MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 winners: Sakanaction top the night as Mrs. GREEN APPLE retain Artist of the Year

Sakanaction were the biggest winners at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026, leaving TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO on June 13th with eight awards, while Mrs. GREEN APPLE retained Artist of the Year and Kenshi Yonezu swept every regional song category with ‘IRIS OUT’.

Full list of all MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 winners

The ceremony moved from Kyoto, host of the inaugural edition, to Tokyo for a programme that expanded to 78 categories, with winners decided by a final vote of around 5,000 music industry professionals. Most were presented at a Premiere Ceremony earlier in the day, with the Grand Ceremony in the evening reserved for the six major awards, the Timeless Echo Award, and a handful of others.

The most-nominated act wasn’t the most-rewarded. Yonezu went in as the overall frontrunner, leading the field with 18 nominations with his single, ‘IRIS OUT’, alone accounting for nine of them. He converted that into Best J-Pop Song and a clean sweep of all four regional Japanese Song categories, covering Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, and added Best Digital Culture Artist under his Vocaloid producer alias Hachi. Sakanaction, by contrast, went in with fewer nominations than Yonezu but left with the most rubies of anyone.

Sakanaction lead the night

‘Kaiju’ was the work of the night. Beyond Song of the Year, it took Best Rock Song, Best Anime Song, Best Music Video, and Best Cover Artwork, while the band themselves added Best Rock Band/Solo Artist and two of the new live production staff awards for lighting and sound. The song was Sakanaction’s first anime theme, written for Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, and the first frontman Ichiro Yamaguchi wrote after returning from the hiatus prompted by his depression.

Accepting Song of the Year from presenter Masahiro Motoki, Yamaguchi spoke through tears about that return. He said that seeing ‘Kaiju’ recognised “has given me the courage to believe that I can keep going”.

He was just as animated about the live production categories, introduced for the first time this year. Speaking to press after the ceremony, Yamaguchi said it mattered that PA engineers, lighting staff, and live crews were being honoured, arguing that recognising them encourages labels, promoters, and management to invest in better sound and staging, which ultimately serves listeners. Bands with outstanding live performances, he added, “should be competing on the world stage”.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE go back-to-back

Mrs. GREEN APPLE won Artist of the Year for the second year running. Nominated in eight categories, the three-piece were left off the announced performer line-up, then made a surprise red carpet appearance in traditional Japanese attire before delivering one of the night’s standout performances to open the second half of the show.

Receiving the ruby trophy from Ken Watanabe, Motoki Omori reflected on forming the band at sixteen and on the solitary work behind it. He described writing songs alone, often in isolation, before they become Mrs. GREEN APPLE records, and said he was “happy that those efforts have been rewarded”. He also revealed the group is mid-way through a new album and would be back in the studio the following day, saying he wanted to carry on making music calmly, without getting carried away by the win. Omori separately picked up Song of the Year for Creators from JASRAC.

Fujii Kaze and the divine

Fujii Kaze retained Album of the Year with ‘Prema’, his first record written entirely in English, and won both the song and artist prizes in the R&B/Contemporary category. Accepting Album of the Year from presenter Takako Matsu, Fujii echoed the album’s spiritual themes, saying: “I thank God, and I thank the God within everyone who was involved in making this album, and I thank the God within everyone who loved this album”.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said most people work hard behind the scenes without recognition, and that he wanted to keep going steadily and modestly without becoming complacent.

HANA’s triple win

HANA capped a rapid rise by taking New Artist of the Year at the Grand Ceremony, presented by Tomoyasu Hotei. The seven-piece had already won twice at the earlier Premiere Ceremony, picking up Best Dance & Vocal Song for ‘Blue Jeans’ and Best Dance & Vocal Artist. Formed through the No No Girls audition project with producer CHANMINA, they have already sent eight songs past 100 million streams.

CHIKA dedicated the award to everyone involved with the group, saying they have sung since their debut hoping to become someone’s reason for living. Speaking to press afterwards with the ruby in hand, MAHINA admitted that on the red carpet she had watched Sakanaction carry theirs “like it was their own child”, and felt more than a little envious.

M!LK fly the flag for idol culture

M!LK were among the busiest winners of all, leaving with five awards in their 12th year together. They took Best Boys Idol Culture Artist and Best Boys Idol Culture Song, and ‘Sukisugite METSU!’ added two partnership prizes; Karaoke Song of the Year for J-Pop and the Best Family Song award, as well as Best Viral Song, beating out HALCALI, AiScReam, CUTIE STREET, and CANDY TUNE.

Accepting Best Boys Idol Culture Artist from presenter Aoi Yamada, Jutaro Yamanaka said he was filled with disbelief, before adding that being an idol was a wonderful thing with the power to make people smile, and that the group would keep working to bring energy and happiness across Japan. Hayato Sano told press he never imagined winning so many, and that the first thing he thought of when M!LK’s name was called was the Mi!LKies, the group’s fans, without whom they would never have come this far.

XG, HUNTR/X, and the international slate

XG won Best Global Hit From Japan for ‘HYPNOTIZE’, the lead track from their first full-length album ‘THE CORE – 核,’, which reached Spotify New Music Friday playlists across 43 countries and charted on YouTube trending lists in 25. HUNTR/X took Best Song Asia, presented by J.Y. Park, for ‘Golden’, the South Korean entry from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, a track that has already won at the Academy Awards and the Grammys.

The international song categories went to Lady Gaga (‘Abracadabra’), Green Day (‘Smash It Like Belushi‘), Tyler, The Creator (‘Stop Playing With Me’), Tyla (‘CHANEL’), and ROSALÍA (‘Reliquia’), while BLACKPINK’s ‘JUMP’ took Best K-Pop Song and BTS were named Best K-Pop Artist. Regional special awards recognised G-DRAGON, YOUNGOHM, Hindia, Hòa Minzy, and Cup of Joe.

Doubles, revivals, and a 50-year honour

Hitsujibungaku doubled up on Best Alternative Song for ‘Koe’ and Best Alternative Artist, a second consecutive alternative-song win. Bassist Yurika Kawanishi said the band never imagined winning two years running.

In the back catalogue categories, ORANGE RANGE won Best Revival Hit Song for ‘Ikenai Taiyou’ 19 years on, and Vaundy took Best Long-Charting Song for ‘Kaijuu no Hanauta’. Tatsuro Yamashita received the MAJ Timeless Echo Award in his 50th debut-anniversary year and, true to a long-held belief in delivering performances directly to audiences, did not attend, sending an audio message instead. Saburo Kitajima was given the Special Award in Enka/Kayokyoku.

All MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 winners by category

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