Fuji Rock Festival ’26 is shaping up to be one of the strongest years for Japanese artists in recent memory. The breadth of the lineup is astounding, including punk legend Hi-STANDARD, who has returned to Naeba for the first time in 27 years, Fujii Kaze, who continues to grow his fan base around the world, and next-generation act XG, who has a strong presence on the Billboard charts. Here’s a guide to five artists from different generations, genres, and scales. Each is carving its own path to international relevance. When building your schedule, make sure you have space for all five.
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high standard
Friday, July 24th Green Stage
Thirty-five years after their pioneering career, Hi-STANDARD remains a definitive name in Japanese punk rock, and their status remains as strong as ever. Formed in 1991, the original trio gained true international credibility at the height of the punk boom, signing to Fat Wreck Code in the mid-’90s, touring with NOFX and opening for Green Day and The Offspring. Their 1999 album Making the Road is still widely considered a landmark in English-speaking melodic hardcore.
This will be the first time in 27 years since 1999 that the band, founders of the independent label PIZZA OF DEATH RECORDS and a cornerstone of Japan’s DIY punk scene, will return to Fuji Rock’s Naeba venue. Hi-STANDARD’s famous chorus of English lyrics is an experience like no other. It will be an opportunity to witness the original landscape of Japanese rock from before streaming across the ocean.
asian kung fu generation
Friday, July 24th White Stage
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION has spent their career proving that guitar rock sung in Japanese can work on the world stage. This four-piece band broke through in 2002 with their indie mini-album, “Collapse Amplifier,” and re-released the following year as their major debut. Due to its deep connections with anime such as Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and BLEACH, it has steadily expanded its overseas fan base over the years.
2026 will mark the band’s 30th anniversary, and Fuji Rock will arrive at just the right time. For listeners who came to the Asian Kung Fu Generation through anime and algorithms, the career-spanning set set against a mountain backdrop will be a direct encounter with the heart of Japanese rock culture.
Fujii style
July 25th (Saturday) Green Stage
If there is one Japanese artist today who undoubtedly has global appeal, it is Kaze Fujii. The 28-year-old artist has overcome J-pop’s inward-looking tendencies with surprising ease. Released in 2020, “Shinunoga Ee Wa” became a viral phenomenon in 2022, spreading far beyond Asia and into Western markets, rapidly expanding his international audience. In 2025, he released his first all-English album, Prema, recorded in Los Angeles, on Republic Records. This project reached No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Hot Album Chart for three consecutive years.
The singer-songwriter’s Fuji Rock debut follows his first appearance at Coachella in April 2026. His music seamlessly combines neo-soul, gospel, R&B, and Japanese folk vibes, backed by the excellent piano playing he’s shown since his days as a YouTube busker. He creates a live experience that simultaneously holds delicate emotional intimacy and enormous scale, and it’s thrilling to think that it will land on Naeba’s mountain.
XG
Saturday, July 25th White Stage
XG is currently one of the hottest Japanese artists on the Billboard charts. Since their debut in 2022, the group has been breaking records at a steady pace. They became the first Japanese artists to top Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, and their debut full-length album “THE CORE” released in January 2026 debuted at No. 93 on the Billboard 200, making them their first to enter the top 100 and a significant jump from their previous album, “AWE” (No. 175). The group’s first world tour held 47 performances in 35 cities and attracted approximately 400,000 people. At Coachella 2025, they headlined the Sahara Stage.
The group’s Fuji Rock debut comes in the midst of their second world tour, XG World Tour: THE CORE. Sharp English raps, perfect formations, stage production built for maximum impact – the level of their performance far exceeds any qualifier such as “world class.” They may be the Japanese pop artists most directly connected to the global context that Fuji Rock has seen in recent years. You can’t miss what happens when these seven people unleash their music outdoors in Naeba.
Susumu Hirasawa + EJIN
July 26th (Sunday) Green Stage
Susumu Hirasawa is one of the most unique and unclassifiable figures in Japanese music history. He co-founded P-MODEL in 1979, helping define the frontier of Japanese techno-pop and new wave, and began his solo career in 1989. Since then, he has moved freely between electronica, art pop, ambient, progressive rock, and world music, building a sonic universe that belongs to no one genre or anyone else. Internationally, he is best known for his work on the soundtracks of Satoshi Kon’s films such as Millennium Actress, Paranoia Agent, and Paprika, as well as the music for the animated version of Berserk. Its worldwide reputation was further emphasized when the theme song for Paprika, “The White Tiger’s Daughter,” was selected as a finalist in the Best Original Song category at the 79th Academy Awards.
Following his appearance at Fuji Rock in 2021, he will return again this year under the name Susumu Hirasawa + EJIN. Laser harps, Tesla coils, a ceremonial atmosphere and a catalog spanning nearly 50 years – it’s not uncommon for first-time witnesses to walk away as fervent converts. No matter what kind of “ceremony” you set up on the vast green stage, it will be a performance that will go down in Fuji Rock’s history.
Fuji Rock Festival ’26
July 24th (Friday), 25th (Saturday), 26th (Sunday)
Naeba Ski Resort (Yuzawa City, Niigata Prefecture)
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