Amazon Music Charts Show Kenshi Yonezu, King Gnu Lead Japan's Mid-Year Streams

Kenshi Yonezu's "IRIS OUT" topped Amazon Music's mid-year chart for Japan. King Gnu's "AIZO" led a new ranking of Japanese songs streamed most overseas.

Amazon Music Japan released its "2026 First Half Top 50" playlist on July 8. It ranks the most-streamed songs in Japan across all genres from January 1 to May 31. The list is a compilation of the service's weekly "Japan Top 50" chart.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE placed 13 tracks in the Top 50. HANA, who recently appeared in Prime Day commercials, charted five songs.

The platform also published its first "Top 10 Most Streamed Domestic Songs Overseas" list for the same period. Anime theme songs and artists featured in Amazon Music's live stream of Fuji Rock Festival '25, like RADWIMPS and Creepy Nuts, appeared on the list.

Kenichi Seki, head of content programming for Amazon Music Japan, commented on the trends. "Domestically, catchy melodies you want to hum along to are popular," he said. "Overseas, songs with distinctive sounds, often connected to anime works, are listened to more." He noted the presence of older tracks and film scores.

The full "2026 First Half Top 50" and "Top 10 Most Streamed Domestic Songs Overseas" playlists are available on Amazon Music.

Source: PR Times via アマゾンジャパン合同会社