[J-Pop] A Collection of Unrequited Love Songs That Stay Close to Your Heart

NAOHY

SOLIDEMO / NAO（HY cover）

It’s a ballad that pierces the chest with the pain of unrequited love.

The song is included on HY’s 2006 album “Confidence,” by the Okinawa-born mix-genre band, and tells a story created by vocalist Izumi Nakasone based on a close friend’s real experience.

The piece vividly portrays the inner conflict of a woman who knows the person she likes has feelings for someone else and won’t return her affection, yet she just can’t give up.

The clear, airy vocals riding over the piano melody further highlight the sorrow of a love that won’t reach its destination.

It’s a must-listen for anyone who finds themselves empathizing with the urge to cling on, even as they sense the person they love slowly changing.

YOU… feat. Izumi Nakasone (HY)Kato Miria

Miliyah Kato “YOU… feat. Izumi Nakasone (HY)”

Speaking of collaborations between powerhouse female singers, we can’t forget this song by Miliyah Kato and Izumi Nakasone of HY.

Based on real unrequited-love stories sent in by radio listeners, the two artists co-created this gem of a ballad.

Released in September 2014 as their 30th single, it was also included on the milestone 10th-anniversary album “MUSE.” The frustration of not being able to put your feelings into words, and the emotional wavering as you move toward confessing your love, come through poignantly in the harmony between Kato’s delicate vocals and Nakasone’s warm voice.

Chosen as the theme song for a radio drama, this track just might gently give you the push you need if you’re struggling with a one-sided love.

Unrequited loveGENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE

GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE / Unrequited Love

A coupling track to the debut single “BRAVE IT OUT,” released in November 2012, and also included on the classic album “GENERATIONS.” When you like someone, even the smallest reactions can weigh on your mind, right? This song beautifully captures the heart caught in a frustrating struggle—so wrapped up in the other person that you can’t take that first step.

The fresh vocals from GENERATIONS at the time of their debut also invite empathy, and their pure resonance is truly moving.

If you’re in the midst of a love you can’t confess, this track will stay close to your heart.

The words penned by their senior, EXILE ATSUSHI, gently permeate with the ache of a bittersweet love.

I only know your profileHanbaato Hanbaato

Humbert Humbert – Yokogao Shika Shiranai [Official Music Video]

Set to an acoustic timbre, this unadorned, steadily woven lyric seeps into the heart—a one-sided love song.

Just watching the person you like from afar, knowing only a small part of them… That frustrating, bittersweet sense of distance is delicately portrayed through warm male–female twin vocals.

There are no grand words, yet the protagonist’s awkward feelings come through, and many listeners may find themselves overlaying their own experiences onto it.

This track is included on the folk duo Humbert Humbert’s 15th anniversary album “FOLK,” released in June 2016.

If you listen while harboring a love you can’t bring yourself to declare, you may feel the gentle melody and voices quietly stay by your side.

The town where you liveShimizu Shota

Shota Shimizu “The Town Where You Live” MV

This is a ballad that paints the feelings of someone who, in unguarded moments, finds themselves searching for traces of a lover who should no longer be there.

It’s a song by singer-songwriter Shota Shimizu, released in October 2010 as his eighth single.

The track is also included on the album COLORS.

You can almost picture the protagonist overlaying the face of the one they can no longer meet onto a lookalike spotted on a station platform or onto familiar cityscapes.

Imagining the city where that person lives and simply wishing to see them—those one-sided feelings are, in a way, the very essence of a lingering “unrequited love” that follows a finished romance.

The melody, like an autumn dusk—lonely yet warm—soaks into the heart.

If there’s someone you can’t forget, listening to this will surely resonate deeply.

What is love?Ryokushokushakai

Ryokuoushoku Shakai – “What Is Love?” / Koitte

A number by Ryokuoushoku Shakai that vividly captures the pounding excitement when love begins.

Composed by the keyboardist peppe, the song is striking for its buoyant piano melody and an exhilarating beat that makes you want to clap along.

The lyrics portray the confusion and flutter of liking someone for the first time, and the bittersweet image of hiding your true feelings with a casual “Just kidding,” which may make you reflect on your own experiences.

After being included on the mini-album ADORE released in August 2017, the track was later chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating show “Love’s Coach Is My Ex” in 2021.

It’s a song that gently gives a push to anyone carrying the sweet-and-sour ache of unrequited love.

I’m in love right now.≒JOY

≒JOY (Nearly Equal Joy) / “I’m in Love Now” [MV full] Vertical video

A bittersweet summer love song told from a male perspective about unrequited feelings.

It captures a rush that makes you want to take off on a bicycle, along with the frustrating distance of watching someone from afar, striking a chord with its purehearted romance.

With lyrics by Rino Sashihara, it was released in August 2025 as part of a “Summer Special Song” project.

The vertically shot school-set music video also drew attention, with its story-driven visuals vividly enhancing the song’s world.

While wishing happiness for the dazzling person they love, the singer laments the ache of not being able to be part of that story.

It’s a must-listen for anyone holding feelings they can’t convey right now, or for those who want to savor the sweet-and-sour taste of love.

Many listeners are sure to relate.