稲葉浩志 (Koshi Inaba) will sing “Touch” at the 77th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on December 31. For his first solo appearance on Japan’s New Year’s Eve music broadcast, he is returning to a song that has already lived several lives.
First released by 岩崎良美 (Yoshimi Iwasaki) in 1985 as the theme of the anime Touch, the song took on a new role in March 2026 when Inaba covered it for Netflix’s World Baseball Classic coverage. The same melody now moves from an anime about baseball, through an international baseball tournament, to Kohaku.
Inaba debuted as B’z’s vocalist and lyricist in 1988 and launched his solo career with Magma in 1997. He appeared at Kohaku with B’z in 2024; this December marks his first appearance as a solo performer. The 2026 Kohaku programme brings a 1985 song back to national television in a very different voice.