KBS is expanding the 2026 Music Bank GLOBAL Festival in Japan lineup with eight more K-pop acts, adding ATEEZ, RIIZE, &TEAM, ITZY, Hearts2Hearts, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, RESCENE and LE SSERAFIM to the two-day event. The festival is set for Dec. 12–13 at MUFG Stadium, Tokyo’s National Stadium, with the latest announcement further strengthening an already stacked year-end bill.
The second wave divides the newly announced artists across the two dates. Saturday, December 12 will feature ATEEZ, RIIZE, Hearts2Hearts and ALPHA DRIVE ONE, with Kim Jaewon and Sana of MISAMO serving as MCs. Sunday, December 13 adds ITZY, LE SSERAFIM, &TEAM and RESCENE, with Kim Jaewon joined by Jang Wonyoung of IVE.
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The additions join a first wave announced by KBS in September that included Stray Kids, aespa, IVE, MISAMO, NAYEON, BOYNEXTDOOR, NCT WISH and CORTIS. With 16 acts now announced across the two-day program, the 2026 Music Bank GLOBAL Festival in Japan is shaping up as one of the major K-pop events of the year’s final month.
ATEEZ return to the festival following another major year of global activity, while RIIZE bring their rapidly expanding Japanese audience to the National Stadium stage. Hearts2Hearts and ALPHA DRIVE ONE add younger-generation representation to Saturday’s lineup.
Sunday brings its own concentration of major names. ITZY return to the Music Bank stage alongside LE SSERAFIM, while HYBE-affiliated Japanese-Korean group &TEAM and rising act RESCENE round out the latest additions.
The venue itself adds another layer to the event’s scale. Last year’s Music Bank GLOBAL Festival in Japan became the first K-pop multi-act concert held at Tokyo’s National Stadium, drawing approximately 140,000 fans across two days and featuring 25 acts. The 2026 edition returns to the same stadium, now branded MUFG Stadium, for another two-night celebration.
Several of the previously announced acts arrive with significant momentum of their own. Stray Kids are in the middle of their Run It world tour cycle after their August National Stadium performance, while MISAMO have continued their strong Japanese run following the release of their first full-length Japanese album, Play. aespa, IVE, BOYNEXTDOOR and NCT WISH also bring fresh album and touring activity into the year-end event, while CORTIS represent one of the newest acts on the bill.
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