You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (December 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,323 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:第63回NHK紅白歌合戦]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|第63回NHK紅白歌合戦}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The 63rd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (第63回NHK紅白歌合戦), referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", aired December 31, 2012 from NHK Hall in Japan beginning from 7:15 p.m. JST.

On December 18, 2012, NHK announced it will broadcast Kōhaku live using ultra-high-definition television technology from two locations: Tokyo Tower and at NHK's Yokohama station.^[2] NHK first used UHDTV for a Kōhaku during its 57th event in 2006.

Debuting or returning artists are in bold.

• Red Team Captain: Maki Horikita^[14]
• White Team Captain: Arashi)^[14]
• Mediator: Yumiko Udō^[14]

• Announcer NHK Radio 1: Minori Aoi, Naoko Hashimoto
• Kōhaku Ura Talk: Terry Ito, Kouji Komatsu
• Overseas Relay: Yuka Kubota (Portland, Oregon)^[15]

• Haruka Ayase (actress), played Niijima Yae in Taiga Yae no Sakura
• Naoki Ogi (Hosei University professor)
• Homare Sawa (football player), won FIFA World Player of the Year
• Nakamura Kankurō VI (Kabuki actor), received the 6th generation Nakamura Kankurō name
• Kirin Kiki (actress), won the Special Grand Prix of the jury at Montreal World Film Festival
• Katsura Bunshi VI (Rakugoka), received the 6th generation Katsura Bunshi name
• Saori Yoshida (freestyle wrestler), gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, was awarded the People's Honour Award
• Ryosuke Irie (swimmer), silver and bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Yoko Kanno (composer), composed the Tōhoku Earthquake Recovery Support Song, "Hana wa Saku"
• Harumafuji Kōhei (sumo wrestler), won the Honbasho and was promoted to Yokozuna

• Nobuyuki Tsujii
• Pink Martini^[15]
• Kyoji Yamamoto
• Masaaki Hirao

The 63rd event is faced with controversy over the non-existence of acts from South Korea^[16] In one source, it is suspected that government-funded NHK avoided inviting Korean acts because of the territorial disputes over Liancourt Rocks between the South Korean and Japanese governments. Sports Chosun reported on a statement made by an NHK representative. "The fact that President Lee Myung Bak has demanded an apology is a great factor. After this incident occurred, there have been more and more hallyu stars who have stated that 'Dokdo is ours.' Considering this, viewers might have ill feelings about the K-pop stars appearing," said the NHK representative.^[17]