The was the 2020 (

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

2) 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, 2020, live from

NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other events, such as the 19 ...

(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 was the first edition in history in which the special was broadcast without a

studio audience A studio audience is an audience present for the recording of all or part of a television program or radio program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack (as opposed to canned ...

due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The audience was replaced with off-venue voting, in which votes determined the winning team for this event. This was the last edition until 2022 to be held in the NHK Hall as the venue will close for renovations and earthquake-proofing, which is scheduled to end some time in June 2022; the next edition will take place at the

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Tokyo Int ...

. The won the edition for the first time since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, four years prior.

Events leading up to broadcast

Unless otherwise stated, all events in the article reflects the current year of 2020. *On September 10, NHK chairman

Terunobu Maeda is a Japanese investor who has been the President and CEO of Mizuho Financial Group (2002–2009) and Chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association (2005–2006). He’s currently the president of NHK. Maeda was born in Kumamoto, raised in Nak ...

announced that the edition will be closed-door due to the

, a first in history for the ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen''. The special was also delayed by 15 minutes till 7.45pm. *On November 2, NHK announced

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 ...

and

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 ...

as the show's moderators, the latter returning after a year's absence and replacing

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 ...

on her behalf;

Fumi Nikaido is a Japanese actress and fashion model. Career Starting as a model in Naha, Okinawa, Nikaidō made her film debut in 2009 in ''Toad's Oil'', directed by Kōji Yakusho. She and Shota Sometani received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best You ...

and

Yo Oizumi is a Japanese actor, comedian, television personality and voice actor. He is a member of the theatrical and musical unit TEAM NACS, and is represented by Creative Office Cue. His wife Kumiko Nakajima is a drama producer at Fuji TV. In 1995, w ...

were the team leaders for the Red and White teams, respectively. The theme for that season is "今こそ歌おうみんなでエール" (lit. "Everyone Let's Sing and Yell Together"; ''Ima koso utaou min'na de ēru'') *On November 16, NHK announced the performers; nine performers making their debut this season including

Sakurazaka46 , 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 an ...

, Juju,

Tokyo Jihen , also known as Tokyo Incidents, is a Japanese rock band formed by Ringo Sheena, after leaving her solo career. The band's debut single " Gunjō Biyori" was released in September 2004, and they ended activities in February 2012. The band sold 2. ...

NiziU NiziU ( ja, ニジュー; ko, 니쥬), stylized as NIZIU, is a Japanese girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The group is composed of nine members: Mako, Rio, Maya, Riku, Ayaka, Mayuka, Rima, Miihi, and ...

Babymetal (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrume ...

, Milet, SixTones and

Snow Man Snow Man is a Japanese idol boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2012. The group was previously a sub-unit of Johnny & Associates' pre-debut trainee group, Johnny's Jr. The group's activities focused on acrobats and stage play. Along with ...

. Music group

Greeeen Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN) is a Japanese vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the all-male four members: HIDE, navi, 92 (read as "kuni"), and SOH. They made their debut with Universal Music in 2007. Their logo image i ...

also performed in the opening. *On December 12,

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 ...

announced she would step down from the Red team and be performing a special song, " Mamotte Agetai". *On December 13,

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 ...

and

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 ...

were revealed as hosts for the special. *On December 14,

Masashi Sada is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, novelist, actor, and a film producer. Sada formed the folk duo Grape with Masami Yoshida in 1972, and they made their debut as recording artists a year afterward. The pair rose to fame owing to the hi ...

was announced to appear in one of the Specials; this is Sada's first appearance after a 13-year hiatus since 2007, and the 22nd artist to have surpass 20 ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' appearances. *On December 21, the song lists for the performers were unveiled. *On December 23,

Yoasobi Yoasobi (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese music superduo formed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, composed of Vocaloid producer :ja:Ayase, Ayase, and singer-songwriter :ja:幾田りら, Ikura. Represented by the slogan "novel into music", th ...

also announced their debut with the new song "

Yoru ni Kakeru is the debut single by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their debut EP, '' The Book'' (2021). It was released on December 15, 2019, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The song was based on ''Thanatos no Yūwaku'' ("An Invitation from Thanatos"), a ...

", marking the first instance the performer making their debut was not involved physically. *On December 24,

announces their withdrawal from the show after one of the members for the band, Ryota Miyadate, was tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first time since the 22nd edition, 49 years prior, where a withdrawal of performances occurred, also due to health reasons (

Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five are a Japanese kayōkyoku group, formed by Hiroshi Uchiyamada (born Michio Uchiyamada, 1936–2006) in 1967 and fronted by the lead vocalist Kiyoshi Maekawa. In 1969, the group debuted with the 11th Japan Record Award-winning song "Nagasaki wa ...

's singer

Kiyoshi Maekawa (born ) is a Japanese singer and tarento. He is best known as the first lead vocalist of Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five, which was formed in 1967 and debuted in 1969 with the Japan Record Award-winning song "Nagasaki wa Kyō mo Ame Datta". ...

was ill and was replaced by

Keiko Fuji (5 July 1951 – 22 August 2013), known primarily by the stage name was a Japanese singer and actress. She had success in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s with her ballad-type songs. She was married on-and-off with Utada Teruzane, and was the ...

on one of the performances). Snow Man could have performed "D.D." alongside SixTones on the first half. *On December 28, the order of performances was unveiled. *On December 30, rehearsals were underway. One singer,

Kōji Tamaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He has been well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed a successful career, particularly during the 1980s. In 1993, he began his career as a solo artist, and s ...

, revealed his song lineup "Den-en" to be performed as a special on the second half of the show; this is Tamaki's first Special performance since the 47th event in 1996, 24 years prior.

Show highlights and other statistics

Hiroshi Miyama is a Japanese enka singer. His real name is . Miyama's voice gives people a sense of security and vitality ανδ is called . Discography Studio albums Compilation albums Cover albums Singles Videography Filmography Television NHK K ...

set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the most players involved in a

Kendama The is a traditional Japanese skill toy. It consists of a handle (''ken''), a pair of cups (''sarado''), and a ball (''tama'') that are all connected together by a string. On one end of the ''ken'' is a cup, while the other end of ''ken'' is na ...

playing, with 125 (including host Oizumi), surpassing the previous record of 124 in the 2018 event two years ago. This was the fourth consecutive year Miyama had attempted to achieve a world record, hence the subtitle "Round 4", and the second consecutive year with 125 performers after the failure on last year. *This is

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 ...

's final involvement in ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' after 12 consecutive years of appearance due to the band taking a hiatus announced on January 27, 2019. *

became the fastest artist/group to have appeared in a ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' since their debut on December 2, 29 days ago (the previous holder was

WaT A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

in the 2002's edition, appearing in just 1 month and 29 days after their debut). *Veteran singer

Hiroshi Itsuki is a Japanese singer and composer. As of 1987, he had sold 20 million singles and 4 million LP albums. Itsuki is usually regarded as an ''enka'' singer, but he has also released a cover version of Southern All Stars' J-pop song "Tsunami". Care ...

became the second performer to have made more than 50 appearances in ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' (the first being

Saburō Kitajima is a Japanese enka singer, lyricist, actor and composer. Background He was born Minoru Ōno (大野穣), in Shiriuchi, Hokkaidō, to a fisherman. He was very poor due to the effects of World War II, and was forced to work while he studied. ...

who achieved this distinction in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

) and the first performer to appear 50 times consecutively. *This event marked the first time

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 ...

or even one of the

AKB48 Group , or AKB48 sister groups, shortened to 48 Group, 48g, refers to the sister groups of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. Based on the same concept "idols you can meet", it currently consists of 5 sister groups in locations across Japan and 7 s ...

groups didn't appear on ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'', breaking their 10-year streak of 12 appearances, although they didn't appear on the 2008 edition. Only

Sakamichi Series refers to a Japanese idol group franchise that began with Nogizaka46, an "official" rival group of AKB48. It currently consists of four groups: Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, Hinatazaka46, and Yoshimotozaka46. Despite the name, the groups are not ...

groups were there present for this edition. *This is Babymetal's only appearance to date at the event, due to the band taking a hiatus as announced on October 10, 2021. *This is also the first time that both of Amuse's biggest properties (

Perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

and Babymetal) performed together at the event, in back to back performances (Perfume at 21, Babymetal at 22).

Personnel

Presenters

* Red Team:

* White Team:

* Moderators:

* Narrators: Naoyuki Tamura &

Nonoka Akaki is a Japanese female announcer and newscaster for NHK. Early years Born and raised in Okayama, Japan, Akaki graduated from Keio University. During college, she won the Runner Up title in the Yukata Beauty Contest, Tokyo's local beauty pageant ...

Judges

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 ...

- current judge for ''NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' *Sandwichman (

Mikio Date is a Japanese comedian who performs ''tsukkomi'' of the double act Sandwichman. He has origins from the Ōedashi's Shoryū Date clan. He was born from Izumi-shi (now Izumi-ku, Sendai), Miyagi Prefecture. He is represented with Grape Company. He ...

and

Takeshi Tomizawa is a Japanese comedian and actor. He performs ''boke'' in the double act Sandwichman. He was born on 1974 in Itabashi, Tokyo. He belongs to Grape Company. Education Tomizawa graduated from Sendai City Minamikodai Junior High School and Sendai ...

)- Comedian duo *

Hana Sugisaki is a Japanese actress who was previously signed to Stardust Promotion. Her former stage name was Hana Kajiura. Biography Sugisaki debuted as a child actress with Stardust Promotion under the stage name . She withdrew from the industry for a peri ...

- ''"

Ochoyan is a Japanese television drama series and the 103rd Asadora series, following Yell. It premiered on November 30, 2020 and concluded on May 15, 2021. It is based on the life of Chieko Naniwa. Plot Chiyo Takei (Hana Sugisaki) was born to a p ...

"'' lead actress *

Shōta Sometani is a Japanese actor from Koto, Tokyo. He is known for his protagonist roles in ''Himizu'' and ''Parasyte''. Career Sometani was a child actor. He has worked in both film and television, gaining his first leading role in ''Pandora's Box'', ...

- ''"

Kirin ga Kuru Awaiting Kirin is a 2020 Japanese historical drama television series starring Hiroki Hasegawa as Akechi Mitsuhide, a samurai and general during the Sengoku period. The series is the 59th NHK taiga drama, premiering on January 19, 2020. It is t ...

"'' second lead actor *Chicko- '' Chico Will Scold You!'' main voice actor *Yoshiko Miyazaki- actress *

Amon Miyamoto Amon Miyamoto (, born January 4, 1958, in Tokyo) has directed numerous productions in Japan and worldwide, from musicals, straight plays, opera, and kabuki as well as other art genres. In 2004, he became the first Japanese director to direct a m ...

- musical director *

Koji Murofushi is a former Japanese-Romanian hammer thrower and sports scientist. He has been among the world elite since the 2001 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. He was the 2004 Olympic champion. In 2011, he was crowned world champion. ...

- sports athlete *

Ryo Yoshizawa is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough roles include Yūichi Katagiri in the ''Tomodachi Game'' live-action television drama and films and Okita Sogo in the ''Gintama'' live-action films. He is known for his expressive eyes and natural acting ...

- ''" Seiten wo Tsuke"'' lead actor

Guests

Additional crew

Artist lineup

; Performers

Voting system and results

Voting is conducted after all the performances, and unlike the past two editions, the winning team is determined by the votes cast, due to a change in the voting format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Red Team was announced the winner in a 2,635,200-1,383,180 vote.

References

Citations

Notes

External links

{{Kōhaku Uta Gassen events NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen events 2020 in Japanese music 2020 in Japanese television