The was the 2019 edition of

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 terrestr ...

's television special

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 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), and 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 ...

and NHK Radio 1, and worldwide through

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 s ...

(US only) and

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 ...

. This is the first edition in the

Reiwa period is the current era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum ...

. The WHITE TEAM won this event.

Events leading up to Broadcast

This is the last year using the theme , which remained unchanged since the 67th edition (2016), 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 ...

. First details about this year's event were revealed on October 3. The event ran from 19:15 to 23:45 JST, with a 5-minute break for the latest news. NHK chairman Ryoichi Ueda declared: "First in Reiwa Period, 70th overall. I hope that the 70th Kōhaku Uta Gassen will remain in the hearts of many people, worthly of commemorative event". On October 18, actress

Haruka Ayase is a Japanese actress, model and singer who started her career as a gravure idol in 2000. She has since become a leading actress in television and film. Life and career Early life and education Haruka Ayase was born as Aya Tademaru on March ...

and

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 ...

member

Sho Sakurai (born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, news anchor, host and former radio host. He is a member of the boy band Arashi. Sakurai began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent ...

were announced as captains from Red and White Team.

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 ...

served as mediator for the third time in a row. On November 11,

Hinatazaka46 is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was established as a subgroup of Keyakizaka46 named Hiragana Keyakizaka46 on November 30, 2015, and was renamed and spun off into its own group on February 11, 2019. The group's ...

is announced as the first artist confirmed for this edition. The full lineup was revealed on November 14. Eight artists debuted in this edition:

Official Hige Dandism , commonly abbreviated , is a Japanese pop band formed in Shimane, Japan in 2012 by Satoshi Fujihara (lead vocals, piano), Daisuke Ozasa (lead guitar, backing vocals), Makoto Narazaki (bass, saxophone, backing vocals) and Masaki Matsuura (drums, ...

Generations from Exile Tribe Generations from Exile Tribe (Japanese: ジェネレーションズ・フロム・エグザイル・トライブ, stylized as GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE and formerly known as Generations) is a seven-member Japanese dance and vocal group formed ...

Masaki Suda , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor and singer. He won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. His debut song is "Mita Koto mo Nai Keshiki". Personal life Suda is a close junior to S ...

King Gnu is a Japanese band formed in 2013. It consists of: Daiki Tsuneta (Vocalist & Guitarist), Satoru Iguchi (Vocalist & Keyboardist), Kazuki Arai (Bassist) and Yu Seki (Drummer). The band's main songwriter is Daiki Tsuneta, who also performs as part ...

Kis-My-Ft2 is a seven-member Japanese boy band under Johnny & Associates, with members Hiromitsu Kitayama, Kento Senga, Toshiya Miyata, Wataru Yokoo, Taisuke Fujigaya, Yuta Tamamori and Takashi Nikaidō. The group was a former Johnny's Jr. unit which de ...

Foorin "Paprika" (パプリカ) is a song by the children choral group Foorin. NHK invited Kenshi Yonezu to produce it as a cheer song for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Background and release This song was performed at the 69th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with ...

and the anisong singer

LiSA Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posthu ...

was revived using AI technology to perform a brand new song, "Arekara", written by

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, maki ...

, most notably for producing idol groups such as

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 ...

. On November 22,

Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Regarded as an influential figure in the city pop genre, she is one of the best-selling music artists in Japan, having sold over 16 million records, and has received several accolades. Her husband is Tatsu ...

was announced as a performer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her career and perform "Inochi no Uta". On November 25,

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 ...

was announced as a performer due to great success of the animated feature ''

Tenki no Ko is a 2019 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It depicts a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who has the ability to control the we ...

''. On November 27, the ''Kōhaku Uratalk Channel'' were announced. On December 18, the judges were announced with the voting system from last year still unchanged. On December 20, the full song list was revealed. The performance order was revealed on December 27, with Foorin opening the show and Arashi serving as "Ootori". Rehearsals for the performances began on December 29.

Personnel

Presenters

* Red Team:

* White Team:

* Moderators:

Mayuko Wakuda is a Japanese female announcer and news anchor for NHK. Wakuda previously is one of the anchors hosting NHK General TV's primetime news program ''News Watch 9''. Early years Wakuda was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. At age two, she moved ...

Other program staff * Kōhaku Uratalk Channel:

Ryota Yamasato , also known as , is a Japanese comedian and television and radio personality. He rose to fame in the 2000s as one half of the '' manzai'' comedy duo The Nankai Candies. Outside Japan he is best known as one of the commentators on the reality t ...

, Yuki Sugiura,

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

Naoya Inoue is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a three-division world champion and currently the undisputed bantamweight world champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, ''Ring'' magazine titles since 2019, the WBC title since June 2022, and the W ...

* Emiko Kaminuma * Sandwichman *

Hinako Shibuno is a Japanese professional golfer who won the 2019 Women's British Open. Early years Shibuno was born in Okayama, Japan on 15 November 1998. Her father was a discus thrower and her mother was a javelin thrower. She is the middle child of the ...

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021 world short course cham ...

Kei Tanaka is a Japanese actor. Filmography Film Television series Japanese dub * '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) - Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) * '' Godzilla vs. Kong'' (2021) - Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) * '' The Lost City'' (2 ...

Erika Toda is a Japanese actress. Career Toda has starred in many Japanese television dramas, including ''Liar Game'', ''Code Blue'', '' Ryusei no Kizuna'', and ''Keizoku 2: SPEC''. She has also had supporting roles in many other popular TV dramas, such a ...

* Maya Nakanishi *

Hiroki Hasegawa , nicknamed , (born March 7, 1977 in Tokyo) is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. Trained as a stage actor at the Bungaku-za after graduating from Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research univ ...

Suzu Hirose is a Japanese actress and model. Despite her young age, she is widely regarded as one of the most promising Japanese actresses of her generation. Biography Hirose debuted as a model for Japanese fashion magazine ''Seventeen'', alongside her sis ...

Akira Yoshino is a Japanese chemist. He is a fellow of Asahi Kasei Corporation and a professor at Meijo University in Nagoya. He created the first safe, production-viable lithium-ion battery which became used widely in cellular phones and notebook computers ...

Guests

* Oshiri Tantei * Magus * DJ Koo *

Akira Ishida is a Japanese actor and voice actor. For his portrayal of Saki Abdusha in '' You're Under Arrest'', Makoto Kurumizawa in '' BOYS BE'', Setsuna Aoki in ''Sakura Wars'', and Athrun Zala is a fictional character from the Japanese science fict ...

Tōko Miura is a Japanese actress and singer. She is best known internationally for her role in the 2021 film '' Drive My Car'' as well as her work on the soundtrack of the 2019 animated film ''Weathering with You is a 2019 Japanese animated romanti ...

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 ...

Mizuki Nakamoto Mizuki is both a Japanese surname (みずき, ミズキ) and a unisex Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Alisa Mizuki, a J-pop singer and actress * Hakase Mizuki, Japanese manga artist *Ichirou Mizuki, an actor, voi ...

Diamond Yukai , known professionally as , is a Japanese rock singer and actor. He was born in Tanashi, Tokyo, Japan. He is the vocalist for the Japanese rock band Red Warriors. He has acted in the Hollywood films ''Tokyo Pop'' and '' Lost in Translation'' and ...

Tomoya Nakamura is a Japanese actor. He is known for the Japanese voice of Aladdin in the 2019 live action remake Career Nakamura made his debut in the film '' The Innocent Seven'' in 2005. Filmography Film Television Japanese dub Awards References ...

Haruka Kinoshita Haruka may refer to: People *Haruka (given name), a Japanese given name *Haruka (model) (born 1975), Japanese fashion model Music *Haruka (Melody song), "Haruka" (Melody song) *Haruka (Scandal song), "Haruka" (Scandal song) *Haruka (Tokio song), ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

* AKB48 Group World Selections:

BNK48 BNK48 (read ''B.N.K. Forty-eight'') is a Thai idol girl group and the third international sister group of Japan's AKB48, following Indonesia's JKT48 and China's SNH48 (''former''). After holding its first audition in mid-2016 and announcing i ...

CGM48 CGM48 (read ''C.G.M. Forty-eight'') is a Thai Teen idol, idol girl group. It is the first domestic sister group of the Thai idol group BNK48, and the eighth international AKB48 Group, sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 ...

SGO48 SGO48 (read ''S.G.O. Forty-Eight'') was a Vietnamese idol girl group based in Saigon, officially known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They were the seventh international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former'') ...

JKT48 JKT48 (read as "J. K. T. forty-eight") is an Indonesian-Japanese Japanese idol, idol girl group whose name is derived from its based city of Jakarta and the Japanese idol group AKB48. Formed in 2011, the group is the first AKB48 sister group outs ...

DEL48 DEL48 (read D.E.L. Forty-Eight) was an Indian idol group whose name is derived from its based city in New Delhi, India. They are the ninth international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former''), Thailand's ...

MNL48 MNL48 (read as ''M.N.L. Forty-eight'') is a Filipino idol girl group based in Manila, Philippines. Formed in 2018, they are the fourth international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former''), and Thailand's B ...

, Team SH & Team TP *

Shinya Kiyozuka Shinya (Shin'ya) is a Japanese given name, usually for males. It is pronounced as "Shin-ya", not "Shi-nya". Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese curler and curling coach *, Japanese politician *Shinya Aoki (born 1983), professional mi ...

* Matt * Mayu Kishima *

Shinji Takeda , born December 18, 1972, is a Japanese actor, talent and saxophone player. He has had notable roles in such works as '' The Incite Mill'', ''Kyō Kara Hitman'' and ''Tokyo Eyes''. Filmography Film Television Dubbing *'' Rambo: Last Blood'', ...

* Takashi Okamura * Chico-chan * Chocolate Planet *

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke even ...

Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Throughout her life, she has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce and self-owned Office Nozawa; she is also affiliated with Aoni Production. Her late husband, Masaaki Tsukada, was ...

Additional crew *

Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate with a very wide range of products and services. It is one of the constituents of Nikkei 225 and is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturing company. The former motorcycle div ...

* Tsunaki Mihara & The New Breed

Artist lineup

; Performers ;Special Performances: *

– "Inochi no Uta" *

Yumi Matsutoya , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

– "No Side" * Beat Takeshi – "Asakusa Kid" ;Songs Performed on Medleys * Masaharu Fukuyama: "

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...

", " Niji", "Zero" * Twice: " TT -Japanese ver.-", "

Fancy Fancy may refer to: Places * Fancy, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a settlement * Fancy River, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Music Albums * ''Fancy'' (Bobbie Gentry album), 1970 * ''Fancy'' (Idiot Flesh album), 1997 * ''Fancy'' (video ...

-Japanese ver.-" * Da Pump: "P.A.R.T.Y. ~Universe Festival~", "

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

" * King & Prince: "Cinderella Girl", "Koi-Wazurai" * Kanjani Eight: "

Zukkoke Otoko Michi is the sixth single released by the Japanese boyband Kanjani8. This single marked the change of labels from Teichiku Records to Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The lab ...

", "Maemuki Scream" * Perfume: "Fusion", "

Polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

" * Radwimps: "Grand Escape", "Daijoubu" * Yuzu: "Eikō no Kakehashi", "Seimei" * Kiyoshi Hikawa: "Daijōbu", "Genkai Toppa x Survivor" * Seiko Matsuda: "Jikan no Kuni no Alice", "Rock'n Rouge", "Cherry Blossom", "Natsu no Tobira" * Misia: "Ai no Katachi", "Into the Light", "

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing is all that exists; the opposite of nothing, or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to anything. The univers ...

" * Arashi: "

", " Turning Up" ;Special performances *

– "

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

" *

– "Arekara" * Yoshikiss – "

Rock and Roll All Nite "Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album '' Dressed to Kill''. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song pe ...

" ;Disney Section – performers * Mizuki Nakamoto – " Into the Unknown ~Kokoro no Mama ni~" *

– "Kimi wa Tomodachi (

You've Got a Friend in Me "You've Got a Friend in Me" is a song by Randy Newman. Used as the theme song for the 1995 Disney/Pixar animated film ''Toy Story'', it has since become a major musical component for its sequels, ''Toy Story 2'' (1999), ''Toy Story 3'' (2010) ...

)" *

& Haruka Kinoshita – "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as t ...

" ;Not returning this year * Red Team:

Aimyon is a Japanese singer and songwriter. She is from Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture. Her agency is ENS Entertainment, and her label is unBORDE under Warner Music Japan. Career Aimyon was influenced to become a singer-songwriter in part because o ...

Daoko is a Japanese singer and rapper born in Tokyo. She started her career when one of her uploaded videos on Nico Nico Douga received attention at the age of 15 in 2012. Career The name Daoko (ダヲコ) was originally her web nickname. Her first ...

Kana Nishino is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". Often considered one of Japan's most popular female singers of the late 2000s and 2010s, she gained early populari ...

Yoshiki Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

* White Team:

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, Suchmos,

Sandaime J Soul Brothers , formerly simply J Soul Brothers and stylized as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile ex-leader and producer Hiroyuki Igarashi in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiroy ...

, Sekai no Owari,

Sexy Zone Sexy Zone is a five-member Japanese boy band managed by Johnny & Associates, consisting of Shori Sato, Kento Nakajima, Marius Yo, Fuma Kikuchi and Sou Matsushima. When they debuted their group age average was 14.6. In 2013 they appeared in Kouh ...

ft Hyde,

Kenshi Yonezu is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and illustrator who began releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name in 2009. In 2012, he debuted under his real name, releasing music with his own voice. He has sold at least 4.2 mi ...

Voting system and results

The current voting system, implemented in the 69th edition (2018) was unchanged. As it was last year, the winner was determined within 3 points. * Viewers: 1 point for the team who get more votes through 1-Seg. * Audience: 1 point for the team who get more votes through the NHK Hall audience. * Judges: 1 point for the team who gets 6 or more votes from 11 judges. Voting was carried after all artists performed. The team that gets 2 or more votes were declared winner of the 70th Kōhaku.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:70th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen events 2019 in Japanese music 2019 in Japanese television