76th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

On September 17, 2025, NHK announced that the 76th edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen would be held at NHK Hall, Shibuya, Tokyo, and broadcast through NHK General TV, BSP4K, BS8K, and Radio 1 in Japan on December 31, 2025 (Reiwa 7), starting at 19:20 (JST) and wrapping up at 23:45, with 5-minute break for the breaking news and announcement regarding TV licence fees dividing the first and second half between 20:55 and 21:00.^[1]

The show's hosts were revealed on October 14, being comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi, actresses Haruka Ayase and Mio Imada, and NHK news anchor Naoko Suzuki, as well as its theme "connecting, being connected, New Year's Eve",^[A] embodying the wish that "wonderful music will continue to connect us for the next 100 years."^[2] The event's key visual, designed by Kōta Hikichi, who served as creative director of Expo 2025, depicts a red-and-white circular motif and the hosts "energetically delivering music".^[3]

On November 14, 2026, Kōhaku unveiled the show's original 39 participating artists, containing 20 on the Red Team, 17 on the White Team, and two in the special segment at the press conference at the NHK Broadcasting Center, Shibuya.^[4] The appearance of King & Prince made the return of artists under Starto Entertainment (a successor of Johnny & Associates) for the first time since 2022, following the two-year absence due to a consequence of the juvenile sex abuse scandal from Johnny Kitagawa.^[5]

The additional performers were announced later: AKB48,^[6] Radwimps,^[7] SixTones,^[8] Back Number,^[9] Gen Hoshino,^[10] Kōji Tamaki,^[11] Yumi Matsutoya,^[12] Kenshi Yonezu,^[13] Eikichi Yazawa,^[14] Koshi Inaba (as a featured artist for Masaharu Fukuyama),^[15] and Seiko Matsuda.^[16] List of songs they would perform was revealed on December 19,^[17] and the performance order on December 26, with Candy Tune opening the show, Mrs. Green Apple serving as original ōtori.^[18] Matsuda performed after the regular show as part of the special segment.^[19]

On December 18, the short drama Kōhaku Special Edition, based on the asadora Anpan (2025), and a special performance by the series' casts was announced.^[20] To commemorate the 100th anniversary of NHK, the opening show, featuring medley of songs that had performed throughout Kōhaku's history, was announced on December 24.^[21]

The winner of the 76th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen between White and Red Teams was determined by the 3-Point System, in which each point comes from guest judges, audiences at NHK Hall, and NHK television viewers. Guest judges and audiences in the hall can vote once, while television viewers can vote five times via remote control by pressing the red button for the Red Team and the blue button for White Team.^[24] The White Team won the event for the 42nd time across all categories as voted on by guest judges, audiences at NHK Hall, and NHK viewers.^[25]

Guest judges^[26]

• Tokito Oda – professional wheelchair tennis player
• Akari Takaishi – actress
• Taiga Nakano – actor
• Masako Nozawa – voice actress
• Nanako Matsushima – actress
• Kazuyoshi Miura – professional footballer
• Kaho Miyake – literary critic