Kan Kimura (木村 和, Kimura Kan, September 24, 1962 – November 12, 2023), known by his stage name Kan (commonly stylized as KAN), was a Japanese singer-songwriter.
In 1983, he joined his first band, which was called Annette, before going solo in 1984. Kan wrote the background music for a 1986 film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, and started his major recording career the following year.[1] He is best known for the chart-topping hit "Ai wa Katsu", released as a single in 1990.[2] It sold over 2 million copies and won the 33rd Japan Record Award, bringing the artist into prominence.[3] Subsequently, he spawned five top-ten singles and four top-ten albums on the Japanese record chart during the first half of the 1990s.[4]
As of 2010, Kan had released 33 singles and 15 studio albums. According to the Oricon, he sold over 4.6 million copies of albums and singles in his home country.[5][6]
^第33回日本レコード大賞 [The 33rd Record Awards Winners]. jacompa.jp (in Japanese). Japanese Composers Association. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
^"KANのCDシングルランキング" [KAN: Peak positions and weeks on chart]. Original Confidence. Retrieved September 24, 2012.Note: Reference indicates chart positions from 1988 onwards, and part of the information are currently unavailable
^ abc"KANのCDアルバムランキング" [KAN: Peak positions and weeks on chart]. Original Confidence. Retrieved September 24, 2012.Note: Reference indicates chart positions from 1988 onwards, and part of the information are currently unavailable