A poignant ballad song. A tear-jerking masterpiece of Japanese pop music.
Let me introduce some heartrending ballads that tighten your chest the moment you listen.
When you part ways with someone important, when a romance fails and leaves you down, or when a sudden memory takes you back to a past you can’t return to…
In the course of life, there are moments when a quiet, melancholy mood washes over you.
In this article, I’ve gathered recommended ballad songs for those very times.
From beloved classics to recent hits, I’ve selected tracks so you can find a song that resonates with your feelings and helps you detox your heart.
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A poignant ballad song. Tear-jerking masterpieces of Japanese music (21–30)
My Room, My Dress Shirt, and MeHiramatsu Eri
Eri Hiramatsu’s eighth single “Room, Dress Shirt, and Me,” released in 1992, was a big hit at the time and is still a song you hear today.
Many artists have covered it, which speaks to the song’s appeal.
While ballads are often about sadness, heartbreak, or life’s struggles, this song is a proposal from a woman’s perspective—one that moves you to tears in a touching way.
It’s a number that makes you want to listen again while carefully reading the lyrics.
I want to take only you away just like this.DEEN
DEEN’s debut single “Konomama Kimi Dake o Ubaisaritai,” released in 1993.
The song, which was a big hit at the time, was also used in a commercial.
It’s a sad love song from a man’s perspective, the kind that makes a wave of heartache surge over you.
Was he rejected by the woman he can’t forget, or does she already have someone important in her life? The man’s love and feelings for her are deeply sorrowful, and his unfulfilled longing is poignantly expressed.
A poignant ballad song. Tear-jerking masterpieces of Japanese music (31–40)
SubtitleOfisharu Higedan Dism
It’s a classic written as the theme song for the drama “silent,” starring Haruna Kawaguchi and Ren Meguro.
The nationally beloved piano pop band Official HIGE DANDism released it in October 2022.
The song expresses the fragility and frustration of words that, like snowflakes, can’t hold their shape and melt away.
The protagonist’s desperate cry—feelings that can’t be conveyed by words alone—rises on a dramatic melody and really hits home.
Alongside the drama’s huge success, it went viral on social media and reached No.
1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
It’s a beautiful ballad that gently stays by your side when you can’t tell the person you love how you feel.
The thing I wanted mostMakihara Noriyuki
Makihara Noriyuki’s 32nd single, “Boku ga Ichiban Hoshikatta Mono” (“What I Wanted Most”), released in 2004.
It’s a very heartwarming number and a highly popular song not only among fans.
Makihara has many masterpieces that pierce the heart and move you, and this song is one of them—so affecting that you might want to keep it as a charm for your heart.
If you read only the lyrics without listening to the music, it starts almost like an old folktale, like a story.
The tale proceeds calmly, but at the climax a wave of emotion comes rushing in—such is this number.
LeoYuuri
It’s a tear-jerking song told from a dog’s perspective, portraying its bond with its owner and the course of its life.
The track is by singer-songwriter Yuuri, known for the smash hit “Dry Flower,” and is included on the acclaimed album “Ichi,” released in January 2022.
This song tells a bittersweet yet heartwarming story that makes you realize how the ordinary days with an owner were irreplaceable treasures.
The regret and gratitude one feels when the “ordinary” is no longer ordinary seep deeply into listeners’ hearts through Yuuri’s emotionally rich vocals.
The music video, directed by Mai Sakai, also drew attention, with its moving story resonating with many.
It’s a piece not only for pet owners but for anyone who wants to reaffirm the value of someone precious.
The Last ExcuseTokunaga Hideaki
Every one of Hideaki Tokunaga’s songs is poignant and moving.
Among them, I picked “Saigo no Iiwake” (The Last Excuse).
When he sings, the song itself takes on a certain sensuality.
If you listen alone in the middle of the night, there’s no doubt the sadness will deepen even more.
Deep RiverUtada Hikaru
There are many ballad songs by Hikaru Utada, but Deep River is one that really sinks into the heart—it makes you feel, just as the title suggests, like you’re sinking to the bottom of a deep river.
The song is included on Utada’s third album, DEEP RIVER, released in 2002.
Its lyrics are profoundly meaningful and thought-provoking, tightening your chest as you listen.
It’s one of those songs that, if you play it when you feel like crying, you’ll probably find yourself shedding tears before you even realize it.