The Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) announced the major award winners during the Grand Ceremony of its inaugural Music Awards Japan event on Thursday.
© CEIPA / MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025
The major award winners are:
Artist Of The Year
Mrs. Green Apple
Song Of The Year
“Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” by Creepy Nuts
New Artist Of The Year
tuki.
Album Of The Year
Love All Serve All by Kaze Fujii
Top Global Hit From Japan
“Idol” by YOASOBI
Best Song Asia
“Supernova” by aespa
Best Idol Artist/Group
Snow Man
Best Japanese Hip Hop/Rap Artist
Creepy Nuts
Special Award: Song of the Year for Creators powered by JASRAC
Ayase from YOASOBI for “Idol”
Special Award: Karaoke of the Year: J-Pop powered by DAM & JOYSOUND
“Lilac” by Mrs. Green Apple
Music Awards Japan also presented a special “MAJ Timeless Echo” award to Eikichi Yazawa. The award was in “recognition for the artist who [has] long contributed to and excelled in the Japanese music industry.”
The Grand Ceremony featured performances by YOASOBI, Creepy Nuts, Chanmina, Hikaru Utada, Kaze Fujii, and more. The event streamed globally on YouTube (with a 30-minute delay), and was broadcast live on NHK.
The Music Awards Japan’s Premiere Ceremony on Wednesday announced the winners of several categories, including YOASOBI’s “Idol” (from Oshi no Ko), which won the Best Anime Song and Best Music Video award. Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” (from Mashle: Magic and Muscles second season) won a total of seven awards: Top Japanese Song in Europe, Top Japanese Song in North America, Top Japanese Song in Latin America, Best Viral Song, Best Japanese Hip-Hop/Rap Song, Best Japanese Dance Pop Song, and Best Japanese Song.
The Music Awards Japan is intended to honor the best musicians in Japan as well as international artists from all over Asia, and have over 60 total award categories, including honors for “Vocaloid culture,” anime, and “idol culture.”
An automated system selected entries based on an “objective metric tied to data” from Billboard Japan, Oricon, GfK/NIQ Japan, Luminate, and other sources, from which domestic voting members selected five nominees for each category. More than 5,000 music industry professionals from Japan and abroad voted for the winners.
The CEIPA is a collaboration amongst five music industry bodies from Japan.
Source: Music Awards Japan event
Disclosure: the organizers of Music Awards Japan provided accommodation for ANN’s correspondent at the event.
