Japanese Female Musicians

Vote for Your Favourite Japanese Female Musicians

Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

 1 
Suzuka Nakamoto
(Metal Singer Best Known as a Member of the Kawaii Metal Band 'Babymetal')
Suzuka Nakamoto
8
Birthdate: December 20, 1997
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hiroshima, Japan

Japanese kawaii metal sensation Suzuka Nakamoto is best known for being part of the band Babymetal. Also known as Su-metal, she entered the world of showbiz with Jewel Drop commercials and later won a kids’ audition. She has also been part of the idol girl group Sakura Gakuin.

 2 
Rina Sawayama
(Singer)
Rina Sawayama
4
Birthdate: August 16, 1990
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Niigata, Japan
Rina Sawayama is known for her unusual blends of pop with R&B, club music, nu-metal, and other genres. Born in Japan, the singer/model moved with her family to the UK at age 5. She is also a Cambridge graduate and a queer icon who identifies as pansexual and bisexual. 
 3 
Ayumi Hamasaki
(Singer, Seiyū, Songwriter, Model, Actor, Singer-songwriter, Composer, Lyricist, Poet, Record producer)
Ayumi Hamasaki
5
Birthdate: October 2, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fukuoka

Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki had started a TV career after moving to Tokyo at 14. She later gained fame with her dance hits and ballads. Also known for her dramatic costumes and videos, The Empress of J-pop has been rendered totally deaf in one ear, owing to a ear infection.

 4 
Mitsuko Uchida
(Classical pianist, conductor)
Mitsuko Uchida
4
Birthdate: December 20, 1948
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Atami, Shizuoka, Japan
 5 
Yuki Kajiura
(Musician)
Yuki Kajiura
4
Birthdate: August 6, 1965
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 6 
Hikaru Utada
(Singer-Songwriter and One of the Best-Selling Musical Artists in Japan)
Hikaru Utada
1
Birthdate: January 19, 1983
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, United States

Hikaru Utada is a Japanese-American singer, producer, and songwriter. She achieved popularity after releasing her first Japanese-language studio album First Love, which became Japan's best-selling album of all time. Utada was regarded as the most influential artist of the 2000s in Japan. She is also one of the most decorated Japanese artists of her generation.

 7 
Yoko Kanno
(Composer, Singer)
Yoko Kanno
4
Birthdate: March 18, 1963
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
 8 
Yui
(Singer- Songwriter)
Yui
4
Birthdate: March 26, 1987
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Koga, Japan
 9 
Yuma Asami
(Japanese Actress and Singer)
Yuma Asami
3
Birthdate: March 24, 1987
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Gunma, Japan

One of Japan’s most well-known adult stars, Yuma Asami had begun her career at age 18. She mostly worked with studios that specialized in soft porn. The Grand Prix award-winning actor was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Post-recovery, she ditched the adult industry and began working as a singer.

 10 
Alice Sara Ott
(Classical pianist)
Alice Sara Ott
2
Birthdate: August 1, 1988
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Munich, Germany

German-Japanese classical pianist Alice Sara Ott began learning the piano at age 5. At 13, she was the youngest finalist of the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition ever. She has also designed bags and app stickers. In 2019, she announced on Instagram that she had been suffering from multiple sclerosis.

 11 
Akiko Yano
(Singer-songwriter, Jazz musician)
Akiko Yano
2
Birthdate: February 13, 1955
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 12 
Donna Burke
(Singer, Seiyū)
Donna Burke
2
Birthdate: December 12, 1964
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Perth

Donna Burke is an Australian singer, narrator, voice actress, and businesswoman. Apart from contributing to anime songs and TV commercials as a voice actress, Burke also contributes as a lyricist. In 2007, a documentary named Climate in Crisis which was narrated by her won the silver medal at the New York Television Festival. 

 13 
Misia
(Singer, Singer-songwriter, Lyricist, Composer, Record producer)
Misia
2
Birthdate: July 7, 1978
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Ōmura

Misia is a Japanese record producer, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her album Mother Father Brother Sister which went on to become the seventh best-selling debut album of all time in Japan. Widely regarded as Japan's first R&B superstar, Misia is also credited with releasing one of the best-selling Japanese singles of all time, Everything.

 14 
Midori
(Violinist)
Midori
0
Birthdate: October 25, 1971
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
Height: 4'11" (150 cm)
 15 
Angela Aki
(Singer-songwriter, Pianist)
Angela Aki
2
Birthdate: September 15, 1977
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Itano, Tokushima, Japan
 16 
Mai Kuraki
(Japanese Singer-Songwriter and Record Producer)
Mai Kuraki
1
Birthdate: October 28, 1982
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Funabashi, Chiba, Japan

Mai Kuraki is a Japanese R&B and pop singer-songwriter best known for her debut album Delicious Way, which is the ninth best-selling Japanese album of all-time. Kuraki is the only female singer to release singles that have been successively debuting in the Top 10 since 1999. 

 17 
Olivia Lufkin
(Singer-songwriter)
Olivia Lufkin
1
Birthdate: December 9, 1979
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Height: 5'0" (152 cm)
 18 
Akiko Shikata
(Singer-songwriter)
Akiko Shikata
1
Birthdate: January 7, 0000
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 19 
Kanon Wakeshima
(Musician)
Kanon Wakeshima
1
Birthdate: June 28, 1988
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 20 
Kavka Shishido
(Drummer, Actress)
Kavka Shishido
0
Birthdate: June 23, 1985
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 21 
Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka
(Composer, Pianist)
Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka
1
Birthdate: December 4, 1976
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bonn, Germany

Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka is a German Japanese pianist, composer, and former powerlifter and Olympic weightlifter. She achieved popularity in 1998 when she won a national music competition known as Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, along with her brothers Danjulo and Kiyondo Ishizaka. As a Olympic weightlifter, Kimiko competed at the 2008 German championships where she won three medals.   

 22 
Mayumi Kai
(Japanese Disc Jockey, Model and Music Producer)
Mayumi Kai
1
Birthdate: 1983 AD
Birthplace: Japan
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)