The was the 68th edition of annual

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

, held on December 31, 2017, live from

NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's Public broadcasting, public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other e ...

(Tokyo, Japan). It was broadcast in Japan through

NHK General Television , abbreviated on-screen as NHK G, is the main television service of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Its programming includes news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime, and specials which compete directly with the output of it ...

(TV) and NHK Radio 1 (Radio), and worldwide through

NHK World Premium NHK World Premium is a TV news and entertainment broadcasting service offered by NHK World-Japan, the international arm of Japan's public broadcaster NHK. The service is aimed towards overseas Japanese and the overseas market, similar to worldwid ...

and

TV Japan TV Japan is a 24-hour Japanese-language television channel geared towards the Japanese diaspora in the USA and Canada. It is the North American carrier of the NHK World Premium service. The channel is owned by NHK CosmoMedia America Inc., a subs ...

(in US). This year, the conductor of the festival's closing theme "Hotaru no Hikari" will be replaced by

Shunichi Tokura , is a Japanese composer and was the chair of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) from 12 August 2010 to 31 March 2016. Early life Tokura began playing the violin at age 4. He spent his elementary and hi ...

, due to the death of Masaaki Hirao on July 21, 2017. Broadcast runs from 19:15 (JST) to 23:45 (JST), with a 5-minute break for the latest news. This is the 29th

Heisei Era The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

edition. White team won this event with 2,237,644 votes, thus making the 37th overall victory from Shirogumi.

Broadcast and possible final edition from Heisei

Broadcast time was announced on September 7. This year's theme, "Let's Sing a Dream" (夢を歌おう) remains unchanged until the 70th edition (2019), in support of the upcoming

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

and

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

. The 68th Kouhaku airs on December 31 (Sunday), starting from 19:15 JST and ending at 23:45 JST, with a 5-minute break for the latest news. In Japan, the broadcast takes place through NHK-G and Radio 1, and worldwide by

and

. In United States, the show is broadcast through

, starting around 15:10 (Eastern Time). Viewers outside Japan (except US) can watch Kouhaku on

, starting at 10:15 UTC, the same time as the NHK-G broadcast. This is the 29th and penultimate edition of the program in the

Heisei Period The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

, because of the possible abdication of Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

, already scheduled for March 31, 2019. The Kouhaku has already undergone a transition of periods. The 39th edition (last of the Showa Period) was held a week before

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's death, and the 40th edition was the first ever in Heisei. The show will go through a new era transition in 2019, with the 70th edition being the first under a new Japanese imperial era. On November 13,

announced their team leaders. Once again,

Kasumi Arimura is a Japanese actress. Her television roles have included the young Haruko Amano in the 2013 NHK asadora ''Amachan'' and the lead role in the 2017 asadora ''Hiyokko''. She has also appeared in several films, including '' Flying Colors'', for whic ...

will be the captain from red team, while

Kazunari Ninomiya , often called , is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, presenter and radio host. He is a member of the Japanese idol group Arashi. His career began in the entertainment industry after joining the Japanese talent agency Johnny & As ...

from

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999 ...

will serve as captain from white team for the 6th time (counted with other 5 times while Arashi served as captains). Japanese comedian

Teruyoshi Uchimura , half of the Japanese comedy duo Utchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is ''Utchan'' ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as ''Nanchan''. He was born on July ...

will be the mediator, thus making the second edition in a row to not repeat mediator from previous edition. On November 16, the list of program artists was revealed and a press conference announcing the participants took place. The second mediator NHK news anchor

Maho Kuwako is an announcer and news anchor at NHK, Japan's public broadcaster. She currently anchors NHK's ''Close-up Gendai'' current affairs program. Kuwako was born, raised, and educated in Kawasaki, Japan, and graduated from the School of Language an ...

was also announced.

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

, who is set to retire September next year, was not confirmed to appear. NHK production manager Ryo Yajima made a statement saying that negotiations for her appearance are still ongoing. On December 19, Amuro was confirmed to appear on Kōhaku as a special guest. On December 7, it was announced that Shunichi Tokura is the new conductor of the closing theme, "Hotaru no Hikari", replacing Masaaki Hirao, who died in July. The guest judges were revealed on December 20. On December 22,

Keisuke Kuwata is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All Stars, as well of his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done a significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin Universit ...

was announced to appear as a special guest. The song list was revealed on December 23. On December 29, rehearsals from the main event has been started. Namie Amuro and Keisuke Kuwata (Special Acts) will perform before the final acts (Sayuri Ishikawa and Yuzu) prior the announcement of the winning team.

Personnel

Main hosts and team leaders

;Mediators *

;Team Leaders * :

* :

(

)

Live Comments

*Announcer NHK Radio 1: Tomoko Kogou, Naoki Ninomiya *PR, Commentary ("Ura Talk Channel"):

Bananaman Bananaman is a fictional character appearing in British comic books. Bananaman is a parody of traditional superheroes, being portrayed as a schoolboy who is transformed into a muscled, caped adult man when he eats a banana. The character origin ...

, Ai Tsukahara *Live Stream ("Back Stage Talk"):

Naomi Watanabe is a Japanese comedian, actress, and fashion designer. She rose to fame in 2008 for her imitation of Beyoncé, after which she was given the title “the Japanese Beyoncé”. Career Watanabe does impersonations of popular artists in Japanese c ...

Judges

Hifumi Katō is a retired Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan. He is a former Meijin, Tenth Dan, Ōi, Kiō and Ōshō major title holder. He has the nicknames ''123'', is composed of the characters ja, 一, translit=hi, la ...

(former shogi player) *

Ryohei Suzuki is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Horipro. Early life He graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a Bachelor's degree in English Studies in March 2006. When he was a student, he worked part-time in NHK. ...

(actor), will star in ''

Segodon is a 2018 Japanese historical drama television series and the 57th NHK taiga drama. It stars Ryohei Suzuki as Saigō Takamori, who has been dubbed ''the last true samurai''. Plot The drama follows the life of historical figure Saigō Takamori. ...

'' *

Issei Takahashi is a Japanese actor and singer. Biography Takahashi was born as the eldest son in Akasaka, Minato Ward, Tokyo. He has four half-brothers, including the musician, Yuma Abe. He cared for his younger siblings when they were infants, and is more l ...

(actor), played Ono Masatsugu in '' Naotora: The Lady Warlord'' *

Mariko Hayashi is a Japanese writer and chairperson of the Nihon University board of directors. Her awards include the 94th Naoki Prize and the Japanese Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon. Her novels and essays have been widely adapted for television and film ...

, the original author of ''Segodon'' *

Nobuko Miyamoto is a Japanese actress. She was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, and raised in Nagoya. She was married to director Juzo Itami from 1969 until his death in 1997, and regularly starred in his films. She has been nominated for eight Best Actress Japanese ...

(actress), appeared in ''

Hiyokko is a Japanese television drama series and the 96th asadora series, following '' Beppinsan''. It was premiered on April 3, 2017, and ended on September 30, 2017. Plot Mineko Yatabe is a teenager living in a very rural area of Ibaraki Prefecture i ...

'' *

Mai Murakami is a retired Japanese artistic gymnast and Olympic medalist. She is the 2017 World Champion and 2021 World Champion on floor exercise, the 2018 World all-around silver medalist and floor exercise bronze medalist, and a four-time Japanese nat ...

(artistic gymnasts) *

Ryōta Murata is a Japanese professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super) middleweight title between January 2021 and April 2022, he also held the WBA (Regular) title twice between 2017 and January 2021. As an amateur boxing, amateur, he won a silver medal at ...

(boxer) *

Riho Yoshioka is a Japanese actress. She first attracted attention after landing a role in a television series, '' Here Comes Asa'' on NHK in 2016. She received the Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year in 2018. She won the Newcomer of the Year Award at ...

(actress)

Live Music Performance

* Oomisoka Ongakutai 2017

Special Guests

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is a Japanese actress, voice actress, tarento, World Wide Fund for Nature advisor, and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She is well known for her charitable works, and is considered one of the first Japanese celebrities to achieve international re ...

Yoshihide Kiryū is a Japanese sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres. Born in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Kiryū played football while at elementary school and became interested in track and field at junior high school, as his brother took part in the sp ...

Other Guests

* Toro-Salmon * Kazuko Kurosawa *

Kumamon Kumamon is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign created to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, an ...

Wakana Aoi is a Japanese actress and former singer. In March 2017, she landed the lead role in NHK's 97th Asadora, ''Warotenka'', which aired from October 2017 to March 2018. Career 2009–2012: Early career Aoi was scouted in Harajuku, Tokyo, in her fift ...

* Sunshine Ikezaki * Miyazon *

Austin Mahone Austin Harris Mahone (; born April 4, 1996) is an American singer, songwriter and professional wrestler. Mahone gained popularity performing covers of pop songs on YouTube. He released three albums to date. Famous releases include " Say Somethi ...

Contestants

Debuting or returning artists are in bold.

Artists not attending this year

;RED TEAM:

Ayaka , known simply as Ayaka, is a female Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer formerly signed to Warner Music Japan. Born in Osaka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a singing career. She married actor Hiro Mizushima on February 22, 2009. B ...

Ikimonogakari The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka. The group started in Februar ...

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

Shinobu Otake is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 2000 Best Actress award for '' Railroad Man'', and the 1979 awards for both Best Actress ('' The Incident'') and Best Supporting Actress (''Seishoku no ishibumi''). She also w ...

Kaori Kozai is a Japanese ''enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism tha ...

PUFFY Puffy can refer to: * Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur * Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More * Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minneso ...

, Miwa ;WHITE TEAM:

Kenta Kiritani is a Japanese actor and singer. He was born in Kita-ku, Osaka. Filmography Films TV series Internet series Dubbing *'' The Legend of Tarzan'', Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is ...

Kinki Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

The Yellow Monkey The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016. The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that J ...

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

, V6,

Radwimps is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, " rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, i ...

, Radio Fish

Debuting artists

Ten artists are attending for the first time * Daichi Miura celebrated his 20th anniversary since debuting as a member of Folder in 1997. Since making his solo debut in 2005, he has become known for his powerful singing and outstanding dancing skills. His single, "Excite", placed number one on the Oricon weekly single chart. * Hey! Say! JUMP celebrated their 10th anniversary. Members

Yamada Yamada (山田, ) is the 12th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese model, actress and idol *, Japanese field hockey player *, Japanese illustrator and manga artist *, Japanese rugby union player *, Ja ...

and Chinen have participated four times as

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

(60th–63rd). * Elephant Kashimashi celebrated their 30th anniversary. They embarked on a forty-seven prefecture anniversary tour in April. * Tortoise Matsumoto has appeared with his band

Ulfuls is a Japanese rock band from Osaka. The band name Ulfuls is derived from a misreading of the word "soulful," found on the cover of one of the band members' favorite records. They were signed by Toshiba-EMI in 1992, but after 15 years they transfer ...

two times (47th and 52nd). His duet song with Ringo Sheena, "The Main Street", was used as the CM song for the luxury shopping complex

Ginza Six Ginza Six is a luxury shopping complex located in the Ginza area of Tokyo, jointly developed by Mori Building Company, J. Front Retailing, Sumitomo Corporation and L Catterton Real Estate. The name Ginza Six or G Six reflects the building address ...

. * SHISHAMO's song, "Ashita mo", was used as the theme song for a mobile phone commercial ( NTT DoCoMo). * Takehara Pistol's song, "Yo, Soko no Wakai no", was used as the theme song for a

Sumitomo Life is a mutual life insurance company in Japan, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Osaka. In 2005, the company announced a joint venture with the People's Insurance Company of China. The new company was named PICC Life Insurance, which sells in ...

Insurance commercial. The song was a "long hit". * Wanima's song, "Yattemiyo", was used as the theme song for a mobile phone commercial ( au). The commercial and song became hot topics and the song was a hit. * Little Glee Monster performed at the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

January this year. Tickets to their concert sold out in just one minute. The group, who are all in their teens, made their major label debut in 2014. They are popular among people of all ages and are known for their solid singing skills. * Twice debuted in Japan this year. "TT pose", which is part of the choreography for TT, became a

trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse (psychology), impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behavior ...

for young women in Japan. Their debut single, " One More Time", placed number one on the Oricon weekly single chart. * Enka singer Midori Oka released her first album this year. She also performed her first solo concert.

Returning artists

Four artists are returning. * Matsu Takako sang the theme song for NHK's 97th

asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...

Warotenka is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 97th ''asadora'' series, following ''Hiyokko''. It premiered on October 2, 2017 and ended on March 31, 2018. The main character is based on Sei Yoshimoto, the co-founder of Yoshimoto Kogyo ...

. She has performed at Kohaku two times. Her last appearance was in 1999 for the 50th edition. * Mai Kuraki sang the theme song for the film Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter. Her song, " Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)", charted for 31 weeks on the Oricon weekly single chart. It was later named "the best-selling physical single by female solo singer in 2017". Kuraki has sung twenty-one theme songs for the

Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...

animation series. In July, she was awarded

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for "most theme songs sung by the same artist for an animation series". Kuraki has performed at Kohaku three times. Her last appearance was in 2005 for the 56th edition.

Performance Order

;Songs performed on Medleys * Little Glee Monster: "Jupiter", "Suki da" * Daichi Miura: "Cry & Fight", Excite * AKB48: "

Ōgoe Diamond is the 10th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, the 12th overall and the first on King Records, released on October 22, 2008. It was the first single for Jurina Matsui from SKE48 and also the first AKB48's single to feature a member of ...

", "365-nichi no Kamihikōki", "

11gatsu no Anklet is the 50th single by AKB48, released on November 22, 2017. The song was performed during CDTV's Halloween Special Festival and Mayu Watanabe's graduation concert before its release. The coupling song "Ikiru koto ni Nekkyou wo" was performed o ...

" * X Japan: "Endless Rain", " Kurenai" * Arashi: "

Guts! "Guts!" is the 43rd single released by Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on April 30, 2014. "Guts!" was used as the theme song for the drama '' Yowakutemo Katemasu'' starring Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya. It was the sixth best-selling s ...

", "

Doors (Yūki no Kiseki) is the 53rd single by Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on November 8, 2017 under their record label J Storm. "Doors (Yūki no Kiseki)" was used as the theme song for television drama ''Saki ni Umareta dake no Boku'' starring member Sho S ...

Final Results & Ratings

Notes

Daichi Miura is a Japanese singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer. He also directs his own concerts. He belongs to Rising Production and has a record contract with Avex. He is from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. He has an official fan club called "Daichis ...

and

were the first artists confirmed for this edition. Miura's "Excite" was released in January and topped #1 in ''Oricon Weekly Single Charts'', and also contributed for "Mecha-Mecha Ikteru".

was also confirmed for the conformation of

as white team's leader for the 6th time. Other Johnny's group confirmed to debut is

Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...

. *

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

Keyakizaka46 , formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. Following the resignation of group's center Yurina Hirate and ...

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, and ...

were confirmed for this Kouhaku. AKB48 currently is the best selling female artist after surpass

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

. Nogizaka46 has sold 2 million with "Influencer" and "Nigemizu". This will be the last time AKB48 member

Mayu Watanabe is a Japanese former idol, singer, actress, and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 under Team B. In the annual AKB48 General Elections event, she had consistently been voted by fans to rank among the group's top members. She has ...

will perform with the group, as well as

Rie Kitahara is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Japanese idol girl group NGT48 and former member of AKB48 and SKE48. She debuted in 2008 in Team A and was later co-captain of Team K (2014). In March 2015, it was announced Kitahara wo ...

. After rumours denied,

is confirmed. Once again, the two groups of the Sakamichi Series will perform the same night. * The first confirmed embezzlements for this Kouhaku are: Ikimonogakari and Masaaki Hirao. The first (performed 9 times overall) announced finished hiatus in early January. The second, who participated four times overall in the program and was also the conductor of the closing theme "Hotaru no Hikari" (between 2006 and 2016), died on July 21, 2017, due to pneumonia. * This is the first edition to be held on Sunday since 2006 (57th). *

Masaharu Fukuyama is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor from Nagasaki. He debuted in 1990 with the single "Tsuioku no Ame no Naka". Fukuyama is represented by the agency Amuse, Inc. Career While he can also be seen in Japanese television dramas, Fukuyama ...

's performance on Kouhaku was held from a remote location, due to his "New Year's Eve Countdown Concert", on Pacifico Plaza. *

E-girls E-girls (sometimes stylized as E-Girls or e-girls; stands for Exile Girls) was a Japanese collective girl group created and managed by LDH while signed to music label Rhythm Zone from Avex. As of 2017, the band consisted of 11 members; 8 of wh ...

will have their first appearance on Kouhaku after the lineup changes from ''E★G Family''. * Five artists performed their Medleys: AKB48, Arashi, Daichi Miura, Little Glee Monster and X Japan. * Hiroshi Itsuki's performance from "Yozora" is dedicated in memory of Masaaki Hirao. * Debuting artists Hey! Say! JUMP and Little Glee Monster will be the first to perform on this Kouhaku. Sayuri Ishikawa and Yuzu will serve as this year's "Ootori". * "Grand Opening" sequence was inspired on western musicals, such as ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American romantic musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, respectively, who meet and fall in love ...

''. * During X Japan's performance, Yoshiki played drums for the first time since his neck surgery. * "Hotaru no Hikari" arrangement for the 68th edition is very different from the other years, with a key Eb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:68th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen events 2017 in Japanese music 2017 in Japanese television