These episodes are titled usually “Japan Top 10 Month Year Countdown”. They are the signature product of Japan Top 10 and feature the top 10 Japanese songs from Japanese radio charts from that period listed in the title. For some of our Patreon Donors, they will also get 2 additional extra songs that come from a wide range of Japanese music themes. They are released on a monthly basis.

At the beginning of each month, we will select an artist or band to feature their top 4 biggest hits ever produced. For our Patreon Donors, that becomes the artist’s top 8 or top 12 biggest hits. The list of songs are normally sourced from Oricon and/or Japan Hot 100 charts but we do factor other considerations into each song’s ranking (such as the recognition of that song, views on YouTube, etc…)

These episodes are usually titled “Japan Top 10 Month Year Special: Theme”. The themes are decided either by a Patreon Donor or by our program director. They usually feature around 4 songs for public listeners and 8 or 12 songs for Patreon Donors, though we may choose to feature more or less tracks on the special episode, depending on the music director. Special episodes are not countdowns unless otherwise specified; they are just a list of songs that are considered within that theme (in no particular order).

These are our biggest episodes and feature 2 different themes depending on the season it is released. One episode is released in the July period while the other is released in the December/early January period. For the July period episode, they feature a specially selected theme while the December/early January period episode will feature the biggest songs of that previous year. The specially themed episode’s list of songs are complied from Oricon and/or Japan Hot 100 charts but we do factor other considerations into each song’s ranking (such as the recognition of that song, views on YouTube, etc…). Our end of the year episode list of songs are based our own regular top 10 charts, Oricon charts, radio charts and other various factors that may determine a song’s popularity within that year. Free (regular) listener receive the top 10 songs of the episode, while Patreon donors will receive the top 15 or full top 20 tracks on the episode, depending on their level of support.

These episodes are mainly commentary based and discussions revolve around a certain Japanese cultural theme. Two hosts are put together to talk about the detailed intricacies within that Japanese cultural theme, including adding a few music tracks to give some light to the topic discussions. These episodes highlight our mission statement to educate, entertain and enhance the public’s engagement with Japanese music culture. These episodes are released on a bi-monthly basis. Patreon donors receive the full episode (regardless of level of support) while free (regular) listeners receive the first 15 minutes of the episode.

Debuting in September 2021, in these episodes, we discuss the latest news in the Japanese music scene and other current mainstream cultural topics. All listeners will be able to listen to the full episode in its entirety at this time. Similarly to our cultures episode, this episode will be mainly talk based and feature 5 songs to tag along with the topics we discuss. 

In these episodes, we feature 2 indie artists who provide us with information on how they got into music and a lot of cool information from the artists/bands themselves. They are interviewed by two of our hosts. Indie artist episodes may also include artist performances exclusively heard on Japan Top 10! Tune in to learn about bands and artists around the world who get inspiration from Japanese music culture or are locally based in Japan! All listeners will get the full version of the episode (for episodes after September 2020).