Songs with strong messages. Classic J-Pop masterpieces and recommended popular tracks.
When you listen to music, what do you value most?
If you play an instrument, it might be the melody and structure, the guitar tone, or each instrument’s phrases.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for songs that cheer you up when you’re feeling down or want to listen to love songs, you might be focusing on the lyrics.
In this article, we’ll introduce songs packed with meaningful messages in their lyrics!
We’ve picked out powerful, message-driven tracks that will move you no matter the situation, so be sure to read the lyrics as you listen!
- [Must read] Songs with great lyrics. Moving songs you’ll want to listen to while reading the lyrics
- The lyrics are profoundly good. The more you listen, the more it sinks in. Masterpieces of Japanese music, recommended popular songs.
- Songs with powerful lyrics. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [A Cheer for Myself] A pep song dedicated to you who are doing your very best
- Encouraging songs: timeless masterpieces that resonate with the heart, recommended popular tracks
- Good songs themed around love, encouragement, and life—tracks with lyrics you can relate to.
- [Support for the Heart] Songs That Give You Courage When Times Are Tough
- Songs with great lyrics: soothing tracks that linger in the heart and moving ballads
- [A Life-Affirming Anthem] An Encouraging Song to Cheer You On
- A playlist of timeless gems with piercing lyrics that will move your heart
- Songs that hit home when you're feeling blue: masterpieces of Japanese music
- “Song of War”: A classic that sings of the tragedy and folly of war
Songs with a strong message. Masterpieces of Japanese music and recommended popular tracks (21–30)
Everyone is a heroAI
It was released in 2016 as a digital-only single by AI.
The song was used in au’s “Three Taro Series” TV commercial, the “Everyone’s a Hero” version, and was created as an arrangement of “Turkey in the Straw.” It’s a bright, uplifting song that reminds us that living as we are—something so ordinary—is actually what matters.
To the futureKiroro
It was released in 1998 as Kiroro’s second single.
It is often sung in middle and high school music classes and at choir competitions, and while it is known as a graduation song, the lyrics are filled with the unconditional love received from a mother and gratitude toward her.
It is a message song that gently resonates in the listener’s heart.
Songs with strong messages. Masterpieces of Japanese music and recommended popular tracks (31–40)
Love SongGReeeeN
A crystal-clear melody flows through the lounge.
This is a message song GReeeeN delivered in May 2007.
Its warm tones gently embrace feelings for someone dear, and its lyrics, conveying straightforward affection, quietly stir the heart.
The track was selected as the ending theme for NTV’s “Uta Sta!!” and Fuji TV’s “Ken Shimura no Daijoubuda II,” and it also drew attention as the song for Hoyu’s “Beauteen” commercial.
It peaked at No.
2 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and achieved CD sales of 300,000 copies.
A rich, resonant piece that accompanies moments spent with someone special in a calm space wrapped in soft light.
March Toward TomorrowKuwata Keisuke
Written by Keisuke Kuwata in 2011, at a time when many people were anxious about tomorrow, this is a marching song of hope.
Its unadorned, simple sound centered on acoustic guitar seeps all the more deeply into the heart.
The lyrics carry a strong message to the disaster-stricken areas, and there is a verse that sounds as if it sings “in Tohoku,” a characteristically modest form of encouragement from Kuwata that is profoundly moving.
This warm number was released in August 2011 as part of a triple A-side single and was also used in an NTT Docomo commercial.
It’s a talisman-like song, perfect for those moments when you want just a little boost of energy or a gentle push on the back.
meteor showerOnitsuka Chihiro
It was released in 2002 as Chihiro Onitsuka’s sixth single.
Chosen as the theme song for TV Asahi’s Friday Night Drama “TRICK 2,” the song’s lyrics acknowledge one’s own ugliness while conveying that we cannot live by ignoring our connections with others, emphasizing the importance of human relationships.
Tomorrow’s wayYUI
It was released in 2005 as YUI’s second single.
Chosen as the theme song for the Shochiku film “HINOKIO,” it carries a positive message that even if you fail or get hurt, tomorrow will still come, so you can keep moving forward.
Nobody is RightNakajima Miyuki
Everyone believes in their own justice, and at times that becomes the spark of conflict.
This work movingly captures that human nature, along with a prayer-like wish for coexistence that persists nonetheless.
Rather than condemning one side of a confrontation, the lyrics imagine the uncompromising feelings and backgrounds of each, making them a message for peace itself.
The song was included on the acclaimed 2007 October release “I Love You, Kotaetekure,” and in 2015 it was also used in a fashion brand’s commercial.
When you’re suffering from your own sense of rightness or pained by rifts with others, listening to it will let the warmth of its gaze bring you solace.