying the memories of a love that brought no reward, are trying to face forward and start walking again.
FUCK LOVENEW!chanmina
A poignant track that bares a wounded heart and loneliness behind the tough front of “I don’t need love.” It’s a song by Chanmina, who showcases a wide range of expression as both a rapper and a singer.
It’s included on her fourth album, “Naked,” released in April 2023.
The piece powerfully conveys the raw feeling—akin to resignation—that lurks behind aggressive words, a sense of “whatever happens, happens.” If you’re exhausted by a futureless, secret relationship yet still unable to cut ties and struggling with those lingering feelings, give it a listen.
It’s sure to resonate deeply with the pain of an unrequited love.
Shura-banbanNEW!Yao
A thrilling pop number that channels the anger and biting sarcasm of being cheated on into humor.
Crafted by Yao, known for a cynical and distinctive perspective, the song delivers the bitterness of betrayal and a thirst for revenge through powerful vocals.
Released to the world in March 2025 as the opening track of the album “Hajimari no Uta,” it was chosen as the theme song for the NTV drama DEEP “Perfect Adultery — The Aesthetics of Concealment, The Resolve to Expose.” A drama-specific version was later released in July of the same year.
It’s the perfect track for anyone deeply hurt by a forbidden love or a partner’s betrayal, carrying an overwhelming sense of frustration, who wants to feel a refreshing sense of catharsis.
Quivering with sweet sighsNEW!Yoshii Kazuya
A song that weaves forbidden love and a longing that sinks deep, carried by a sound draped in a Showa-era kayō taste.
Kazuya Yoshii’s sultry vocals and unhurried sense of timing further accentuate the anguish of an unattainable love.
The piece was released in October 2025 as the theme song for the NTV drama DEEP: “From There On Is Hell,” a story of love and hate.
You can feel the mature allure of Kazuya Yoshii—also active with THE YELLOW MONKEY—in his solo work here.
It’s a track for those who have stepped into a secret relationship they can tell no one about, burdened by the fear that there’s no turning back.
Even when you know your feelings won’t be rewarded and still can’t let go, this song will gently stay by your side.