Late last year the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an organization made up of Japan's five music industry bodies, announced the inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN to be held in 2025. Today the association has announced their top awards categories along with additional details about the event being held at Kyoto's ROHM theater in May 2025.
Voting for the awards will be conducted by 5000 music industry professionals, with members located all over the globe, ranging from executives to journalists. The 6 major categories for the inaugural event are:
- Song of the Year - Recognition for musical compositions of outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
- Album of the Year - Recognition for the album that is considered to be musically creative and artistically outstanding.
- Artist of the Year - Recognition for the artist who excelled in musical creativity and artistry.
- New Artist of the Year - Recognition for the new artist who demonstrated outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
- Best Song Asia - Recognition for an Asian hit song that was popular in Asian countries.
- Top Global Hit From Japan - Recognition for the Japanese song that became a global hit.
These categories join several others already announced that cover awards for individual genres including rock, rap, Vocaloid, and more. Nominees will be selected starting in March with voting to be conducted in April ahead of the awards themselves.
The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN will be held on May 21-22, 2025 in the historic city of Kyoto, Japan. For more information, check out the official website.
