Mrs. GREEN APPLE, sakanaction and Fujii Kaze Among Big Winners At MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026

The star-studded second installment of Japan’s biggest awards ceremony put a spotlight on the country’s sound

TOKYO, JAPAN, June 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ), the country’s largest music awards ceremony, held its second installment on Saturday, June 13 at TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO. The star-studded event spotlighted Japanese music as it continues to step onto the world stage, featuring performances by artists representing the eclectic sounds making up the country’s sonic fabric. It also featured a greater number of acts from across Asia and beyond, underlining Japan’s growing role as a hub for the global music industry.

The big winners of the night included trio Mrs. GREEN APPLE, which captured the Artist of the Year award for the second straight year. Singer-songwriter Fujii Kaze also repeated in the Album of the Year category, winning for his English-language debut Prema. Long-running rock band sakanaction took home multiple awards for its hit “Kaiju,” including Song of the Year, leading to an emotional acceptance speech from lead singer Ichiro Yamaguchi about his battles with depression while creating the work.

Rising pop outfit HANA took home New Artist of the Year while girl group XG won the Best Global Hit from Japan for the strobing dance-pop of “HYPNOTIZE.” HUNTR/X, the animated band from 2025 film phenomenon K-Pop Demon Hunters, received Best Song Asia for the smash hit “Golden.”

A full list of winners in all 78 categories can be seen here.

The evening also featured spellbinding performances from Kaze, sakanaction, Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Kenshi Yonezu, Hitsujibungaku and more. MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 also featured the first live appearances from non-Japanese acts, starting with the Philippines Cup Of Joe and Indonesia’s Hindia at the Premier Ceremony held earlier Saturday. During the Grand Ceremony, English singer Sam Smith offered an intimate rendition of his “My Guy” from the center of the arena, the first Western name to perform at MAJ.

Videos of the MAJ 2026 performances can be found at MAJ’s official YouTube channel, with more being uploaded regularly.

The second edition of the awards ceremony saw MAJ scale up on every level, while maintaining a focus on art established a year prior in Kyoto. The 2026 edition showed how MAJ can become one of the biggest musical highlights of the year in Japan, and how it will continue to grow into one of the world’s premier awards ceremonies.

TAKAHIRO KANAZAWA
Vegas PR Group
takahiro.kanazawa@vegaspr.jp
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