Japan celebrates New Year’s Eve with the televised Kōhaku Uta Gassen music competition, followed by traditional year-end broadcasts and temple bells.
Kōhaku Uta Gassen, usually called Kōhaku, is an annual Japanese television music program broadcast on December 31 by NHK. Popular singers are divided into red and white teams, which perform for a studio and television audience. The program has become one of Japan’s most prominent New Year’s Eve media traditions.
The ceremony should not be confused with Joya no kane, the Buddhist practice of ringing a temple bell 108 times. Kōhaku is a television music competition, while Joya no kane is a religious temple ritual. Together with year-end foods, family gatherings, and hatsumode visits, they form part of Japan’s distinctive New Year period.