Songs that have won the Japan Record Award throughout its history
The Japan Record Awards, cherished as a year-end staple in the music scene.
Launched in 1959, the award has annually honored the songs that drew the most attention that year.
Many of you are probably wondering, “What song will be chosen this year?” or thinking, “It’s got to be that one, right?”
In this article, we present all the past Grand Prize–winning songs at a glance.
Seeing the winners lined up like this lets you enjoy a wealth of masterpieces from Japan’s music history all at once.
Take this opportunity to revisit and listen to the timeless classics that have defined the domestic music scene.
- Masterpieces of the Reiwa Era: Hit Songs That Define the Times
- Old songs from the Showa to Heisei eras: a collection of timeless classics loved across generations
- Hit songs in Japan in the late 1960s
- [Showa Era] A Collection of Enka Hits: Timeless Classics Loved Across Generations
- Songs from the Heisei retro era that will get any generation excited! Timeless tracks you’ll want to listen to now.
- Showa-era love songs: A roundup of timeless love songs cherished across generations
- A roundup of classic Showa-era kayō songs: a comprehensive introduction to timeless tracks loved across generations.
- Just listening to it purifies the heart... A healing song born in the Showa era.
- [Bereavement Song] To you whom I can no longer meet... Tear-jerking songs about death
- Classic Christmas Songs That Resonate with the Hearts of Those in Their 80s
- Evokes the charm of the good old days. Showa-era inspirational songs that are still loved today.
- Resonates across generations! Hit songs that colored the Heisei era, perfect as BGM
- Heisei Song Collection: Iconic Hits That Colored the ’90s and 2000s
Japan Record Award winning songs through the years (41–50)
Silent SlopeKouzai Kaori
The Grand Prize winner of 1993.
Lyrics by Mitsuhiko Kuze (under the pen name Mutsuki Ichikawa), music by Koji Tamaki.
A song suffused with melancholy.
It is set in Kuze’s hometown of Toyama City.
This piece falls into Kozai’s specialty genre known as “pops kayō,” with only a light enka influence.
It has been performed five times on the Kōhaku Uta Gassen and remains a very popular song.
UFOpinku redii
Grand Prize of 1978 (Showa 53).
The title uses UFO, meaning an unidentified flying object, and the lyrics are original, wondering if a slightly eccentric lover might actually be an alien.
The outfit—a full-body glittery bodycon with short shorts—also seems to evoke an extraterrestrial vibe.
It was a million-selling hit with 1.95 million copies sold.
DearestHamasaki Ayumi
The Grand Prize of 2001 (Heisei 13).
Ayumi Hamasaki went on to win the Grand Prize for three consecutive years in 2002 and 2003 (Heisei 14 and 15).
This was her 24th single.
It was the ending theme for the Nippon TV anime Inuyasha.
Although Ayumi Hamasaki suffered sudden hearing loss in her left ear in 2000 (Heisei 12), she achieved the year’s only million-selling single in 2002 (Heisei 14), marking the peak of her popularity at the time.
foolKondō Masahiko
Grand Prize of 1987 (Showa 62).
This song is a rare work released in a competitive style where the same piece was sung and promoted separately: Kenichi Hagiwara, known as Shoken, performed it under the title “Orokamono yo.” Masahiko Kondo was a male idol active as part of the “Tanokin Trio,” but he performed this song as a solo.
In conclusion
We’ve introduced all the past Japan Record Award-winning songs at once.
Looking at the grand prize winners lined up like this, they really are timeless masterpieces loved across generations, aren’t they? Why not take this article as a cue to listen once again to these iconic Japanese songs?