Backstage in Tokyo, Mrs. GREEN APPLE Teases Its New Era: ‘No Limits’

On July 4, there was little red, white or blue to be seen while walking around Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya area. Instead, vibrant orange and lime green were omnipresent — and not because of any official holiday, although it felt like one.

A seemingly endless sea of electric ­orange and green T-shirts, towels and totes, among other items, all celebrated Japanese pop-rock band Mrs. GREEN APPLE, which that evening was set to headline its first of two sold-out, fan club-only shows at Tokyo’s MUFG Stadium (Japan National Stadium).

“Two days in a row, sold-out — it’s crazy,” says vocalist-guitarist Motoki Ohmori, 29, seated in casual black clothing that contrasts his onstage look while backstage at the stadium hours before 70,000 concertgoers will flood in for the show. “It’s really special and important for us to have this moment with people who love us so much, and who we love so much … This is one of our milestones. There is nowhere bigger than here.”

The shows were part of the band’s ­Zenjin Mito To IM/Mutable tour, a six-show run that included two dates in April (also at MUFG Stadium, but not limited to its fan club), two fan club-only dates in May at Osaka’s Yanmar Stadium Nagai and finally, these two shows in July — the first since the group announced its highly anticipated sixth album, which arrives Sept. 30 on EMI.

Zenjin Mito is the band’s name for its ongoing series of self-produced concerts, dating back to 2014, but this was its first time booking a stadium in Tokyo — just one way in which the tour has made history. Mrs. GREEN APPLE became the first band to book four shows at MUFG Stadium, a fitting feat considering “zenjin mito” translates to “unprecedented” in Japanese.

Just two years after forming independently in 2013, Mrs. GREEN APPLE made its major-label debut on EMI in 2015. The band spent its first decade building a loyal and expansive local fanbase — all while honing a sound blending punk-rock influences from ’90s American bands with Japanese idol and dance music and even Disney-esque orchestral production.

By 2025, Mrs. GREEN APPLE was regularly making history. Last summer, the band won the inaugural artist of the year honor at the country’s largest international music awards, Music Awards Japan (it took home the prize again this year) and also became the first J-pop act to achieve 10 billion streams in Japan across its catalog, according to Billboard Japan. By year’s end, Mrs. GREEN APPLE was the only Japanese act on IFPI’s 2025 Global Artist chart, positioned between Tyler, The Creator and SEVENTEEN at No. 13 — the highest rank a Japanese act had ever held on the list. Meanwhile, the band’s 2025 anniversary compilation album, 10, landed at No. 10 on IFPI’s Global Album chart — and was the only release by a Japanese artist or act in the ranking’s top 10. (The album was one piece of a yearslong celebration, which included an anniversary show and the Tokyo Tower being lit lime green in the band’s honor.)

2025 was also a turning point for Mrs. GREEN APPLE on the Billboard charts. The band ended last year atop Billboard Japan’s year-end Hot 100 and Artist 100 charts after scoring its first two No. 1 hits on the weekly Billboard Japan Hot 100 list last May and June (with “Heaven” and “Breakfast,” respectively). It delivered a third this January with the soft-spoken, melodic “Lulu,” which is a season-two opening theme for anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Of the band’s 12 total entries on the chart, six have made the top 10 — all of which were released between 2025 and this year.

“Japan has the world’s second-­largest music market, and I think this chart placement has helped share the strength and appeal of our market,” Universal Music Japan president/CEO Naoshi Fujikura told Billboard in his 2026 Global Power Players interview. (UMJ manages and books the band.) “Right now, Mrs. GREEN APPLE is mainly focused on their activities in Japan, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how their scope widens in the future.”

Already this past decade, there have been numerous non-English language breakthroughs thanks to K-pop’s stateside dominance, the rise of Afrobeats and, of course, Latin superstars like Bad Bunny. A band as big as Mrs. GREEN APPLE, which already has a global infrastructure in place, suggests that Japan could be home to the next such act. With the country’s inherent understanding of the physical music market that prioritizes exclusives and collectibles — and as its position in the global market continues to grow, with companies such as Avex and ASOBISYSTEM doubling down on their U.S. presence — a Japanese breakout feels right on time.

And for Mrs. GREEN APPLE, last year’s momentum is now fueling the band’s next era. “We’ve become one of the biggest Japanese acts,” Ohmori says. “A lot more people know about us. Now it’s about what we can deliver to them.”

Ohmori has been thinking about how to entertain for as long as he can remember. At 12 years old, he performed an original song at his elementary school graduation, having taught himself how to play the electric bass his parents had at home. He’d soon teach himself music production as well. “I was making lots of music, but the sound I was making was [for a] band,” he recalls. “I was doing it by myself at first, but I wanted to invite someone to share in the fun and struggle. I wanted to create something with people.”

So he recruited his friends and, in the spring of 2013, officially launched Mrs. GREEN APPLE, a name meant to feel equally fresh and youthful even as the group continues to mature. The following year, the then-five-member band independently released its first mini album (aptly titled Introduction). The group was prolific from the start, releasing an album every year after debuting on EMI from 2016 to 2019, all of which comprise Phase I, as the band calls it — which concluded in the summer of 2020 with the announcement of a hiatus.

While on break, two of the band’s founding members (its drummer and bassist) left the group, leaving the trio that remains today of Ohmori; guitarist Hiloto Wakai, 29; and keyboardist Ryoka Fujisawa, 33. By the end of 2021, Mrs. GREEN APPLE announced Phase II would officially commence that spring.

“During the hiatus, I started learning how to dance from professional teachers, and not just me but other members too,” says Ohmori, who also released his debut solo project, the EP French, during that time. “I adapted dance elements to my music and, of course, it’s connected to what Mrs. GREEN APPLE does now as well … When I started making music, it was guitar rock and more simple. But what I actually wanted to make was music with strings and more effects. So I started making music with those elements and naturally, it started becoming more classical and danceable.” (He also explored other modes of self-­expression while on hiatus, from hair color to men’s makeup, both of which the members are experimenting with now.)

In 2023, the band released its fifth album, Antenna, and focused on growing its fanbase, known as Ringo Jam (“ringo” translates to “apple” in Japanese). “It was the only album we released during that phase,” Ohmori says. “We were conscious that it was [our first] album after the hiatus, so it was harder for us … but we wanted to relax as much as possible and have fun.” The album cover’s vibrant, saturated splashes of color represent its sound — perhaps the biggest and best amalgamation of the members’ influences, as heard on its title track. On “Magic” and “Que Sera Sera” (the latter of which closed out the band’s July 4 stadium show, accompanied by a mind-boggling amount of fireworks and a drone show), it’s clear that the album is also the band’s most overt play toward pop and even dance music yet.

Now, as the group prepares to release its first new album in three years, and first of Phase III that launched Jan. 1, Wakai says it is focused on “exploring” creatively and, Ohmori adds, having “no limits.”

“Phase I was the big first chapter, the beginning of the band. We were still boys,” Ohmori continues. “And Phase II, we were coming of age. One of the goals was to deliver our music to as many people as possible. We wanted people to know about us … So Phase III, it’s not about gaining something or winning or receiving something. It’s not about where we’re going but where we are now. We want to enjoy what we have and what we do, we want to enjoy the moment … Even for us, it’s unpredictable where Mrs. GREEN APPLE will take us.”

Ohmori says his bandmates were the biggest inspiration for the upcoming set. Fujisawa says he felt that from the new music immediately: “The lyrics and words that Motoki wrote and also the soundscape he showed me were really important to me. Some songs reminded me of Phase I. From the lyrics, I can feel and see [our growth] from the start to now.”

“Now you know we actually get along,” Ohmori says with a laugh.

As for Wakai, he drew inspiration from the band’s live performances. “I was thinking about how we could enjoy our music with our fans,” he says.

Watching Mrs. GREEN APPLE live, it’s clear the members get what they give, and over nearly three hours, they give a lot. From a high-energy, career-spanning setlist of the band’s greatest hits to individual moments to shine (for Wakai, a hard-rock guitar solo; for Fujisawa, a classical flute solo; and for Ohmori, an acoustic song), from the extensive pyrotechnics to colorful lighting cues and costume changes, a Mrs. GREEN APPLE show feels like a cross between the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, OneRepublic and Coldplay — all global stadium-level bands, which Mrs. GREEN APPLE could certainly become.

“Lots of people are interested in the Japanese music scene and culture, and one of the reasons must be Japanese idols and anime,” Ohmori says. “But Mrs. GREEN APPLE is a band, so it will be great if more people get to know about Japanese pop and rock music as well.”

As for its upcoming album, the band is aiming big, as usual. “We imagined lots of scenes when making this music — it’s like a movie,” Ohmori says. The members have submitted five possible album titles to their team, only revealing that “the word is so big, it means something massive. So now, we’re discussing how we can embody the word. How we can promote the whole world of this word.

“We’re excited to see where we’re going and how we get there,” Ohmori continues. “That’s this era now.”

A version of this story originally appeared in the Aug. 22, 2026, issue of Billboard.