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 14, 2026
※Originally scheduled to run until Wednesday, April 8, the period has been extended.
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
- Among the six major categories, five categories Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year and Best Song Asia follow the voting process below.
In the first round, all Domestic Voting Members participate, while International Voting Members may vote on an optional basis.
In the final round, both Domestic Voting Members and International Voting Members vote.
For Best Global Hit from Japan, the first round is conducted through voting by general Spotify listeners outside Japan, and the final round is conducted by all domestic and international Voting Members.
For other categories, Domestic Voting Members may vote on an optional basis. Some categories follow different voting rules or do not involve voting.
In the first round, voting members select between two and five entries or artists from the entry works or entry artists.
After the first round votes are counted, the five works or artists with the highest total votes are selected as nominees. If there is a tie for fifth place, all tied works or artists are nominated.
In song categories, if multiple songs by the same artist are nominated, additional songs are added until the nominees represent five different artists.
In the final round, voting members rank up to three nominees. Points are allocated as follows: first place four points, second place two points, third place one point. Voting for fewer ranks is permitted.
Voting for oneself, one's own works, or works or artists with which the voter is involved is permitted.
Duplicate voting for the same work or the same artist is not permitted.
- Voting Member Criteria
- ① Domestic main artists involved in works that ranked within the top 300 of the overall chart in each period for Song of the Year, as well as domestic creators involved in lyrics, composition or arrangement of those ranked works.
② Domestic main artists who ranked within the top 300 of the overall chart in each period for Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.
③ Domestic main artists whose works ranked within the top 50 of the overall chart in the song categories including genre categories, special categories, and back catalog categories, as well as domestic creators involved in lyrics, composition or arrangement of those ranked works.
Categories using the overall chart for each period
Best J-POP Song
Best Rock Song
Best Hip Hop/Rap Song
Best R&B/Contemporary Song
Best Alternative Song
Best Dance&Vocal Song (Group/Solo)
Best Boys Idol Culture Song (Group/Solo)
Best Girls Idol Culture Song (Group/Solo)
Best Anime Song
Categories using the annual chart
Best Enka/Kayōkyoku
Best Instrumental Song
Best Dance/Electronic Song
Best Vocaloid Culture Song
Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song
Best Viral Song
Best Revival Hit Song
Best Long-Charting Song
④ Domestic main artists who ranked within the top 50 of the overall chart in the artist categories including genre categories, as well as entry DJs for Best DJ.
Categories using the overall chart for each period
Best J-POP Artist
Best Rock Band/Solo Artist
Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist
Best R&B/Contemporary Artist
Best Alternative Artist
Best Dance&Vocal Artist (Group/Solo)
Best Boys Idol Culture Artist (Group/Solo)
Best Girls Idol Culture Artist (Group/Solo)
Best Digital Culture Artist
Categories using the annual chart
Best DJ
in association with JDDA
⑤ Domestic main artists whose works ranked within the top 50 of the annual overall chart in the album categories including genre categories.
Eligible categories
Best Long-Charting Album
Best Jazz Album
Best Classical Album
Best Soundtrack
⑥ International Voting Members
International music award judges, creators, promoters, music streaming service representatives and other music industry professionals selected by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Executive Committee.
⑦ Domestic music industry professionals
Management companies, record companies, concert promoters, and music publishers affiliated with the five organizations that make up CEIPA. Each company is granted up to 16 voting members depending on the number of employees.
Engineers selected by the Japan Association of Professional Recording Studios, copyright management organizations and rights businesses, major music streaming services, major domestic dealers and distributors, media selected by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Executive Committee, major ticketing agencies, karaoke service providers, major video streaming platforms, music critics, and writers.
⑧ Special Voting Members listed by MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN partner organizations specializing in the relevant categories, including Best Hip Hop/Rap Song, Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist, Best R&B/Contemporary Song, Best Vocaloid Culture Song, Best Dance/Electronic Song, Best DJ, Best Jazz Album, Best Classical Album, Best Original Score for Cinema, Best Original Score for Drama, Best Original Score for Animation, Best Music Video and Best Cover Artwork.
Special Voting Members vote only in the categories relevant to their field. However, individuals who qualify under categories ① to ⑦ or ⑨ and are also designated as Special Voting Members under ⑧ may vote in categories other than those assigned to them as Special Voting Members.
⑨ Executive Voting Members
Japanese artists, creators and music producers who have contributed to and been active in the Japanese music industry, selected based on historical Oricon chart data, as well as main artists involved in works nominated in each category at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 and creators involved in lyrics, composition, or arrangement of those nominated works.
Executive Voting Members hold permanent voting rights.
※ In selecting artists and creators as voting members, data from Oricon, Billboard JAPAN, GfK NIQ Japan, Luminate and other sources is utilized.
※ Voting rights for voting members under categories ① to ⑧ apply only for the applicable year.
※ Individuals who qualify under multiple provisions from ① to ⑨ are granted only one voting right per person as a voting member.
※ Each vote cast by domestic and international music industry professionals under categories ⑥ and ⑦ counts as one vote. Votes cast by artists, creators, and music producers under categories ①, ②, ③, ④, ⑤, and ⑨ carry the weight of two votes.
※ Special Voting Members under category ⑧ carry the weight of two votes in the categories for which they are designated.
- Tally 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 tally periods.
- Entry Eligibility (Songs / Albums)
- Works whose full version official audio or video was first released through public services via digital distribution or physical release between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 are eligible.
Eligible works include songs and albums.
This rule does not apply to certain categories including Best Long Charting Song/Album, Best Global Hit from Japan, and Best Analog Record Sales.
The newly established Best Long Charting Song/Album applies to works released on or before December 31, 2024.
This rule does not apply to Artist categories.
- Genre Classification
- Genre classification is conducted by the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Basic Design Committee based on song metadata provided by Billboard JAPAN, Oricon, YouTube, GfK NIQ Japan, Music Story and DSP companies.
Each song or artist may be assigned to only one genre.
For certain genres including Enka and Kayōkyoku, data from Oricon and USEN is also used.
The MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN Basic Design Committee consists of seven 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.