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Japanese Graduation Song Rankings [2026]
We’re excited to present the latest top 100 ranking of Japanese graduation songs, all in one go, ordered by most views! These tracks are perfect for the graduation season, so why not listen to them in early spring and reminisce about your youth? The playlist is updated every week.
Japanese Pop Graduation Songs Ranking [2026] (1–10)
CorrectRADWIMPS1rank/position
This piece was created for an event where music is made together with 18-year-olds across the country.
How will we face questions that have no fixed answers, unlike those taught in school? The lyrics, which sing about the beginning of a journey to find one’s own “right answer,” are sure to resonate with many people.
The words that portray encounters with irreplaceable friends and the farewells that eventually come also strike a chord, don’t they? The song was composed in 2018 for the NHK program “RADWIMPS 18 Festival” to be performed in chorus with young people, and its structure—unfolding from a beautiful piano-led melody into a grand band sound—is moving as well.
It’s a warm anthem of encouragement that we hope everyone facing the milestone of graduation, with mixed feelings of anxiety and anticipation, will listen to.
March 9Remioromen2rank/position
Now a standard graduation song, this is one of Remioromen’s signature tracks.
It’s well known that the song was originally written as a celebration for a friend’s wedding.
Even so, its seasonal mood—where farewells and new beginnings overlap—and its lyrics of gratitude make it a perfect fit as a graduation song as well.
Released as a single in March 2004, it later gained widespread recognition as an insert song in the drama “1 Litre of Tears,” which is how many people remember it.
The way it expresses how the presence of a dear person, who appears when you close your eyes, has given you strength—and the wish to be that presence for someone else—tightens listeners’ chests.
It’s also a popular choice for graduation ceremony choruses, and is a moving number that will continue to be sung for years to come.
We againSG3rank/position
Singer-songwriter SG, who has gained popularity mainly on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
When it comes to his graduation song, it’s the piece released in April 2021.
The song expresses the hope of “meeting again,” gently embracing the sadness of parting.
Set to a simple rhythm that’s easy to enjoy with handclaps, the lyrics evoke everyday memories—like the day you ate ice cream or the walk home where you laughed together in the rain—making them resonate in your heart.
The track was also featured in a Calorie Mate commercial starting in November 2024.
It’s a warm, encouraging song that makes you want to promise a reunion in the future with friends who are graduating and heading down their own paths.
Friend ~Time to Depart~yuzu4rank/position
Released in 2013 and also broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” this number was chosen as the set piece for the middle school division in the 80th NHK National School Music Competition, so many people may have sung it in chorus.
It was created out of feelings for the staff who supported the tour after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and its theme is the strong bond that connects us under the same sky even when we’re apart.
Its beautiful melody and Yuzu’s signature warm harmonies really resonate in the heart.
It’s a song of encouragement that you’ll especially want to hear during the season of farewells.
YELLikimonogakari5rank/position
YELL portrays farewell words not as something sad, but as a promise to soar into the future.
Released in September 2009, it is a single by Ikimonogakari, the musical group known for Kiyoe Yoshioka’s clear, expansive vocals.
Loved as the set piece for the NHK All-Japan School Music Competition’s junior high division, the song speaks to the importance of starting to walk on your own feet while facing loneliness and anxiety.
Holding the days spent together in your heart, the lyrics convey the resolve to set off on separate paths, gently accompanying the tears and smiles of graduation season.
This piece adds a moving touch to school-life memory videos—woven from countless photos with friends from club activities, school trips, and more—so be sure to give it a listen.
spring melancholyMrs. GREEN APPLE6rank/position
It’s included on rock band Mrs.
GREEN APPLE’s sixth single, “Love me, Love you,” released in February 2018.
The song is said to have been written by vocalist Motoki Omori the day after his high school graduation ceremony, capturing his feelings exactly as they were at the time.
There’s a tenderness for days that, in hindsight, went by in a flash, and a loneliness you carry when you can’t quite be honest.
Many listeners may relate to the contradiction of thinking you hate your friends when, in truth, you really love them.
The track also became well known as the song used in Suntory’s “Craft Boss” commercial.
It’s a number that gently stays by your side if you’re feeling the sadness of parting with friends before graduation.
HarukaYOASOBI7rank/position
Released in December 2020, Haruka is a heartwarming medium-tempo ballad based on Moon Prince, a novel by broadcast writer Osamu Suzuki.
Told from the perspective of a mug, the lyrics watch over the growth of the girl who owns it and portray their eventual parting and gratitude—an emotional theme that resonates with graduation season when many leave their families.
The song is also included on the album THE BOOK, and it gained popularity as the image song for the Art Aquarium Exhibition 2021 and as the commercial song for Takara Tomy’s Punitto Ranzu.