2013 in Japanese music

"Great Escape" (stylized in lowercase) was the fourth single created by the Japanese band Cinema Staff, and their third major song. It was released by Pony Canyon on August 21, 2013, and reached the number one spot on the Billboard Japan Hot Animation chart upon its debut. The song is best remembered for its use as the ending theme for the second half of season one of Attack on Titan.

D'scover is the Japanese debut album of South Korean artist, Daesung, also known by his Japanese stage name, D-Lite, member and main vocalist of boy band Big Bang. The album consists of a number of rearrangements and remakes of Japanese songs as well as multiple original pieces and was released on February 27, 2013.

"Guren no Yumiya" (Japanese: 紅蓮の弓矢, lit. "Crimson Bow and Arrow") was one of two songs created by the Japanese band Linked Horizon for the A-side track of their single Jiyū e no Shingeki. The full version of the song was released by Pony Canyon on 10 July 2013, and would be most notable for its use as the first intro to the anime Attack on Titan.

"Colorful" (stylized as "colorful") is the 13th single by 9nine, a Japanese idol girl group. It was released on February 6, 2013 on SME Records.

The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Chiba on June 22, 2013 at the Makuhari Messe and was hosted by Atsuko Maeda and Nobuaki Kaneko from Rize.

"Just Live More" (stylized as JUST LIVE MORE) is a song by Japanese reggae band Shōnan no Kaze under the name "Gaim no Kaze" (鎧武乃風, Gaimu no Kaze), released on December 11, 2013. It serves as the opening theme song for the children's television series Kamen Rider Gaim.

"Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai" (Japanese: 美しき残酷な世界, lit. "The Beautiful and Cruel World") is a song by Japanese singer Yoko Hikasa, whose lyrics were written by Mike Sugiyama [ja] and music composed by Rei Ishizuka [ja]. The song was released on May 8, 2013, as the debut single of Hikasa from Pony Canyon, and is best remembered for its use as the ending theme for the first half of season one of Attack on Titan.

"Jiyū e no Shingeki" (Japanese: 自由への進撃, lit. "March to Freedom") is the second single by Japanese band Linked Horizon. It was released on July 10, 2013 through Pony Canyon. The single has been certified Platinum by the RIAJ for sales in the band's home country of Japan, with over 250,000 copies sold, peaking at number two on the Oricon chart. Its tracks "Guren no Yumiya" and "Jiyū no Tsubasa" are used as the opening themes of the 2013 anime adaptation of Attack on Titan. "Guren no Yumiya" was a hit, peaking at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and fourth place on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales, and received a digital download song certification of Double Platinum from the RIAJ for sales of 500,000.

The 64th NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival (第64回NHK紅白歌合戦) was aired on December 31, 2013. This edition's theme was "歌がここにある" ("Uta ga Koko ni Aru", "The Song Is Here") and the captains were Arashi (Shirogumi) and Haruka Ayase (Akagumi). This was the 25th edition on Heisei Era. The most notable highlights from this edition were the Amachan special segment, Yuko Oshima's surprise graduation announcement during AKB48 performance, and final performance from Saburo Kitajima who announced an honorable retirement from Kouhaku after 50 performances.

The 55th Japan Record Awards (第55回日本レコード大賞) took place at the New National Theater in Tokyo on December 30, 2013. The ceremony was televised in Japan on TBS.