Popular Cheer Songs [Japanese Music Ranking]
We’re excited to present the latest top 100 ranking of Japanese motivational support songs, introduced all at once in order of most views!
There are moments when you need to fire up your team—or yourself—like during club or society matches, important exams or meetings, or when taking on a new challenge.
There are plenty of songs that will give you courage in those times, so be sure to give them a listen.
The playlist is updated weekly.
- [A Cheer for Myself] A pep song dedicated to you who are doing your very best
- [Moving] Tear-jerking cheer song. A roundup of popular motivational anthems that resonate with the heart!
- [For those doing their best] A collection of motivational cheer songs
- [Exams, Club Activities, Dreams] Encouragement songs recommended for teens: Tracks to listen to when you want to do your best
- Recommended cheer songs for elementary school students: popular tracks to listen to when you want a boost
- [Today's Cheer Song] To everyone giving it your all! A gem of an inspiring anthem that resonates with the heart
- Recommended cheer-up songs for middle schoolers: Classic Japanese hits that will empower student life
- A collection of uplifting songs: positive tracks to support you
- Recommended cheer-up songs for high school students: tracks that will motivate you to do your best on entrance exams and club activities when you listen to them.
- [Summer Cheer Song] A motivational anthem dedicated to those giving their all in sports or studying for exams
- [Cheering Songs] Japanese tracks to listen to when you’re troubled, lost, or feeling anxious
- Power songs that fill you with energy just by listening. Recommended classics and popular tracks.
- Encouraging songs: timeless masterpieces that resonate with the heart, recommended popular tracks
Popular Cheer Songs [Japanese Music Ranking] (41–50)
one’s true feelingssumika50rank/position
A song by sumika that directly expresses a universal inner conflict—“Maybe I should give up, but I really don’t want to!”—that everyone has felt at least once.
It was written as the official support song for the 99th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament.
The dramatic arrangement woven by piano and band is striking, building from a quiet, introspective verse into a chorus where resolve crystallizes, stirring the heart.
More than just a typical cheer-up anthem, its appeal lies in portraying the determination to move forward only after first acknowledging one’s own weaknesses.
It’s perfect for high school students standing at the milestone of graduation, about to take a new step, reminding them of the immense importance of friends who strive alongside them.
Popular Cheering Songs [Japanese Music Ranking] (51–60)
Wasted NightsONE OK ROCK51rank/position
It’s a hopeful pop-rock number with a sweeping, grand sound that stirs the heart.
Featured on the band’s ninth album, Eye of the Storm, released in February 2019, the song was also chosen as the theme for the live-action film Kingdom, adapted from the hugely popular manga, perfectly aligning with the work’s majestic world.
The lyrics carry a positive message—“Live today to the fullest so you won’t have regrets”—and Taka’s clear, soaring vocals strike straight at the heart.
When you feel overwhelmed by anxiety about the future or regrets about the past, it powerfully reminds you that no night is ever wasted.
It’s an anthem we urge you to listen to when you need the courage to take a new step forward.
rainbow-coloredayaka52rank/position
It’s a rousing anthem whose powerful, life-giving vocals and warm, embracing melodies resonate deep in the heart.
It gently paints the strength to overcome any hardship and the hopeful future that awaits beyond.
The lyrics, which speak to the new vistas revealed through painful experiences and the importance of moving forward step by step, stay close to the listener and give them courage.
Ayaka’s 13th single was newly written in June 2014 as the theme song for the NHK morning drama series “Hanako and Anne.” This work is an encouraging message song that speaks to everyone standing at a crossroads in life, feeling anxiety or uncertainty.
It’s a track we especially hope will reach those taking a new step forward or harboring vague worries about the future.
The thing I wanted mostMakihara Noriyuki53rank/position
Noriyuki Makihara creates many songs that turn ordinary, everyday moments into something pop and moving.
One of those songs is “The One I Wanted Most.” Listening to this song is incredibly uplifting.
That’s why I especially want dads and moms who are exhausted from parenting to hear it.
When you’re raising kids, there are so many times you feel like, “I’m the one who wants to cry.” When you feel like you’re even forgetting your gentle feelings, this power song, filled with love, soothes you and brings back the strength to protect your child’s smile.
365 Days’ Paper AirplaneAKB4854rank/position
“365 Nichi no Kamihikouki” (Paper Airplane of 365 Days) is a song that kindles a gentle light in people’s hearts.
As time flows slowly, its lyrics resonate and inspire motivation.
It invites you to step away from the bustle of daily life and gives you a moment to regain your calm.
Its melody is also easy for older listeners to embrace, offering strength to live through various situations.
Although taking on new challenges can become harder with age, this song serves as a warm support precisely in those times.
Go for it!Nakajima Miyuki55rank/position
This is a work that carries a warmth that gently gives you a push when you’re burdened with heavy weights on your heart.
Sung by Miyuki Nakajima, the song is a powerful yet earnest anthem for those who keep facing forward while living with unreasonable realities and loneliness.
After being included as the 7-minute-03-second final track on the classic album “Yokan,” released in March 1983, it was re-released as a double A-side single in May 1994.
It has continued to be embraced by many, featured in numerous advertisements—beginning with a 1994 Sumitomo Life commercial, then CalorieMate in 2012, UNIQLO in 2020—and in the 2017 drama “Yasuragi no Sato.” It’s a song to listen to quietly when you’re exhausted by days that don’t go as planned and you need the courage to face yourself.
Soul RevolutionSuperfly56rank/position
A soul-stirring, powerful singing voice that makes your heart leap! This is the ultimate positive song from Superfly.
The unwavering will to dive fearlessly into the unknown and turn even adversity into strength pierces deeply into the listener’s heart.
Shiho Ochi’s energetic vocals seem to awaken the instincts hidden within.
The track debuted in June 2010 as NHK’s soccer theme song and was later included on the acclaimed album “Mind Travel.” When you’re starting a new challenge or need courage to face difficulties, listening to it gives you the power to transform into your strongest self.