Courtesy: Music Awards Japan Courtesy: Music Awards Japan

With the international honors of MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ) fast approaching, local media have been running stories about the awards almost daily. The performers for the Grand Ceremony, where the major categories are revealed, were recently announced: Sam Smith returns to Japan for the first time in years to deliver a special performance as the show’s first-ever overseas guest.

The lineup also features artist of the year nominees Fujii Kaze, HANA, Sakanaction and Kenshi Yonezu. Adding to the night are MISAMO — the unit made up of TWICE‘s three Japanese members — along with CHANMINA and Hitsujibungaku, while Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, a big band with a long résumé at festivals at home and abroad, takes the stage for a one-night-only set alongside LiSA, TAKUMA (10-FEET) and AiNA THE END.

In the lead-up to the Grand Ceremony on June 13, a slate of events under the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN WEEK banner will take place across Tokyo. Check out a few of the top picks that tap into the deep history of Japanese music.

THE SUCCESSOR — MAJ HIP HOP TRIBUTE
Monday, June 8 @ Zepp DiverCity (TOKYO)

The Successor is a ceremony that distills more than 40 years of Japanese hip-hop into a single night. The seeds of hip-hop culture, planted in Japan in the 1980s, grew — through the rise of the Japanese-language rap scene from the ’90s onward — into a sprawling culture that left its mark across Asia. Passing that baton forward, this special live show frames that history not as nostalgia but as “the next succession.” It’s produced by Kan Takagi and ZEEBRA, who have stayed on the front line from the scene’s earliest days, alongside new-generation standard-bearer YZERR. Expect the full, integrated expression at hip-hop’s core, where music, dance, art and DJ culture move as one.

The bill pairs foundational names like RHYMESTER, King Giddra and NITRO MICROPHONE UNDERGROUND with artists driving the current scene — T-Pablow, STUTS, PUNPEE and ¥ellow Bucks — plus next-generation rappers including Watson, MaRI and 3Li¥en. Don’t miss this rare chance to take in both the history and the present of a scene still largely under the radar overseas.

A Tribute to EIICHI OHTAKI — SYMBOL OF MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026
Wednesday, June 10 @ SGC Hall Ariake

Each year, MAJ names a “SYMBOL OF MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN.” Following last year’s honoree, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA (YMO), the 2026 symbol is Eiichi Ohtaki. After co-founding the legendary band Happy End with Haruomi Hosono, Takashi Matsumoto and others, Ohtaki wrote songs that remain pillars of Japanese pop history, among them “Kimi wa Tennenshoku,” “Yume de Aetara” and “Shiawase na Ketsumatsu.” In recent years, his name has traveled across generations and borders via YouTube and other streaming services — making this a fitting tribute to an artist of genuinely special significance in Japanese music history, and a chance to dig into his discography.

The biggest draw is Ohtaki’s own “vocal appearance” (archival singing). Built around recordings from his active years, the night brings performances from artists with personal ties to Ohtaki — Ginji Ito, Junichi Inagaki, Masamichi Sugi, Shigeru Suzuki, Tortoise Matsumoto (Ulfuls), Maki Nomiya, Fumiya Fujii, Minako Yoshida and Marina Watanabe — for a rare experience that reaches the very core of Japanese music history.

Billboard JAPAN | Spotify present Women In Music — EQUAL STAGE
Tuesday, June 9 @ SGC Hall Ariake

This joint show from Billboard Japan and Spotify, built around the theme of women’s empowerment, packs in three and a half hours of sets from female artists making waves at home and abroad: ATARASHII GAKKO!, whose unconventional performances have won fervent fans overseas; Awich, the J-hip-hop queen broadcasting the genre to the world; Hitsujibungaku, which channels real strength through translucent alternative rock; and LANA, who empowers young listeners with a presence of her own.

Rooted in Billboard Japan and Spotify’s work to back female artists and creators and widen their opportunities to be heard, the show carries a social message that runs deeper than a typical concert.

Beyond these, MAJ WEEK 2026 — spanning jazz, anime music, enka and kayokyoku, indie and club culture — is a 10-day stretch that lets you take in the full breadth and depth of Japanese music. The awards ceremony itself lands Saturday, June 13, across two venues: SGC Hall Ariake and TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO. The event will also be streamed live on YouTube for listeners who can’t be there in person.

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