J-pop, an abbreviated term for Japanese pop or Japanese pop music, is a musical genre that has been a part of Japanese pop culture since the mid-twentieth century. J-pop applies to various music genres, from jazz and vocal ballads to pop-rock and folk, and “idol pop,” which features the highly polished and aggressively marketed entertainers known as Japanese idols and idol groups.
Since the early 1990s, the term “J-pop” has come to define music by singers and musical groups outside of the hard rock, metal, punk, and electronic music genres: pop bands and pop stars, boy bands, and girl groups, and some performers from the hip-hop and rock worlds.
Like its Western counterpart, J-pop music is accessible, upbeat, and radio-friendly. Its proponents reflect a positive attitude, and lyrics concern simple yet identifiable topics: first love and heartbreak, happiness, aspiration. Like Western pop, J-pop is marketed through extensive touring, promotional appearances, roles in TV dramas, and theme songs for anime programs and video games, like Hikaru Utada’s popular theme for Kingdom Hearts.
However, J-pop differs from Western and other forms of Asian pop in sound, as it hews closer to Japanese musical tropes. As a result, J-pop artists have not yet received the global trending and popularity of South Korean or K-pop artists like BTS, Exo, or Blackpink.
Source: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/j-pop-music-guide#5II8SbA7BT9YyK2I4pGzRZ