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 heartrending ballad song. Timeless tear-jerking Japanese classics (41–50)
I want to forget.wacci
The harder you try to forget an ex, the more they come to mind… Have you ever had that bittersweet experience? wacci’s “Wasuretai” (“I Want to Forget”) is a ballad that captures that very frustrating inner struggle.
Even when you’re with someone new, you find yourself searching for traces of the one you parted with in their warmth, leaving your heart unfulfilled.
The protagonist’s pain is truly heart-wrenching.
It’s a song you should listen to when you’re suffering and can’t break free from a past love.
A poignant ballad song. Tear-jerking J-Pop masterpieces (51–60)
You’re no longer here.FUNKY MONKEY BABYS
FUNKY MONKEY BABYS, who left behind many songs that are still listened to today, sadly disbanded in 2013.
Their sixth single, released in 2007, is this song, “Mou Kimi ga Inai” (“You’re Not Here Anymore”).
In classic Fanmon fashion, the cover features a close-up photo of a celebrity—Erika Toda—who also appears in the music video.
The song expresses lingering feelings for someone you’ve parted with: the helpless emotions of not being able to forget them, no matter how hard you try.
JulianPRINCESS PRINCESS
Just imagining wanting to see someone but being unable to is painful, isn’t it… This is a ballad by PRINCESS PRINCESS, released in 1990 as their 10th single.
It’s a message song addressed to the cat that vocalist Ms.
Nakayama had at the time.
The straightforward vocals suit the relaxed tempo perfectly.
It’s the kind of track that makes you want to really listen closely.
If you think of the person—or being—who is that presence for you as you listen, it’s sure to make you cry.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
When it comes to Chihiro Onitsuka, her signature song is “Gekkou” (“Moonlight”).
Released in 2000, it was her second single.
Many people may strongly associate it with the hit drama Trick, for which it served as the theme song.
It’s a ballad that deeply resonates with those whose hearts are tired—one that can move you to tears.
If you’re holding in your pain or sadness and can’t let it out, it might be good to let yourself sink all the way down with a song like this.
I want to be loved.Mioyamazaki
On nights when you’re overwhelmed by an inescapable loneliness and simply wish to be loved, the ballad by the rock band MIOYAMAZAKI is there to keep you company.
This song lays bare a desperate cry to have someone acknowledge the weaknesses hidden deep within your heart and your true, unadorned self, delivered through vocals that sound as if they’re carved from the soul.
Included as the final track on the masterful album “choice,” released in October 2017, it also drew attention for its music video featuring then-popular adult actress Kirara Asuka.
The visuals, portraying her inner conflict, deepen the song’s poignant worldview.
If anyone reading this feels their chest about to burst from unspoken anxieties, this track will surely wrap your heart in gentle warmth.
All of the Youthsuis from Yorushika
The melancholic air at summer’s end and the memories that resurface in a quiet moment—no one captures such aching scenes more beautifully than Yorushika’s vocalist, suis.
Her cover of a classic Fujifabric song has been used alongside moving videos on YouTube Shorts, touching many hearts.
The nostalgia for seasons gone by and time that won’t return, carried by suis’s translucent voice, seems to awaken memories tucked away deep inside.
This track is a reinterpretation of Fujifabric’s 2007 release, produced by music producer Seiji Kameda, and it also serves as the theme song for the Netflix film ‘My Last Year of Life, and the Story of Meeting You with Six Months Left.’ When you want to reminisce at summer’s end or after parting with someone dear, listening to it may gently comfort your heart.
rendezvousshaitoopu
The rock band Shytone, which rose to prominence after a viral hit on social media, released a signature track in April 2023 that sings of a man’s searing emotions after a breakup.
Unable to accept parting from someone he loved deeply, he longs for an impossible reunion; the loneliness of his lover’s traces fading from everyday life is expressed through vocalist So Sasaki’s superb word choices—so moving you might be brought to tears.
The song is also known for surpassing 100 million total streams in November 2023 and is included on the album “Hors d’œuvre.” Why not entrust your heart to its somehow comforting melody that stirs up those bittersweet feelings?