Latest J-Pop Releases [June 2025]

In time for the danceKyoko Koizumi & Kiichi Nakai

Kyoko Koizumi & Kiichi Nakai – In Time for the Dance (Official Video)

It’s a sweet soul number that feels urban yet somehow nostalgic! It was released digitally in April 2025, with the CD following in June, and it served as the ending theme for the Fuji TV drama “Zoku Zoku Saigo kara Nibanme no Koi” (The Third Season of The Second-to-Last Love).

It’s a bright, reimagined arrangement—complete with brass and strings—of a 2017 track by Omoide Yarou A Team.

The gentle vocals of Kyoko Koizumi and Kiichi Nakai are soothing, and the lyrics carry a message that gives you the courage to face forward no matter what kind of day you’ve had.

When you’re a bit worn out by daily life and need a tender cheer, listening to this might just lighten your heart!

THE SEQUELNidaram (Namidaruma)

THE SEQUEL

It hits you with a piercing sense of realism and a beat that creeps up and takes over.

It’s a track by the hip-hop crew Nujabes (Namida Dama), released as a single in June 2025 and included on the album “GODBREATH BUDDHACESS (THE RE-UP EDITION)” released the same month.

This album is a reassembled version of the acclaimed 2019 release “GODBREATH BUDDHACESS,” now featuring this new track.

The members’ deeply personal experiences are etched into the lyrics, intertwining with rich, weighty production that grips the listener and doesn’t let go.

If you want to feel the true air of the streets, don’t miss it.

Rainbow6 (feat. Friends)Satomi Shigemori

Satomi Shigemori Rainbow 6 (feat. Friends) M/V

Thrilling beats and awesome rap! It’s a track that feels like the very atmosphere of a battlefield condensed into music.

Created by Satomi Shigemori, who’s also active as a TV personality, it was released in June 2025.

This is a community song for the popular FPS game “Rainbow Six Siege X.” The track brilliantly captures the game’s tension, with Shigemori handling everything from songwriting and composition to directing the music video.

The footage, shot at an airsoft studio with her “friend,” Kiho Isobe, is absolutely gripping.

It’s the perfect song to play when you want your adrenaline to surge!

Pon de SKY, Pon de STARDA PUMP

【MV】Pon de SKY, Pon de STAR/DA PUMP

It’s a positive cheer song that gives you a push and tells you there’s nothing to fear.

Performed by the dance-vocal group DA PUMP, it’s included on their album “BACK 2 DA UNITY,” released in July 2025.

The track was chosen as the theme song for the drama “Asakusa Last-Boss Grandma.” Produced by m.

c.

A·T, its sound fuses reggae and Latin influences, and its uplifting lyrics boost your mood.

It’s perfect for those moments when you want to take a new step forward.

to flow; to stream; to run (liquid); to be washed away; to drift; to play (audio/video)STILLZ & Yuki Chiba

STILLZ, Yuki Chiba – Flow (Official Music Video)

This track is memorable for its emotional vocals unfolding over immersive sound.

It appears on both Seigi Chiba’s collaborative album with filmmaker STILLZ, “separated at birth,” and on Chiba’s solo album, “Eien.” Released simultaneously in June 2025, the two albums are linked by this song, which serves as a kind of bridge between them.

Surrendering oneself to fate… it’s a piece to savor on a quiet night when you want to be alone with your thoughts.

painedVaundy

pained

This track by Vaundy was originally a secret track on the album “replica,” released in November 2023, and was released as a standalone digital single in June 2025.

The song quietly lets loose the pain buried deep within the heart and delicate emotions, carried by a genre-defying sound.

Its tones and worldview seep straight into the listener’s inner self.

Give it a careful listen on sleepless nights when you’re weighed down by feelings you can’t tell anyone about.

With love from a certain futureback number

Sincerely, from a Future

It’s a number that gently stays close to your heart.

Released in June 2025 by back number, it was used as a song for a MOS Burger commercial.

The lyrics say, “Even on days when things don’t go well and you end up hating yourself, the future still goes on,” and its straightforward message is deeply moving.

According to vocalist Iyori Shimizu, he created it with the hope of giving back through music the positive energy he has received from MOS Burger over the years.

Listening to it when you’re feeling down might give you the push you need to look forward.