Ranking of Popular Japanese Love Songs and Romance Tracks [2026]

Your happinessUru91rank/position

[Official] Uru "Kimi no Shiawase wo"

A tale of unrequited love that begins with a poetry reading.

Crafted by Uru herself, this work beautifully portrays deep affection for the other person and a resolute acceptance of parting.

Though close in proximity, a distance in hearts is felt—the aching inability to convey one’s feelings.

Because she wishes for the other’s happiness, she suppresses her own emotions; her delicate inner world is delivered through a simple yet striking melody.

Released in November 2023, the song features a piano- and acoustic guitar–centered arrangement that is simple but deeply moving.

It’s a piece that stands beside those who harbor the complex feelings of loving someone while suffering as they wish for that person’s happiness.

1.15 Million Kilometers of FilmOfisharu Higedan Dism92rank/position

Official HIGE DANDism – 1,150,000-Kilometer Film [Official Audio]

It’s a song packed with a cinematic, captivating story.

Using a unique expression that likens days with a lover to a movie, it casts the lover as the lead, and oneself as the supporting role and director—an impression that really stands out.

Included on the album “Escaparade,” released in April 2018, it was used in a ROHM Co., Ltd.

commercial in 2019.

In 2020, it was also selected as the theme song for the film “Love Me, Love Me Not.” It’s a perfect track for a wedding day spent reminiscing about shared memories.

Official HIGE DANDism’s warm melodies and lyrics are sure to make your heart race.

catDISH//93rank/position

cat

This song, written and composed by singer-songwriter Aimyon, is the B-side to the single “We Did It” released in August 2017.

When Takumi Kitamura performed an acoustic version on the YouTube channel THE FIRST TAKE in March 2020, it sparked renewed buzz, and its total streaming plays surpassed one billion.

The piece portrays lingering attachment and heartache for someone dearly missed, expressing a yearning for a person who has become as free and capricious as a cat.

When you’re worn out from work or relationships, or when memories of a past love resurface, this song is sure to bring you to tears.

First Christmas feat. JUNON (BE:FIRST)Reiko94rank/position

REIKO ‘First Christmas feat. JUNON (BE:FIRST)’ Music Video

This is a winter pop song that captures the feeling of spending a special winter day for the first time with someone dear, written with honest emotion.

Penned by singer-songwriter Shota Shimizu, the number sweetens the romantic season with lyrics brimming with excitement and a gentle, ear-pleasing melody.

The harmony woven by REIKO’s smooth vocals and BE:FIRST’s JUNON’s transparent voice conveys just how close the two feel to each other.

It was released digitally in November 2024 and was included on the album “Debut” the following month.

It’s a warm Christmas song, perfect for a holy-night date scene spent watching holiday illuminations with your loved one.

habit of laughingIgarashi Haru95rank/position

Haru Igarashi – Laughing Habit (Official Music Video)

A song that portrays the ache of a love too deep to forget, even as time passes.

In this track, Haru Igarashi delicately captures the frustration of how trivial everyday moments turn into special memories, and the poignancy of nights spent with those memories when you can’t move on.

Even the way the other person laughed and their gestures remain vividly etched in the mind, and the feeling is so intense that you find yourself praying to God, “Please let me forget everything.” Released in March 2025, this work will gently accompany those whose hearts are filled with memories they can’t forget, no matter how hard they try, and those who are still unable to accept parting from someone dear.

EnchantedSaucy Dog96rank/position

Saucy Dog “Enchanted” Music Video

A love song by Saucy Dog that portrays two people connected through a screen to make up for the time they can’t meet.

Even with physical distance between them, the lyrics cherish trivial conversations and even the silences, overlapping with a heartfelt wish to draw distant hearts together once more.

Even if they aren’t side by side now, the straightforward desire for their hearts to stay close may gently encourage those who hope to reconcile.

Released digitally in March 2022, the song is also included on the album Sunny Bottle.

Believe in the red thread that ties you to someone special, and give it a listen on nights when you need the courage to reach out.

I miss you. (I want to see you.)Te ga kuriimu pan97rank/position

I Want to See You / Hands Like Cream Bread (I want to see you / tegacreampan) [Official Music Video]

Singer-songwriter Tegakuriimpan, who gained attention by uploading videos of herself singing and playing both various artists’ songs and her own originals on social media.

Released on December 29, 2021, “Aitai na” features a clear, airy voice and a melody that feels effortlessly pleasant.

Its lyrics portray the sentimental emotions of unrequited love—something many listeners are likely to relate to.

With a simple ensemble of just piano and strings, it’s a ballad you can sink into and fully inhabit even when singing it at karaoke.

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Hoshino Takashi

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Ms. Hanako on a high pedestalback number98rank/position

back number – Takane no Hanako-san (full)

With their realistic psychological portrayals, back number captures the hearts of many fans.

Their eighth single, released in June 2013, truly feels like “a song packed full of one-sided-love imaginings.” You can’t help but nod along at the poignant sense of distance—being nothing more than “a friend of a friend” to the person you like—and at the way you get depressed by imagining the kind of partner they’d want and deciding you don’t measure up.

In contrast to those lyrics, the brisk, refreshing sound gently propels that frustrating, unrequited longing forward.

The track is also included on the album “Love Story,” and it was used in a commercial in 2019.

Wishing to be loved yet unable to take that final step—this is a one-sided love song that will surely resonate and stay close to your heart.

SubtitleOfisharu Higedan Dism99rank/position

Official HIGE DANDism – Subtitle [Official Video]

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.

sunflowerSEKAI NO OWARI100rank/position

Himawari

The protagonist, who had been living in a dark world, ends up meeting “you,” someone dazzling like the sun—the beginning of a forbidden love as sung by SEKAI NO OWARI.

Listening to this song, you can feel that bittersweet thrill of knowing the person is off-limits, yet realizing thanks to them your world is starting to gain color.

Maybe it’s precisely because the melody is light and pop that it tightens your chest even more.

This track is included on the acclaimed album “Lip,” which topped the Oricon charts in February 2019.

It’s a song that gently stays with you in that helpless rush of feelings at the moment you fall in love, even when you know it won’t be returned.