There are times when you just feel like crying, right?
Among those moments, I’ve picked out some Japanese songs that sing about love.
I think they’ll bring a tear to your eye.
It’s also nice to share them with your special someone.
And if there are songs you don’t know, be sure to tell your classmates about them, too.
Tear-jerking love songs: Classic and popular Japanese tracks (1–10)
Cherry Blossom MoonNEW!Sakurazaka46
This is the fifth single title track by Sakurazaka46, a beautiful portrayal of the bittersweet partings that arrive with the coming of spring.
Set against the splendor of cherry blossoms, it weaves a world where the pain of love that has ended and the struggle with moments that will never return intersect—enough to make your heart ache.
Rena Moriya, who serves as center, delivers a fragile yet powerful expression that further elevates the song’s dramatic progression.
Released in February 2023, it sold 349,000 copies in its first week and topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
It’s a song I recommend to anyone who has experienced parting with someone dear without being able to put their true feelings into words.
You’ll find yourself wanting to listen to it every cherry blossom season.
Are you going to be my ex-girlfriend?NEW!Koresawa
Singer-songwriter Koresawa, who wins support by portraying real emotions while spotlighting an adorable bear character.
This song is a sentimental pop tune that deliberately sets the anxiety and loneliness felt on the borderline where a relationship is changing—when a breakup feels imminent—to a bright, buoyant band sound.
It’s included on her fifth mini-album, “PINK BEARS,” released in August 2026, and it’s a track infused with Koresawa’s deeply personal feelings.
Brimming with the sadness that comes with shifts in human relationships, it’s recommended for those who feel a bit unsure about the distance with someone important, or for nights when you want to sink into a sentimental mood.
waxing; filling up; becoming full; growing (e.g., the moon growing fuller)Fuji Kaze
A beautiful ballad written as the theme song for a film, this track brims with the gentle warmth Fujii Kaze is known for.
Created as the theme for the movie “My Girlfriend Is an April” released in March 2024, it opens with the quiet resonance of piano and gradually expands into a grand, sweeping sound.
It portrays a profound kind of love: by letting go of the attachment born from loving someone and accepting farewell, the heart is paradoxically filled.
As relationships with those we cherish evolve, this gem of a love song evokes not only the sorrow of losing love, but also the quiet sense of fulfillment that lies beyond it.
It’s perfect for a moment when you want to listen together with someone you adore and reaffirm your pure feelings for them.
My Dear EllieSazan Ōrusutāzu
This is the third single by Southern All Stars, a band that continues to lead the charge as one of Japan’s premier rock groups.
Released in March 1979, it was used as the theme song for the TBS drama “Fuzoroi no Ringo-tachi” (“Uneven Apples”).
In sharp contrast to their cheerful image, this ballad depicting a heartrending love story became a major talking point at the time.
The song gently narrates regrets over a bygone romance—anxieties about a relationship growing cold and feelings left unspoken.
Keisuke Kuwata’s tenacious vocals and the song’s beautiful timbre capture the subtle tremors of emotions that words can’t quite convey.
It’s a piece that will stay close to you when you’re filled with regret or when you want to quietly remember someone you parted with.
Happinessback number
When it comes to love songs, you can’t leave out the band back number.
Released to the world as the B-side to the single Hanabira in April 2011, this track is a hidden gem that carefully captures the subtleties of unrequited love.
Over the course of its six-and-a-half-minute length, it quietly unfolds a poignant feeling: the closeness of being right next to someone striking all the more as a decisive distance.
The lyrics, which present with a straight face the pain of only being able to sustain the relationship by wishing for the other person’s happiness, resonate deeply beyond the bounds of a typical heartbreak song.
It’s a recommended track for anyone seeking a love song tightly packed with bittersweet longing—one that calls up memories of the truths you couldn’t say.
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Snow, Moon, and Flowersyangusukinii
This is a love ballad by Young Skinny that delicately depicts an unforgettable person’s scent and the memories that linger on the body.
Opening the major second EP “Bukiyou na Watashi Dakara,” released in March 2024, and later included on the album “BOY & GIRLS” released in October of the same year, this track shines with Kayayu’s unadorned words, which convey the unresolved feelings of a love that can’t be wrapped up neatly.
Everyone has moments in everyday life when they suddenly recall a former lover.
With a lyrical melody that resonates with raw emotions that can’t be sugarcoated into pretty memories, it’s a song that seeps into the heart.
Recommended for nights when you want to sink into the bittersweet feelings stirred by the lingering scent of someone you’ve parted with.
youHayashi Kazuki
A gem of a ballad that poignantly depicts a heartbreaking farewell, crafted by Kazuki Hayashi, who also shines as a vocalist for DOBERMAN INFINITY.
The song delicately conveys the raw emotions right after a breakup and the lingering attachment that won’t quite fade, and many listeners will likely find their own experiences overlapping and feel their hearts tighten.
Released in advance as a signature track from the album “to,” set for release in December 2025, this piece, though ending in sadness, also carries a warmth that seems to affirm the love that once was.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to when you wish to gently soothe the pain of heartbreak or quietly look back on a past romance alone.