Japanese Ska - Classification

Classification

While some sources (such as one of the quotes above) discern Japanese ska from Japanese pop, other sources lump them together. While this classification is contrary to the fact that ska and punk music are rarely, if ever, classified as pop music in most of the world, it is congruous with the practice of considering Japanese pop to encompass other genres which are often regarded as separate from pop music in the United States and Europe, among them rock, urban and electronic dance music.

The consideration of Japanese ska as a sub-genre of Japanese pop may be due, at least in part, to bands typically considered ska releasing songs with a definite pop music sound. Sometimes, this genre-spanning occurs within a single song. For example, Snail Ramp (a "typical ska punk" band from Tokyo) has a song called "Hotaru no Hikari" featuring Air. For the most part, this is a ska punk version of "Auld Lang Syne" with Japanese lyrics. Sections of the song, however, divert from this musical form and instead have a sound akin to boy band music.

According to the filing scheme used at Tower Records in Tokyo, all Japanese ska is classified as hardcore, even that with the laid-back sound that typifies early Jamaican ska music from the early 1960s.