Popular Japanese music. Latest rankings [2026]

One more time,One more chanceYamazaki Masayoshi99rank/position

Masayoshi Yamazaki – “One more time, One more chance” MUSIC VIDEO [4K Quality]

It’s a gem of a love song overflowing with bittersweet longing, about searching the city for the irreplaceable person you can no longer meet.

It’s one of singer-songwriter Masayoshi Yamazaki’s signature songs, released in January 1997 as his fourth single and a long-running hit.

It became a hit as the theme song for the film The Moon and a Cabbage, in which Yamazaki himself starred, and years later it was also chosen as the theme song for the animated film 5 Centimeters per Second.

The delicate tones of the acoustic guitar and Yamazaki’s emotionally rich vocals quietly sink in.

Even knowing the love won’t come true, you can’t help but hope for a miracle…

This song gently stays close to that wavering heart.

It’s one of those J-pop masterpieces that we want to be passed down forever—something we especially want people bearing the pain of unrequited love to hear.

Friend ~Time to Depart~yuzu100rank/position

Yuzu “Friend ~The Time of Departure~”

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.