The Japan Times<p>J-pop in 2025 is a trip — part AI chaos, part idol comeback, part ice cream fever dream. Our midyear check-in covers chart-toppers, meme bangers and the surprisingly human future of Japanese music. <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/06/05/music/mrs-green-apple-mochimochi-aiscream/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/</span><span class="invisible">06/05/music/mrs-green-apple-mochimochi-aiscream/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/culture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>culture</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>music</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/mrsgreenapple" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>mrsgreenapple</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/jpop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>jpop</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/aiscream" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>aiscream</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/spotify" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>spotify</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/idols" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>idols</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/musicstreaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>musicstreaming</span></a></p>