Five months after release, it's still No. 1. Kenshi Yonezu's "IRIS OUT" has topped the YouTube chart for the 21st time (V21), and on Oricon's weekly streaming ranking it has held No. 1 for 22 straight weeks, a new record for a solo artist. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200, the highest ever for a Japanese-language song, and his tours at home and abroad drew a combined 440,000 people. The fusion of anime and music is turning Japanese songs into part of everyday life around the world.

The Records "IRIS OUT" Keeps Rewriting

"IRIS OUT," released on September 15, 2025, was written as the theme song for the film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. It swept charts at home and abroad right after release, and as of February 2026 its momentum shows no sign of slowing.

On Oricon's weekly streaming ranking it achieved 22 consecutive weeks at No. 1 (as of February 2026), tying YOASOBI's "Idol" for third place all-time and setting the record for a solo artist. It topped 10 million weekly streams for 22 straight weeks from its debut, and its cumulative streams passed 387 million. In the October 6, 2025 chart it recorded 32,199,407 weekly streams, the highest in Oricon history, and in its fourth week, on October 20, it became the fastest ever to pass 100 million cumulative streams.

On the YouTube chart, in the February 6-12, 2026 tally, it was No. 1 for the eighth straight week and the 21st time in total. Its weekly views of 7.305 million remained high.

Its Billboard Japan numbers are just as dominant. It has spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100 and scored the most points (29,533) since the chart's methodology change in 2023. On the streaming songs chart it also posted the highest weekly stream count for a Japanese song. It has also topped Oricon's weekly combined singles ranking for six weeks, a record number of weeks at No. 1.

Breaking a New Barrier for Japanese-Language Songs Worldwide

The impact of "IRIS OUT" didn't stop at home. On the US Billboard Global 200, it ranked No. 5 on the chart dated October 4, 2025, surpassing YOASOBI's "Idol" and Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" to become the highest-charting Japanese-language song ever. Its first-week global streams reached 45.1 million, and Billboard reported that 97% came from outside the US.

On Billboard Japan's "Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan" (a ranking of Japanese songs streamed outside Japan), it held No. 1 for 16 straight weeks. It hit No. 1 on country charts in South Korea, Singapore, France, the UK, the US, Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia and more, and entered Spotify's daily viral charts in more than 50 countries and regions.

On MelOn, South Korea's music streaming service, it became the first song by a Japanese artist to reach the Top 10 (No. 3). It was a symbolic sign that Japanese songs are starting to reach general music listeners, not just anime fans.

Synergy With the Hit Film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc

You can't discuss the long run of "IRIS OUT" without the film it was written for. Released on September 19, 2025 in 421 theaters nationwide, including 60 IMAX screens, the film passed 6.55 million admissions and ¥10 billion at the box office in the 103 days to December 30. About five months after release it had reached ¥10.6 billion (about $70 million), ranking 47th on Japan's all-time box office list.

It was also released in more than 100 countries, with a global box office above $118.24 million. Staggered releases in major markets such as France, the US and the UK kept creating new exposure for the song, in a virtuous circle where the film and the song lifted each other.

Yonezu also released the film's ending theme, "JANE DOE," as a duet with Hikaru Utada, and after its release it topped YouTube's trending chart for nine days in a row. He occupies the top of the charts with both the theme and the ending song. The film won the Excellent Animation Award at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize, and a sequel, Chainsaw Man: Assassins Arc, has been confirmed.

Kenshi Yonezu: From Vocaloid Producer to Global Artist

Yonezu's career is almost a miniature of the transformation Japan's music industry has gone through.

In 2009, under the name "Hachi," he began posting Vocaloid songs on Niconico. After winning overwhelming support in the online music scene, he started performing under his real name in 2012. A multi-creator who also makes his own album art illustrations and music videos, he drew attention for more than just his songs.

The turning point was "Lemon" in 2018. A huge hit as the theme of the TBS drama Unnatural, its music video passed 900 million views, the most-viewed MV in Japan. Since then he has written theme songs for landmark Japanese works one after another, including "M87" for Shin Ultraman, "Spinning Globe" for Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron and "Sayonara Mata Itsuka!" for NHK's morning drama Tora ni Tsubasa.

His international breakthrough came with "KICK BACK," the 2022 theme of the anime Chainsaw Man. It became the first Japanese-language song certified Gold by the RIAA and was selected for the "RIAA Class of 2023." In early 2025, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, predicted "the global J-pop boom" as a music trend of the year and called Yonezu's world tour an "epoch-making event."

Tours That Drew 440,000 at Home and Abroad

His Japan tour "Kenshi Yonezu 2025 TOUR / JUNK," which began in January 2025, drew 350,000 people over 16 shows in eight cities, including his first dome shows. The following "KENSHI YONEZU 2025 WORLD TOUR / JUNK" sold out all 10 shows in seven cities, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles, drawing 90,000 people overseas.

It was his first time in Europe, and fans came to the Paris show from neighboring countries too, reflecting how deeply manga and anime culture has spread in France. The New York venue was the famed Radio City Music Hall and Los Angeles was the YouTube Theater, proof that his music is welcomed in the world's major cities.

At the Los Angeles show, Yonezu told the crowd: "These are Japanese songs, and you may not understand what I'm saying, but I'm truly moved that you've welcomed me so warmly anyway." A six-city, 14-show arena tour in Japan, "KENSHI YONEZU 2026 TOUR / GHOST," has also been announced for 2026.

How Japanese Artists' YouTube and Global Strategies Have Changed

Yonezu's success symbolizes a change in the "formula" for Japanese music to make its mark in the global market.

In the past, taking Japanese music overseas usually meant choosing between singing in English and signing with a local label. Now, with Japanese content such as anime and games consumed simultaneously worldwide on platforms like YouTube, Spotify and Crunchyroll, a route for songs to reach the world in Japanese is taking shape.

In YouTube's 2025 year-end rankings for Japan, "IRIS OUT" was No. 2 among top songs and No. 2 among Shorts songs, with "Plazma" and "BOW AND ARROW" also ranking high. A multi-format strategy that wins listeners through both full-length MVs and short videos paid off.

This trend isn't limited to Yonezu. YOASOBI's "Idol" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Global 200, and Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" became a global meme starting on TikTok. HANA was YouTube's breakout artist of 2025 in its annual rankings, as a new generation of J-pop artists builds international footholds one after another.

In June 2025, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also announced an entertainment and creative industries strategy with a target of ¥20 trillion in overseas content sales. For music, it includes concrete action plans such as building systems to promote Japanese songs and artists to the world, supporting music events overseas and streamlining visa procedures for artists.

Anime is certainly a powerful "gateway," but it alone can't explain a hit that has lasted more than half a year. The quality of the songs, the music videos and the energy of the live shows combine to keep listeners at home and abroad hooked.

Update: 24 Straight Weeks at No. 1, Over 500 Million Streams

"IRIS OUT" kept growing after this article was published.

On Oricon's weekly streaming ranking, its run at No. 1 reached 24 weeks in the March 9, 2026 chart, overtaking Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" for sole second place all-time and extending his own solo record. As of June 15, its cumulative streams had reached 505.81 million, the fastest ever for a solo artist to pass 500 million.

In Oricon's first-half 2026 rankings, it was his first No. 1 in the streaming category. Its 250.53 million streams during the tally period (December 22, 2025 to June 15, 2026) were the highest ever for a solo artist, beating Yuuri's "Dry Flower" in 2021. In the same tally, "JANE DOE" ranked 13th with 107.35 million streams. As of July, it had stayed in the Top 10 for 41 straight weeks since its debut.

The film kept growing too. Its Japanese box office reached ¥10.81 billion as of March 29, passing Toy Story 3 to rank 45th all-time. It finished its run with a worldwide gross of $191.4 million (about ¥29 billion), 14th all-time among animated films worldwide.

Is there a song from your country that crossed borders in its original language?

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