Eight types of cheering songs. Cheering songs for different scenes.
When you’re at a crossroads in life, feeling down, or cheering at a school sports day or athletic event, there are many moments when you might look for a motivational song.
Conversely, there may be times when you want to be cheered on and you search for an encouragement song yourself.
But when you actually start looking, you might find it surprisingly hard to discover a song that fits perfectly, right?
So in this article, we’ll introduce the best motivational songs organized by different cheering scenarios!
I’m sure you’ll find the encouragement anthem you’ve been looking for.
- [A Cheer for Myself] A pep song dedicated to you who are doing your very best
- [For those doing their best] A collection of motivational cheer songs
- [Sports Day Cheer Songs] A roundup of classic cheer songs and recommended tracks for parody versions
- [To All Athletes] Inspirational Sports Anthems & Empowering Theme Songs
- Carefully selected J-pop to liven up sports days and athletic festivals! Also great as entrance songs.
- Job-change anthems: inspiring and popular songs that give you courage
- Sports Day/Athletics Festival: Crowd-Pleasing Cheer Battle Ideas and Performances
- [Cheering Songs] Japanese tracks to listen to when you’re troubled, lost, or feeling anxious
- Before a match or when you feel like giving up! Cheer songs to keep you going in club activities
- Tear-jerking motivational songs by Japanese bands: recommended classics and popular tracks
- [A Life-Affirming Anthem] An Encouraging Song to Cheer You On
- A cheer song that gives you the strength to keep going
- A song that encourages you just by listening
Farewell Party / Goodbye Cheer Songs (1–10)
HarukaYOASOBI
YOASOBI, who work under the unique concept of turning novels into music, have garnered worldwide attention.
This song, released in December 2020, is a heartwarming number based on Osamu Suzuki’s novel “Tsuki Ōji” (Moon Prince).
Written from the perspective of a mug quietly watching over its owner—a young girl—as she grows up, the lyrics overflow with love and gratitude.
Embracing both joyful days and the poignancy of parting, its message of wishing happiness for the other person makes it perfect for a farewell gathering to send someone off on a new path.
When you want to express thanks to someone who has supported you, this gentle melody is sure to give you a supportive push.
Laughing and falling downHanbaato Hanbaato
A simple, warm folk song by Humbert Humbert that gently nudges those setting off on a new journey.
The unadorned vocals and acoustic sound quietly complement the bittersweet yet warm atmosphere of a farewell gathering.
This work has a charm that seems to affirm the daily routines that bring both tears and laughter, revealing a different expression each time you listen.
Produced as the theme song for the NHK morning drama “Bakebake,” airing from September 2025, it carries the air of Matsue, the setting of the show, and sinks softly into the heart.
Why not choose it as background music for sending off dear friends, while feeling bonds that remain unchanged even across distance?
Kitearashi
A grand message song by Arashi that you’ll want to give to friends setting off on a new chapter.
Like a kite catching the wind and soaring high, it portrays the resolve to move forward despite uncertainty.
There’s a warmth in this song that gently watches over that figure and gives a soft push from behind.
The single “Kite,” released in 2020, was written and composed by Kenshi Yonezu as the “NHK 2020 Song.” It was also aired on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” making it beloved across generations.
Parting with friends is lonely, but the sentiment embedded in this work—“we’re connected no matter where we are”—will surely reach their hearts.
If everyone sings it together at a farewell party, it becomes the perfect cheer, powerfully supporting the future of the one setting out.
Song of DepartureMr.Children
For a farewell party, is there any song more perfect than Mr.Children’s “Tabidachi no Uta”? Released in 2007, this Mr.Children single was the theme song for the film “Sky of Love” starring Yui Aragaki and Haruma Miura, and it was also used in an NTT East commercial.
People setting off for new frontiers and new places are surely bound to feel some anxiety.
This gentle, encouraging song—so very characteristic of Mr.Children—offers warm support that resonates deep in the heart.
Breakup Songs for Women (1–10)
A love that won’t return—an uplifting song to heal your heart!
Even when you pluck up the courage to confess and they don’t turn around, or when you finally become mutual lovers only for their feelings to drift away. What follows are heartbreak songs from people who, just like you, loved with all their hearts.
pinkshaitoopu
This song is a quintessential example of a bittersweet heartbreak anthem.
The delicate vocals seep into your heart.
It carefully portrays the complex emotions of a woman who can’t forget her lover even after being betrayed, conveying her desire to cling to the happy memories of the past.
Released in February 2023, it features lyrics that evoke the loneliness of city life, with scenes like looking down at the streets from a rooftop.
It’s a track that comforts those suffering from the pain of a breakup or anyone who has experienced losing someone important.
NAOHY
NAO is a heartfelt ballad passionately sung by HY’s female vocalist, Izumi Nakasone.
Her lyrics, which have continued to resonate with many women, convey the pain and heartache of unrequited love with striking clarity.
In contrast to the delicate words, her powerful voice echoes in the heart.
It’s a song I want everyone struggling with love to hear.
I didn’t want to know, if it meant losing it.atarayo
A digital single by Atarayo, a four-piece rock band based in Tokyo whose tagline is “a band that feeds on sorrow.” The track is also included on their first album, “In the Polar Night the Moon Remains Silent,” and gained attention through a collaboration with “Junwaidan,” a project that collects stories about sexual experiences that “might have made me the main character.” The story—caught between feeling at one’s emotional limit and still being unable to let go of love—is something many women will likely relate to.
With an intro driven by a lyrical guitar riff that stirs the emotions, it’s a heartbreak song that feels strikingly real.
