It’s shaping up to be one of the strongest years in recent memory for Japanese acts at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’26. Punk legends Hi-STANDARD returning to Naeba after 27 years, Fujii Kaze with his ever-growing global audience, next-generation act XG making their presence felt on the Billboard charts, among others — the range of what’s on offer is remarkable. Here’s a guide to five acts spanning different generations, genres, and scales, each carving out their own distinct path to international relevance. When you’re putting your timetable together, make room for all five.
Hi-STANDARD
Friday, July 24 — GREEN STAGE
Thirty-five years into their pioneering career, Hi-STANDARD remain the defining name in Japanese punk rock, their position as unshakeable as ever. Founded in 1991, the original trio signed to Fat Wreck Chords in the mid-’90s, toured alongside NOFX, opened for Green Day and The Offspring — building genuine international credibility right at the height of the punk boom. Their 1999 album Making the Road is still widely considered a landmark in melodic hardcore circles across the English-speaking world.
Founders of the independent imprint PIZZA OF DEATH RECORDS and a cornerstone of Japan’s DIY punk scene, the band’s return to Fuji Rock’s Naeba site is their first since 1999, 27 years ago. The mass singalong of English-language lyrics that Hi-STANDARD shows are famous for is an experience you simply won’t find anywhere else. This will be a chance to witness firsthand the original landscape of how Japanese rock crossed the ocean, in the days before streaming.
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Friday, July 24 — WHITE STAGE
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION have spent their career proving that guitar rock sung in Japanese can hold its own on a world stage. The four-man band broke through in 2002 with the indie mini-album Hokai Amplifier, re-released the following year as a major-label debut. Their deep ties to anime, including NARUTO, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Bleach, have steadily broadened their overseas fanbase over the years.
2026 marks their 30th anniversary as a band, and Fuji Rock arrives just at the right moment. For listeners who found their way to Asian Kung-Fu Generation through anime or algorithm, a career-spanning set against the backdrop of the mountains will be a direct encounter with the heart of Japanese rock culture.
Fujii Kaze
Saturday, July 25 — GREEN STAGE
If there’s one Japanese artist right now whose appeal is unambiguously global, it’s Fujii Kaze. The 28-year-old artist has navigated the inward-facing tendencies of J-pop with striking ease — “Shinunoga E-Wa,” released in 2020, became a viral phenomenon in 2022 that spread well beyond Asia into Western markets, rapidly expanding his international audience. In 2025 he released Prema, his first all-English album recorded in Los Angeles, on Republic Records. The project scored his third consecutive No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart.
The singer-songwriter’s FUJI ROCK debut follows his first Coachella appearance in April 2026. His music features a seamless combination of neo-soul, gospel, R&B, and the feel of Japanese folk music, anchored by the exceptional piano playing he’s displayed since his YouTube busking days. He creates a live experience that holds delicate emotional intimacy and enormous scale at the same time, and the thought of that landing in the mountains of Naeba is thrilling.
XG
Saturday, July 25 — WHITE STAGE
XG are among the most visible Japanese acts on the Billboard charts right now. Since their 2022 debut, the group has broken records at a steady pace. They became the first Japanese act 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 — their first-ever top-100 entry and a massive leap from their previous release AWE (No. 175). The group’s first world tour covered 35 cities with 47 shows, drawing roughly 400,000 people. At Coachella 2025 they headlined the Sahara Stage.
The group’s FUJI ROCK debut lands in the middle of their second world tour, XG World Tour: THE CORE. Razor-sharp English-language rap, immaculate formations, stage production built for maximum impact — their level of execution has long since outgrown any qualifier like “world-class.” They may well be the Japanese pop act most directly connected to a global context that FUJI ROCK has seen in years. What happens when these seven let that music loose in the open air of Naeba is something you don’t want to miss.
Susumu Hirasawa + EJIN
Sunday, July 26 — GREEN STAGE
Susumu Hirasawa is one of the most singular, unclassifiable figures in the history of Japanese music. He co-founded P-MODEL in 1979, helping to define the Japanese techno-pop and new wave frontier, before launching his solo career in 1989. Since then he has moved freely across electronica, art pop, ambient, prog, and world music, building a sound universe that belongs to no genre and no one else. Internationally, he is best known for his soundtrack work on Satoshi Kon’s films such as Millennium Actress, Paranoia Agent, and Paprika, and his music for the BERSERK animated adaptations. That global recognition was further underscored when “Byakkoya no Musume,” the theme from Paprika, was shortlisted for consideration in the Best Original Song category at the 79th Academy Awards.
Following his 2021 FUJI ROCK appearance, he returns this year under the billing Susumu Hirasawa + EJIN. Laser harp, Tesla coils, a ritual atmosphere, and a catalog spanning nearly five decades — it’s not unusual for first-time witnesses to walk away as devoted converts. On the vast Green Stage, whatever “ceremony” he has in store, this promises to be the kind of performance that becomes part of FUJI ROCK history.
FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’26
July 24 (Fri) / 25 (Sat) / 26 (Sun)
Naeba Ski Resort, Yuzawa, Niigata
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