Ranking of Heart-Wrenching Songs by Male J-Pop Singers [2026]

You have no idea how much I like you.Gō Hiromi22rank/position

[Official] Hiromi Go “You Don’t Know How Much I Love You” LIVE -In Celebration of Streaming Release-

This work is a single released in 1993.

Sung by Hiromi Go, who never seems to lose his youthful charm with his sweet looks and voice, it’s a grand, mature ballad.

The song has an AOR flavor, and the arrangement gives it a Western pop feel.

The lyrics, which deeply move the listener, are also captivating.

TRUE LOVEFujii Fumiya23rank/position

TRUE LOVE / Fumiya Fujii

These days there are young people who don’t know the former Checkers, but TRUE LOVE is sung at karaoke and is a song everyone knows, and it was also the single released after their breakup.

I used to think this was a heartbreak song, so it feels strange that it’s somehow played at weddings.

Shadows of Youthchūrippu24rank/position

Shadows of Youth

A song included on Tulip’s 1974 album TAKE OFF (Ririku, “Takeoff”).

It sings about a relationship between a man and a woman shifting from romance to love.

It may not depict the so-called typical “youth” of one’s junior and senior high school days.

However, this song teaches us that the very days spent protecting someone important to you are what truly constitute ‘youth.’

I loved you.Naoto Intiraymi25rank/position

Naoto Inti Raymi “Aishiteta” Music Video

A single marked by a wistful melody that lingers in the heart and a voice full of tenderness.

Though they love each other, the two are forced to part, and their questioning of fate leaves a deep afterglow.

Each word Naoto Inti Raymi weaves carries profound love and the sorrow of farewell.

Released in March 2012 and used as the ending theme for TV Asahi’s “Onegai! Ranking,” the song reached No.

8 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and was also included on the album “Fūka Caravan.” It’s a track that resonates with those who relate to a bittersweet love story where, despite pledging eternal love, parting becomes the only choice.

Only goodbyes make up life.Ito Kashitaro26rank/position

[Hatsune Miku] Only Goodbyes Are What Life Is [Ito Kashitaro]

This song with a sorrowful title sings of a truth of the world: “Life is nothing but farewells.” Even if the title is taken at face value, there are countless stories leading up to goodbye.

How do we face loneliness, a human weakness? It’s a song that makes us contemplate this timeless theme of life.

Goodbye once moreOzaki Kiyohiko27rank/position

Sayonarawo Mouichido

A gem of a medium-tempo ballad that portrays parting lovers from a forward-looking perspective.

It’s a masterpiece that resonates with the bittersweet sorrow and resolve of two people who must choose separation in order to walk their own important paths.

Kiyohiko Ozaki’s emotionally rich vocals beautifully express both the loneliness of farewell and the hope of meeting again.

Released in July 1971, the song reached No.

2 on the Oricon Singles Chart and was also included on the album “Kiyohiko Ozaki Second Album.” In the 1999 film “Nodojiman,” Naoto Takenaka performs the song on screen, revealing a new facet of its appeal.

This is a track we highly recommend to anyone who has experienced parting from someone dear and wants to keep those memories as nourishment while moving forward.

I can’t put it into wordsofukōsu28rank/position

Kotoba Ni Dekinai

A gemlike ballad that gives voice to the ineffable emotions faced at love’s end.

Included on Off Course’s album “over,” released in December 1981, and later issued as their 23rd single in February 1982, this song gently portrays the subtle shifts of feeling that emerge through parting from someone dear.

The “la la la” that threads through the chorus is a striking phrase that reminds us how, at times, it can express the heart more eloquently than words.

Used in a Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance commercial, it has surely lingered in many listeners’ memories.

It’s a song that stands beside you through life’s many moments, embracing the complex emotions we feel—cherishing someone important, tenderness, and a sense of loss.