Complete list of 2025 Kohaku
Red team (women)
Enka/Adult contemporary
Ishihara Hikari, Tendo Yoshimi, Mizumori Kaori, Sakamoto Fuyumi, Takahashi Mariko (adult contemporary), Humbert & Humbert (husband & wife duo in their 50s but first Kohaku appearance - adult contemporary)
Others
AiNA The End
Aimyon
Ikuta Rira - better known as Yoasobi's Ikura, but she did some solo work as well
Candy Tune
Nogizaka 46
Fruits Zipper
Misia
LiSA (no relation to a BlackPink member)
Between KPop and JPop
Chanmina, its producer, literally half Japanese and half Koran
KPop
==
White Team (men)
Enka - Go Hiromi, Fuse Akira, Miyama Hiroshi
Old hands - Fukuyama Masaharu, TUBE, Kubota Toshinobu (he did R&B in Japan for a long time)
Others
&Team
Orange Range
King & Prince
Sakana Cushion
Shunretsu
Number _i
Niihama Leon
Vaundy
Mrs. Green APPLE
M!LK
In 2024, there were 4 KPop teams in the Kohaku, Twice, Le Sserafim, txt and Illit.
But, the new Prime Minister of Japan, Takaichi Sanae, is not very friendly with Korea ; she has never hidden resentment over the Korean policies to Japan, and the SK Govt is no friend of Japan as well.
Partially because of that, Twice and Le Sserafim, and no KPop boy acts, were invited. I do not consider &Team, operating only in Japan, as a KPop act.
As a result, only Illit goes to Kohaku again.
aespa benefits ; aespa does become the first SM act to show up in the Kohaku after DBSK, continuing the tradition of BoA.
