ABOUT
VOTING Overview of the voting system and process for MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN.
VOTING RULES
- Voting Criteria
- Songs, artists or albums recognized for exceptional musical creativity and artistry.
- Voting Period
- Entry Announcement: March 19, 2026
First Voting Period: March 19, 2026 – April 8, 2026
Nominee Announcement: April 30, 2026
Final Voting Period: April 30, 2026 – May 20, 2026
- Voting Method
- Votes from eligible members are submitted online through the dedicated MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN voting system.
- Voting Rules
- For the six main categories the following rules apply
- Five categories — Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and Best Song Asia — require all domestic voting members to participate in the first voting round while international voting members may vote optionally. In the final voting round all domestic and international voting members must vote
- For Best Global Hit from Japan, the first voting round is open to international Spotify listeners and the final voting round is open to all international voting members
- For other categories, domestic voting members may vote at their discretion. Some categories have different or no voting rules
Additional Rules
- In the first voting round voters must select at least 2 and up to 5 entries or artists
- The top 5 entries or artists with the highest votes advance as nominees. If there is a tie for fifth place all tied entries or artists become nominees
- If a single artist has multiple songs nominated additional songs will be added until five artists are represented
- In the final voting round voters rank up to 3 nominees per category (1st place 4 points, 2nd place 2 points, 3rd place 1 point). Ranking fewer than 3 is allowed
- Voting for oneself or one's own works or associated artists is permitted
- Duplicate votes for the same entry or artist are not allowed
- Voting Member Criteria
- 1. Artists whose works in any song category ranked within the top 50 of the MAJ chart in the interim and final entry announcements
2. Artists of works entered in the song or album categories.
3. Domestic creators involved in entered song category works, including lyricists, composers and arrangers.
4. International voting members selected by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Executive Committee, including overseas award jurors, creators, promoters and music distribution professionals.
5. Domestic music industry professionals, including:
5.1 Management companies, record labels, concert promoters and music publishers affiliated with the five CEIPA organizations (up to 16 voting rights per company based on staff size)
5.2 Engineers selected by the Japan Association of Professional Recording Studios, copyright management organizations, major domestic DSPs, leading dealers and distributors, selected media, major ticketing services, karaoke providers, major video streaming services, music critics and writers
6. Special voting members appointed by MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN partner organizations for specific categories such as Best Hip Hop/Rap Song, Best Hip Hop Unit or Solo Artist, Best R&B/Contemporary Song, Best Vocaloid Culture Song, Best Dance/Electronic Song, Best Jazz Album, Best Classical Album and Best DJ.
*Special voting members vote only in their designated categories.
7. Executive voting members, including Japanese artists, creators and producers with significant contributions to the music industry, as well as main artists or creators involved in works nominated for MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025.
*Executive voting members hold permanent voting rights.
Additional Notes:
- Selection of artists and creators is based on data from Oricon, Billboard JAPAN, GfK/NIQ Japan, Luminate and other sources.
- Voting rights for members in categories 1–6 are valid only for the current year.
- Members meeting multiple criteria (1–7) hold only one set of voting rights.
- Artists, creators, and producers in categories 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 have double the voting power of domestic and international industry members in categories 4 and 5.
- Voting Period *Excluding certain categories
- January 27, 2025 – February 22, 2026
*The period is divided into seven eight-week phases.
1st Period: January 27, 2025 – March 23, 2025
2nd Period: March 24, 2025 – May 18, 2025
3rd Period: May 19, 2025 – July 13, 2025
4th Period: July 14, 2025 – September 7, 2025
5th Period: September 8, 2025 – November 2, 2025
6th Period: November 3, 2025 – December 28, 2025
7th Period: December 29, 2025 – February 22, 2026
*Some categories, including "Best Global Hit from Japan," follow different voting periods.
- Entry Eligibility (Songs / Albums)
- Eligible entries are official audio and/or visual works (songs or albums) first released digitally or physically on public platforms between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Only full-length works are considered.
*Excludes certain categories such as "Best Long-Running Hit (Song/Album)," "Best Global Hit from Japan," and "Best Analog Record Sales Award."
The "Best Long-Charting Hit (Song/Album)" category includes works released on or before December 31, 2024.
*Not applicable to artist categories.
- Genre Classification
- Genres for songs and artists are determined by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Basic Design Committee based on metadata from Billboard JAPAN, Oricon, YouTube, GfK/NIQ Japan, Music Story and various DSPs.
- Each song or artist is assigned to a single genre only
- For certain categories such as Enka and Kayōkyoku, data from Oricon and USEN are used
- The MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Basic Design Committee consists of six music industry professionals appointed by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Executive Committee
- Classification of Domestic and International Artists
- Artists are categorized as domestic or international depending on whether their debut occurred in Japan or overseas.