Best of Listeners' Choice: Japanese Song
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Entry Specifications

From among the Entry Works for Song of the Year, the top 100 domestic songs are selected as Entry Works.

From these, the top 20 songs selected through public voting by listeners in Japan and overseas using Spotify’s voting feature will advance to the next stage.

These 20 songs will then be combined with the nominees (five songs from each category) announced on April 30, 2026 for the following categories: 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 Enka / Kayōkyoku Song, Best Instrumental Song, Best Dance / Electronic Song in association with JDDA, Best Anime Song, Best Vocaloid Culture Song, Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song, and Best Viral Song.

A total of 95 songs will be designated as Nominees. The final winner will then be determined through a second round of public voting by listeners in Japan and around the world.

First Voting Period
March 19, 2026 – April 8, 2026

Final Voting Period
April 30, 2026 – May 20, 2026

※Only songs by domestic artists are eligible.
※If there are overlapping songs between the top 30 songs selected from the Song of the Year Entry Works and the five nominees from each song category, the overlapping song will be counted as a single entry and will not be replaced by another song.

First Voting Period

Using Spotify’s voting feature, 30 Nominees will be selected from the top 100 songs of the Best Song category through voting by general listeners on Spotify both in Japan and overseas.

Final Voting Period

Using Spotify’s voting feature, the Best Work will be determined through voting by general listeners on Spotify both in Japan and overseas.

Winners

Artists, creators involved in lyrics, composition, and arrangement, producers, recording engineers, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, musicians, directors, managers, and A&R representatives.