NHK has announced the line-up for the 77th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, with Ado, YOASOBI, L’Arc-en-Ciel, sakanaction, BE:FIRST, and Mrs. GREEN APPLE among the acts set to perform on Japan’s annual New Year’s Eve music programme.
NHK announced 41 competing acts at a press conference in Tokyo on November 13th, with 20 on the Red Team and 21 on the White Team. Seven of the competing acts will make their Kōhaku debut. B’z vocalist Koshi Inaba will appear as a solo artist for the first time in a special performance.
Jump to the Kōhaku line-up
Idol groups =LOVE and CUTIE STREET will make their Kōhaku debuts on the Red Team. The White Team’s newcomers are singer-songwriter Ayumu Imazu, idol group Aぇ! group, dance-vocal collective EBiDAN, rock band Macaroni Empitsu, and vocal quartet MONAKI.
EBiDAN, which brings together acts from Stardust Promotion, celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. One of its groups, the five-member M!LK, is also billed separately on the White Team for its second Kōhaku appearance.
Several established artists are also returning after lengthy absences. Rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel will make their sixth appearance and first since 2011. T.M.Revolution returns after 12 years, following his viral July performance of ‘HOT LIMIT’ in his signature costume on THE FIRST TAKE, which reached 10 million views in three days. Harajuku pop icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu also returns after 12 years, as she celebrates 15 years since her debut.
Kayōkyoku singer Mizue Takada returns for the first time since 1984, following a rare television performance on NHK’s Uta-Con in August. Electronic pop trio TM NETWORK will make their second appearance and first since 1988. City-pop singer Anri returns after 30 years, having played shows in Brooklyn and Los Angeles in May, while Ryoko Moriyama and Misato Watanabe both return after 21 years.
Koshi Inaba will sing ‘Touch’, first recorded by Yoshimi Iwasaki as the opening theme for the 1985 baseball anime of the same name. He recorded his cover for Netflix’s Japanese coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic and performed it at Tokyo Dome before Japan played Czechia on March 10th.
Inaba made his Kōhaku debut with B’z in 2024. After performing ‘Illumination’ from a studio, the duo surprised the audience by appearing on the NHK Hall stage to play ‘LOVE PHANTOM’ and ‘ultra soul’. Inaba returned in 2025 to perform ‘Jupiter (feat. Koshi Inaba)’ with Masaharu Fukuyama.
K-pop group ILLIT returns to the Red Team alongside CHANMINA and HANA, while Japan-based &TEAM is back on the White Team. Enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa will make her 49th appearance, with Fuyumi Sakamoto and Yoshimi Tendo also returning.
Kōhaku began as a New Year radio programme in 1951 and moved to New Year’s Eve in 1953. The contest traditionally pits women on the Red Team against men on the White Team, with special performances throughout the evening. In 2023, YOASOBI played a star-studded version of their megahit ‘Idol’ alongside SEVENTEEN, NewJeans, Stray Kids, Sakurazaka46, and BE:FIRST. Last year’s programme saw Kenshi Yonezu give the first live performance of ‘IRIS OUT’, the theme song for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, with props inspired by the film and a guest appearance from HANA.
NHK Kōhaku 2026 line-up so far
Red Team (Akagumi)
| Artist | Appearances |
|---|---|
| ILLIT | 3 |
| Ado | 2 |
| Anri | 4 |
| =LOVE | Debut |
| Sayuri Ishikawa | 49 |
| AKB48 | 14 |
| Kyary Pamyu Pamyu | 4 |
| CUTIE STREET | Debut |
| Fuyumi Sakamoto | 38 |
| Mizue Takada | 8 |
| CHANMINA | 2 |
| Yoshimi Tendo | 31 |
| Nogizaka46 | 12 |
| HANA | 2 |
| FRUITS ZIPPER | 2 |
| MISIA | 11 |
| Kaori Mizumori | 24 |
| Ryoko Moriyama | 11 |
| YOASOBI | 4 |
| Misato Watanabe | 2 |
White Team (Shirogumi)
| Artist | Appearances |
|---|---|
| Ayumu Imazu | Debut |
| Aぇ! group | Debut |
| EBiDAN | Debut |
| &TEAM | 2 |
| King & Prince | 7 |
| sakanaction | 3 |
| Junretsu | 9 |
| Masayuki Suzuki | 7 |
| SixTONES | 5 |
| TM NETWORK | 2 |
| T.M.Revolution | 6 |
| Leon Niihama | 3 |
| Vaundy | 4 |
| BE:FIRST | 5 |
| Masaharu Fukuyama | 19 |
| Macaroni Empitsu | Debut |
| Mrs. GREEN APPLE | 4 |
| M!LK | 2 |
| MONAKI | Debut |
| Yuzu | 15 |
| L’Arc-en-Ciel | 6 |
Special performance
Koshi Inaba (B’z)
‘Touch’ (first solo Kōhaku appearance)
Mana Ashida, Masato Sakai, Kazunari Ninomiya and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki will host. This year’s theme, Koete Ikō, Uta to Tomo ni (roughly, ‘Let’s Go Beyond, Together with Song’), celebrates Japanese music’s growing international reach and its ability to bring people together across generations. NHK also hopes the show will lift spirits in Japan after a year of natural disasters.
The network will announce the competing acts’ songs and the running order at a later date. Updates will appear on the official Kōhaku website.
Where and how to watch NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen 2026
The programme will air live from NHK Hall in Tokyo on Thursday, December 31st, from 7:20pm to 11:45pm JST (10:20am to 2:45pm GMT in the UK, 5:20am to 9:45am EST on the US East Coast, and 2:20am to 6:45am PST on the West Coast).
In Japan, viewers can watch on NHK General TV, NHK BSP4K and NHK BS8K, or listen on NHK AM. NHK plans to stream the show live on NHK ONE and carry the radio broadcast on NHK ONE Radiru★Radiru, with both available on catch-up for one week in Japan.
Can you watch NHK Kōhaku 2026 outside Japan?
NHK ONE’s video streams and the Radiru★Radiru radio service are available only in Japan. International coverage of the 2026 edition has yet to be confirmed.
NHK WORLD PREMIUM is available by subscription on compatible Freeview TVs in the UK, through Sling TV in the US, and through toober in Canada. Jme also streamed the 2025 edition in the US and Canada.
Viewers considering a subscription specifically for Kōhaku should check the NHK WORLD PREMIUM schedule or their regional provider’s listings closer to December 31st to confirm availability.
