Bolstered by a massive post-pandemic tourism boom and explosive international adoration of Japanese culture, Japan is having a moment — and so is its music industry.
J-pop's biggest acts — YOASOBI, Creepy Nuts, Utada Hikaru, and Kenshi Yonezu, among others — are riding a wave of obsession to international acclaim and global hits. Yonezu's "KICK BACK" and Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born," both anime theme tunes, were major hits that topped charts at home and abroad. But there's more to Japanese music than J-pop.
The country is the second-largest market for music beneath the U.S., and nearly every variety of music has its own base of support in the country. From a burgeoning hip-hop scene to a vibrant community for reggae, to say nothing of hybrid genres such as city pop, music of all kinds thrives in Japan.
Artists have also adapted imported genres to suit their personal and cultural preferences. Japanese rappers such as Yuki Chiba have managed to fit the genre into their rhyme-averse language, while DJs like ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U are gaining acclaim for their fiery, eclectic sets. Rock music continues to resonate in the country as well, with groups such as BAND-MAID and Hitsujibungaku putting their own spin on the genre and pop acts like HANA and Zutomayo incorporating guitar-driven sounds.
What's more, experimentalists such as Hakushi Hasegawa are doing wild things with hyperpop and electronic music. The Japanese music landscape even extends into virtual reality, with VTubers like KAF and Hoshimachi Suisei gaining acclaim as arena-filling pop stars and finding ways to transcend the digital realm to connect with their audience.
Below, learn more about nine of these exciting artists, all of whom represent the myriad ways Japanese music is evolving in 2025.
BAND-MAID
Only in Japan would you find a metal band dressed up in frilly French maid costumes. And only in Japan would they sound as hardcore as BAND-MAID.
Plenty of Japanese cultural enthusiasts are aware of the "maid cafe," a type of establishment where customers are served by cute girls in maid costumes. BAND-MAID offers a satirical, mildly feminist inversion of the concept: Cute costumes paired with killer sound. Their concerts often include maid cafe staples such as kawaii banter and referring to fans as "master" and "princess," drawn from guitarist Miku Kobato's time working in an actual maid cafe in Akihabara.
Crucially, the quintet takes the music even more seriously than the gimmick. They write their own songs, play all their own instruments, and have even worked with acclaimed producers such as Tony Visconti. Reminiscent of countrymen such as Number Girl and Boris, their sound mixes together aggressive drums, vicious riffs and powerful vocals for a mélange of rock, metal and punk as well-brewed as a maid cafe's signature drink. If you didn't know about the costumes you wouldn't suspect otherwise.
As a result of all this, BAND-MAID has earned a loyal following in Japan and abroad. Their albums frequently place in the top 10 of the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts, and they've played arena shows at home and major festivals like Lollapalooza in the States. They've also made forays into the anime circuit as of late, writing songs for shows such as "Kengan Ashura" and "Zenshu." The group was heavily involved in the anime adaptation of "Rock is a Lady's Modesty," about a group of elite private school girls secretly making rock music, writing the theme song and even doing motion capture for the show's musical scenes. And with the arrival of their latest EP, SCOOOOOP, on Oct. 22, one might say they've got it maid.
Yuki Chiba
Mainstream culture in Japan has never particularly embraced hip-hop. Along with the difficulty of adapting rap into Japanese, early MCs also had to fight social perceptions of the genre. Music that's seen as emphasizing drugs, violence, and criminality had no way of getting airplay in Japan — and, frankly, touching on those themes in a country with extremely low crime rates was often deemed as inauthentic.
As one of the most prominent Japanese rappers, Yuki Chiba has been at the forefront of combating these perceptions. Formerly performing under the name KOHH, he channeled his difficult home life into compelling and authentic rap. Early underground hits such as "Binbo Nante Kinishinai" ("I Don't Mind if I'm Poor") saw him rejecting materialism and embracing community and positivity. Collaborations with other pan-Asian rappers like Keith Ape and Dumbfoundead of South Korea, as well as with Americans such as Frank Ocean and OG Maco, brought him international exposure. He also notched a feature on Mariah Carey's "Runway" in 2018 before retiring the KOHH persona in 2021.
All of this paved the way to an explosive comeback in 2024, in which he began performing under his own name and reinvented himself as a swagged-out pop rapper. That February, Chiba dropped the viral trap banger "Team Tomodachi," which gathered remixes from the likes of Duke Deuce, Bun B, and even Will Smith. Five months later, he was featured on prominent hip-hop otaku Megan Thee Stallion's hit "Mamushi," where the two rappers engaged in a sing-song Japanese lesson; the two later toured together.
Both songs featured gritty trap-influenced production by Koshy — a trend that has continued with Chiba's 2025 releases, which has also included more big-time collabs with the likes of Big Sean and Murda Beatz. As the rapper relocates to Los Angeles in the wake of a deal with Warner Music Group, that weight is only going to get heavier for this leading light of J-rap.
HANA
For many years, there has been a certain idea of what a Japanese idol girl group looks and sounds like — feminine outfits with lots of bows, frills and other decorations; peppy, energetic music with lyrics about love; choreographed dance routines; and, thanks to groups like AKB48, a huge, ever-changing roster of very similar-looking girls. Currently, a new wave that includes the likes of Cutie Street, Fruits Zipper and AiScReam is breaking out domestically, but for the most part, Japanese idols have struggled to make waves internationally, with the hyper-cuteness that endears them to locals alienating audiences abroad.
Enter HANA, a seven-member group that debuted earlier this year that is challenging the traditional model. The group has already dominated the charts this summer and earned multiple smash hit singles in the country by doing things differently, with an image and sound deeply informed not by a kawaii Japanese sensibility, but by K-pop, particularly groups like aespa and BLACKPINK that adopt an edgier sound and aesthetic.
There is a lot of K-pop DNA in HANA. One of their members is Korean, and the group was formed through a reality TV competition, "No No Girls," and mentored by Chanmina, a Korean-Japanese pop musician. Their videos for songs like "Drop" have the same hyper-stylized slickness that the Korean industry is known for, as well as its interest in U.S. production styles; "BAD LOVE" (which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100) adopted an aggressive rock and drill instrumental reminiscent of Kenshi Yonezu's mega-hit "KICK BACK."
Even so, it would be reductive to say that the group is simply "K-pop in Japanese," especially since Japan has long been K-pop's most important foreign market. But the numbers don't lie. Japan's kawaii-fied idol ecosystem is getting a kick in the pants from HANA, and with enough tact, they can beat the J-idol curse and break out internationally.
Hakushi Hasegawa
Japan's pop underground is full of weird experimental acts, but Hakushi Hasegawa may be one of the boldest and unconventional of them all — especially considering his swerve into the American indie label landscape. The nonbinary artist's latest record, 2024's Mahōgakkō ("Magic School"), is perhaps his most stylistically diverse and hyperactive yet, contrasting chaotic blasts of electro-jazz-pop on "KYŌFUNOHOSHI" with intense piano balladry on "Forbidden Thing (Kimmotsu)."
The maximalist approach on display in Mahōgakkō and earlier records such as Air Ni Ni, mixing jazz fundamentals and pop-ish lyricism with wild electronics and vocal experimentation, puts them within spitting distance of Japan's hyperpop wave, similar to the likes of genre-mashing electronica collective PAS TASTA and wonky duo Peterparker69. Originally debuting with the venerable Japanese netlabel Maltine Records in the mid-2010s, Hasegawa broke out in 2016 with SoundCloud single "Hadairo no Kawa" ("Flesh-Tone River"). In 2023, they became the first Japanese act on Flying Lotus' label Brainfeeder, joining the likes of Thundercat and Iglooghost. They've also collaborated with VTuber musician KAF and performed at Porter Robinson's Secret Sky festival.
LANA
As hip-hop continues to grow in Japan, a new generation of artists are building out its stylistic palette and solving its gender imbalance. One of the most exciting rising voices in the scene is LANA, a Kanagawa-bred rapper hailing from the beach town of Shonan.
With blonde hair and sassy style, LANA is part of a new generation of gyaru, a subculture influenced by American culture that emphasizes flamboyant looks and outgoing personalities. Her 2023 single "99" and its video offer a compelling look into her world, with bilingual lyrics, an Atlanta bass-influenced instrumental, glossy visuals, and luxe yet girly fashions.
Though LANA's videos regularly gain millions of views, she doesn't always fly solo. Past collaborators have included pseudo-mentor Awich, the so-called "Queen of Japanese Rap" who has inspired a generation of female rappers to follow in her footsteps. She also regularly works with her brother and fellow rapper LEX, and their songs often tackle heavy subject matter such as family issues and mental health struggles. Such topics remain taboo in Japan, and their increasing frequency in hip-hop is central to the genre's widening appeal in the country.
Hoshimachi Suisei
It would be difficult to summarize the current state of Japanese music without including at least one VTuber. Japan has embraced virtual idols and musicians arguably more than any other major cultural exporter, such that an entire wave of anime-style characters have not only inundated streaming platforms as media personalities but have also begun embarking on musical careers.
Out of all the VTuber musicians out there, Hoshimachi Suisei may be the one most ready for liftoff. She's already familiar to some western ears for supplying the end credits theme for "Mobile Suit Gundam: GquuuuuuX," the latest installment in the long-running robot anime franchise. The dance-pop track "Mō Dō Natte mo Ii ya" ("I Don't Care"), which topped the Oricon digital chart, perfectly pairs the space-age franchise with Suisei's starry aesthetic ("Hoshimachi" combines the characters for "star" and "boulevard" while "suisei" is the Japanese word for "comet"). The song also provides a decent intro to Suisei's massive catalog of music that includes symphonic rock anthems ("Ghost"), boppy dance tunes ("BIBBIDIBA"), covers, and collabs with other VTubers such as KAF and Mori Calliope.
Like other VTuber artists, many of whom grew up online or started their careers while in school, Suisei's avatar functions as a kind of digital costume for the performer underneath, a means of artistic expression that retains crucial anonymity. And with her trademark charismatic vocals, distinctive lyricism and eclectic taste in production, Suisei is truly a musician first and a VTuber second, using the medium to enhance her artistry.
She's gone from an indie creator who assembled her own character model to curating a mini empire centered around music that also includes live streaming, merch collabs with brands such as Converse, side projects such as VTuber idol group Hoshimatic Project, arena shows at the Nippon Budokan, and even the first-ever VTuber street performance in Shibuya. Her efforts are proof that artists can shoot for the stars on their own terms.
WurtS
He may hide his face behind a white baseball cap, but solo artist WurtS is quickly gaining exposure. He had his biggest song to date with "Doukashiteiru" ("What's Wrong"), his ending theme for the recent season of anime hit "DanDaDan" that mixes together J-pop catchiness and pop-punk euphoria. Earlier tracks such as 2021's "Wakattenaiyo" ("I Don't Understand"), with its pedal-effect guitars and monotone vocal delivery, also typify the pop-rocker's style, which he dubbed "neo-emo" in a profile for GQ Japan — a reaction to the increased digitization of the world that embraces the nostalgic and melancholic as a means of deeper expression.
WurtS is only the latest in a long line of J-pop rockers, primarily dating back to the band boom of the 1980s that produced acts like the Blue Hearts. Rock continued to gain popularity in the '90s and 2000s, with groups such as Spitz, the Pillows and Asian Kung-Fu Generation sustaining its presence on the charts and airwaves alongside more dance-oriented sounds. The result is a lasting appreciation of rock in Japan that continues to resonate, both in the mainstream and through a robust indie venue structure. Newer artists are also dipping into a wider array of influences from at home and abroad; along with WurtS' reinterpretation of emo, bands such as hardnuts, kurayamisaka and Hitsujibungaku have also taken influence from shoegaze and alt-rock.
That being said, WurtS isn’t a purist by any means. His 2024 album, I HOPE YOU STAY WELL FOREVER, contrasts a sci-fi concept inspired by watching The Fifth Element on a flip phone with more organic elements. “Otona ni Naru no wa” (“Becoming an Adult”) incorporates synthesized sounds while tracks such as “Souls” feature the horns section from Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra alongside the artist’s raw vocals.
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No list of prominent Japanese musicians would be complete with one of the most popular and exciting rising DJs in the world. Osaka native Yosuke Yukimatsu has toured much of the globe in 2025 (with sets at Ultra and Coachella to follow next year) off the back of his blockbuster Boiler Room set, which has become one of the channel's most watched videos on YouTube with nearly 15 million views as of press time.
Pulling experimental influences into a brash, aggressive style of high-octane techno — that Boiler Room set combines everything from Underworld, the Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers classics to nu-rave pop bangers from 100 gecs and Skrillex — the 46-year-old is arguably the "DJ of the year," as Resident Advisor deemed him earlier this year. But a big part of his story is that he very nearly wasn't.
In 2016, at a crucial point in his rise through the underground club scene, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor which required two craniotomies, radiotherapy and chemo. The ordeal was a life-threatening disruption that left him with a huge scar on his head, which he keeps shaved like a Zen priest. Yet it only strengthened his resolve to continue making music. Now, he inspires millions with a DJ style that refuses to be ignored.
Zutomayo
They may not be VTubers, but the members of Zutomayo have gone to great lengths to remain anonymous. They emerged around the same time as Ado, another artist who has never revealed her face, and like her, the band has remained staunchly committed to privacy — to the point that they perform behind screens, in shadows, or wearing masks and costumes that obscure their faces, even at major events such as the 2025 Osaka World Expo.
The only known member of the band is lead singer ACA-Ne ("Akane," a common female first name in Japan), and even she performs under a pseudonym and uses anime avatars in music videos. When the group first appeared on popular YouTube series "The First Take" — a destination for stripped-down performances from J-pop stars — in 2021, the set consisted of ACA-Ne by herself, completely silhouetted, singing their breakout hit "Byōshin wo Kamu."
Given that their full name is "Zutto Mayonaka de Ii no ni" ("It would be nice if it was midnight all the time"), that secrecy seems to be something they prefer. It hasn't kept them from success, however, thanks to ACA-Ne's moody lyrics and eclectic instrumentals based mainly in funk and pop. "Byōshin wo Kamu," their debut single, became the most-streamed song in Japan in its first week of release, and their albums regularly top the Japanese charts.
They had their biggest exposure outside of Japan when their track "Tadaida" served as the ending theme for hit manga series "DanDaDan" last year. No matter how much they gain prominence, these guys always seem to make sure they're just outside the spotlight.