Most Popular J-POP Idol Groups 2025

Fantastics from Exile Tribe is a nine-member Japanese male dance and vocal group formed and managed by LDH. The group is part of the collective Exile Tribe, related to Exile, and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone from the Avex Group. Fantastics debuted on December 5, 2018. 

Fruits Zipper is a Japanese girl group that formed in 2022. They debuted with the digital single "Kimi no Akarui Mirai o Oikakete" in April 2022 and released their first album New Kawaii in April 2024. 

INI (Japanese: アイエヌアイ, Aienuai) is a Japanese boy band formed through the reality competition show Produce 101 Japan 2. The group is composed of eleven members: Masaya Kimura, Hiromu Takatsuka, Shogo Tajima, Kyosuke Fujimaki, Takumi Ozaki, Hiroto Nishi, Jin Matsuda, Xu Fengfan, Rihito Ikezaki, Yudai Sano and Takeru Goto. Like the winners of the first season of Produce 101 Japan, INI is intended to be a permanent group. The group is managed by Lapone Entertainment, a joint company between Yoshimoto Kogyo and CJ ENM.

They made their debut on November 3, 2021, with the single A.

NiziU is a Japanese girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan through the reality-survival program Nizi Project. The group is composed of nine members: Mako, Rio, Maya, Riku, Ayaka, Mayuka, Rima, Miihi, and Nina.

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the official rival of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46, Yoshimotozaka46, and Hinatazaka46. 

Sakurazaka46, formerly Keyakizaka46, is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. The group was rebranded as Sakurazaka46 after their last concert on October 13, 2020.

Yoasobi is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2019 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is composed of Vocaloid producer Ayase and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta, under the moniker Ikura. 

AKB48 is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history.

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999.

Ae! Group (Aぇ! group) (stylized as Ae! group) is a Japanese quintet boy band formed by Smile-Up on February 18, 2019.Their debut single, "A-Beginning", was released on May 15, 2024. They are signed under Universal Music Japan sub-label UJ.

Atarashii Gakko!, known in Japan as Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders, is a Japanese girl group formed in 2015. The group is jointly managed with Asobisystem, Twin Planet and TV Asahi Music.

Babymetal is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. 

Be:First is a Japanese dance and vocal boy band formed and managed by BMSG and signed to B-ME, a joint record label with Avex. The group was formed on August 13, 2021 and debuted on November 3, 2021, through the reality competition show The First, which is hosted by Sky-Hi. 

CHERRSEE was a girls' dance and vocal unit. They were produced by K-pop composer Brave Brothers. On May 19, 2021, it was announced that a new member AMI would be joining the group.

JO1 is a Japanese boy band formed through the first season of Produce 101 Japan by Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture between Yoshimoto Kogyo and CJ ENM. 

West., formerly known as Johnny's West, is a boy band consisting of seven members formed under the Starto Entertainment talent agency. The members are Daiki Shigeoka, Junta Nakama, Takahiro Hamada, Akito Kiriyama, Tomohiro Kamiyama, Ryusei Fujii, and Nozomu Kotaki. 

King & Prince is a two-member Japanese idol group under Starto Entertainment that debuted in 2018. 

Lovesick (#らぶしっく) is currently a nine-member Japanese idol boy group initially formed with six members on November 26, 2023. The group consists of Etsuya, Satsuki, Uto, Ryo, Sakura, Taro, Uson, Hayate, and Taiyou. They debuted on January 5, 2024.

Maximum the Hormone is a Japanese heavy metal/hardcore punk band from Hachiōji, Tokyo. Their lineup consists of vocalist Daisuke-han, drummer Nao, guitarist Maximum the Ryokun, and bassist Ue-chang. 

Morning Musume '24, formerly and commonly known as Morning Musume and colloquially referred to as Momusu, is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top-ten singles, having 64 of them. 

ONE OR EIGHT/ 1OR8 is a Japanese 8-member pre-debut boy group under Avex Japan, formed through the audition program WARPs DIG.

Phantom Siita is a 5-piece idol group produced by a Japanese superstar Ado. If modern-day idols were 'butterflies,' Phantom Siita would be a heretical presence in the industry akin to 'moths. ' 5 members (Mona, Miu, Rinka, Hisui, and Moka) won their spots in the group through an audition with over 4,000 participants.

SixTones is a Japanese idol boy band formed by Smile-Up in 2015. The group was previously a sub-unit of Johnny & Associates' pre-debut trainee group Johnny's Jr. SixTones made their official debut on January 22, 2020. They sold 6.24 million physical copies in Japan.

Tempura Kidz was a Japanese pop dance and vocals group formed by four girls and one boy managed by Asobi System and signed with the Sony Music Japan label. They started their career as back-up dancers for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and have toured with her since late 2011. Their songs are produced by Ram Rider. 

The Rampage from Exile Tribe, is a J-pop vocal and dance group formed and managed by talent agency LDH and signed to Avex's record label Rhythm Zone. The Rampage is part of the collective supergroup, Exile Tribe and is composed of sixteen members. 

Chō Tokimeki Sendenbu is a Japanese idol girl group, belonging to Section 3 of the talent agency Stardust Promotion, and its abbreviation is "Tokisen". Along with Momoiro Clover Z, Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku and other groups in Stardust Promotion, they are part of a section in the company called "STARDUST PLANET.” 

Travis Japan is a Japanese boy band managed by Starto Entertainment formerly known as Johnny & Associates. Their name is a tribute to the American choreographer Travis Payne, who assisted in their 2012 group formation during the production of stage show Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n. Partii.