Cool thread! I love The Pillows and Starshooter!
Here are some of my personal Japanese rock band recommendations:
The Blue Hearts - Linda Linda The Blue Hearts are kind of THE iconic Japanese punk band, and this song was very well-known.
The Pees - やっとハッピー (Finally Happy)
Tomovsky - 我に返るスキマを埋めろ (DON'T RETURN TO YOU)
Sunny Day Service - 心に雲を持つ少年 (The Boy Who Keeps Clouds in his Heart)
Flipper's Guitar - Camera Camera Camera! (Guitar Pop Version) Arguably one of the main bands that defined the unique 90s Shibuya-Kei genre.
Magokoro Brothers - 空にまいあがれ (Fly in the Sky)
Salon Music - Spending Silent Night
Moonriders - Cool Dynamo, Right On Fans of the game Earthbound should pay special attention to this one!
And The Pillows - Midnight Down for good measure. RIP to Shinichiro Sato, the fantastic drummer of The Pillows who died in back in March of this year. I love the drums in this song, and so many of their others. He was a great drummer with amazing chops while still doing what was best for the song. As an American I feel very lucky that I was able to see The Pillows live a couple of times.
As for some French stuff that I like:
Téléphone - Un autre monde (Another World)
Les Fils de Joie - Adieu Paris
...and if anyone has any recommendations for me I'll gladly check them out!