Japanese breakup songs sung by female artists

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.

two peopleaiko

aiko - “Futari” music video

I tell myself it’s a good thing I realized how they felt before I fell in love, and I accept the end of the romance.

This song by aiko captures that painful bravado.

Despite its up-tempo sound, it sings of the bittersweet moment when you keep getting your hopes up over the other person’s smallest gestures, only to notice their gaze is fixed on someone else.

Released in March 2008, the song reached No.

3 on the Oricon weekly chart and was later used in a Hoyu commercial.

It’s also included on the album “Himitsu.” On nights when you put on a brave face even though you’re really sad, doesn’t listening to this song make you feel like someone’s right beside you saying, “I know exactly how you feel”?

Like this tonightaimyon

Aimyon – Stay Like This Tonight [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

This is a song by Aimyon that portrays a helpless night where you dissolve your true feelings into the bubbles in your glass and surrender yourself to an ambiguous relationship.

Wishing for no more than a modest trigger to feel fulfilled evokes emotions akin to the resignation of unrequited love.

Released in November 2018, the song drew attention as the theme for the drama “We Can’t Become Beasts,” and has been streamed over 100 million times.

If you’ve ever been unable to tell someone how you really feel and felt like you might as well just go with the flow, you’ll surely understand the protagonist’s pain.

Doesn’t it feel like this song gently stays close to a heart burdened with feelings that have nowhere to go?

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.

BAD LOVEHANA

HANA / BAD LOVE -Music Video-

“I believed in you, but you betrayed me.” “It’s precisely because I loved you so much that I can’t forgive you.” There are nights when you’re shaken by such fierce emotions.

With members JISOO and MOMOKA contributing to the lyrics, this work portrays a struggle where love and hate are intertwined.

The vocals riding on the intense beats of rock and drum & bass carry a force that seems to speak for a wounded heart.

Released in September 2025, it also drew attention as a commercial tie-in song.

It’s a track we especially want those who spent a bittersweet Valentine’s Day—one that couldn’t end with only sweet memories—to hear.

Why not let all your anger and sadness out and transform them into the energy you need to look forward?

Night of Osmanthuskinoko teikoku

Kinoko Teikoku — Night of the Osmanthus

On an autumn night when the season’s presence deepens, have you ever found yourself stirred by a faint sweet scent that awakens old memories? Many people may have experienced a gentle recollection surfacing when they catch the fragrance of fragrant olive on a street corner.

This song by Kinoko Teikoku is a track from their album “Time Lapse,” released in September 2018.

The transparent vocals woven by Chiaki Sato and the nostalgic, emotional melody sink deeply into the heart.

On a quiet night spent alone, why not immerse yourself completely as you reminisce about a past love?

Because I fell in loveaimyon

Aimyon “Because I Fell in Love” Studio Recording Scene

It’s a gem of a ballad by Aimyon that not only conveys the aching sense of loss after love ends, but also evokes gratitude for having met that special person.

Included on the album “Shunkanteki Sixth Sense,” released in February 2019, this piece captivates with its stripped-down, unadorned arrangement.

Known for being recorded in a single take, the acoustic guitar tones and her raw vocals resonate as if speaking right beside the listener.

It leaves you with a warm feeling, one that makes you cherish how your view of the world has changed through knowing love.

Perfect for a quiet night when you want to shed a few tears and detox your heart.