Kayōkyoku (歌謡曲, literally "Pop Tune") is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. The Japan Times described kayōkyoku as "standard Japanese pop" or "Shōwa-era pop". Kayōkyoku represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music in this genre is extremely varied as a result. Kayōkyoku in the narrower and more practical sense, however, excludes J-pop and enka. Unlike enka, kayōkyoku is also not based on emotional displays of effort while singing.