Kabushiki-gaisha Orikon, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western culture music. It started as Kabushiki-gaisha Orijinaru Konfidensu, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its .
The charts are compiled from data drawn from some 39,700 retail outlets () and provide sales rankings of music CDs, DVDs, electronic games, and other entertainment products based on weekly tabulations.
Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2018.
History
Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company, was founded by the former Snow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. That November, the company began publishing a singles chart on an experimental basis.
Entitled surveys of total entertainment markets, this went official on January 4, 1968.
Like the preceding Japanese music charts provided by Tokushin Music Report which was started in 1962,
The company shortened its name to Oricon in 1992 and was split into a holding company and several subsidiaries in 1999. Since Sōkō Koike's death, Oricon has been managed by the founder's relatives.
Policy
Oricon monitors and reports on sales of CDs, DVDs, video games, and entertainment content in several other formats; manga and book sales were also formerly covered. Charts are published every Tuesday in
Oricon Style and on Oricon's official website. Every Monday, Oricon receives data from outlets, but data on merchandise sold through certain channels does not make it into the charts. For example, the debut single of NEWS, a pop group, was released only through 7-Eleven stores, which are not covered by Oricon, and its sales were not reflected in the Oricon charts. Oricon's rankings of record sales are therefore not completely accurate. Before data was collected electronically, the charts were compiled on the basis of faxes that were sent from record shops.
Controversy
In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a
Saizo (or
Cyso) magazine article as suggesting that Oricon was manipulating its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels, specifically Johnny and Associates. Ugaya condemned the lawsuit as an example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in Japan.
The lawsuit, filed by Oricon on November 17, 2006, accused Ugaya of "mendacious comments" and demanded 50 million yen (318,000 euros) in damages. In the interview, Ugaya had questioned the validity of Oricon's hit chart on the grounds that its statistical methods were not transparent. Many
, including Reporters Without Borders, denounced the lawsuit as a violation of free expression. A Tokyo District Court initially ordered Ugaya to pay one million yen in damages, but Ugaya appealed to the Tokyo high court. Oricon later dropped the charges, after a 33-month battle.
A settlement was reached under which the publisher of
Saizo magazine, who intervened in the lawsuit from the High Court, apologized to Ugaya for "publishing inaccurate comments without permission" and paid him 5 million yen, and also apologized to Oricon for discrediting the chart. Oricon waived its claim for damages and Ugaya, who had also filed a counterclaim for damages, waived his counterclaim.
No criminal charge was laid against the journalist.
Dropping a lawsuit is rare in Japan; for example, only 0.1% of cases that ended in 2007 were on account of the plaintiff ceasing the case.
Shareholders
(
as of March 31, 2012)
-
LitruPond LLC – 29.34%
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Yoshiaki Yoshida (DHC Corp. president) – 8.94%
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Hikari Tsushin, Inc. – 4.94%
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Ko Koike (CEO) – 2.75%
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Lawson, Inc. – 1.98%
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Hidekō Koike – 1.89%
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Naoko Koike – 1.87%
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DHC Corp. – 1.59%
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Yumi Koike – 1.55%
Charts
Current charts
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Singles Chart (January 4, 1968 – present)
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Albums Chart (October 5, 1987 – present)
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Karaoke Chart (December 26, 1994 – present)
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DVD Chart (April 5, 1999 – present)
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Book Chart (April 7, 2008 – present)
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Comic Chart (February 6, 1995 – March 26, 2001; April 7, 2008 – present)
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Bunkobon Chart (April 7, 2008 – present)
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Blu-ray Disc Chart (September 7, 2008 – present)
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Music DVD & Blu-ray Disc Chart (October 14, 2013 – present)
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Long Hit Album Catalogue Chart (April 2, 2001 – present)
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Digital Albums Chart (November 14, 2016 – present)
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Digital Singles Chart (December 25, 2017 – present)
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Streaming Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)
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Combined Albums Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)
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Combined Singles Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)
Past charts
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Long play Chart (January 5, 1970 – November 27, 1989)
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Cassette tape Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978)
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Cartridges Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978)
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Compact disc Chart (February 6, 1984 – April 21, 1997)
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LaserDisc Chart (February 6, 1984 – January 31, 2000)
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Sell-Video Chart (February 6, 1984 – May 30, 2005)
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VHD Chart (February 6, 1984 – November 27, 1989)
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MiniDisc Chart (1994)
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Game Software Chart (February 20, 1995 – November 28, 2005)
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All-Genre Formats Ranking (May 24, 1984 – April 2, 2001)
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New Media Chart (January 2004 – 2005)
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Tracks Chart (September 6, 2004 – August 31, 2008)
Top Artists' total sales revenue by year
|
| 1974 | Yōsui Inoue[ 2010年音楽ソフト市場 嵐、いきものがかりが部門首位 メーカー別ではソニーがV2 . Oricon. 14 January 2011 4:00.] |
| 1975 |
| 1976 | Yumi Arai[ コンフィデンス年鑑 1977年版. 31p.] |
| 1977 | Pink Lady[ コンフィデンス年鑑 1978年版. 28p.][ コンフィデンス年鑑 1979年版. 30p.] |
| 1978 |
| 1979 | Alice[ オリコン年鑑 1980年版. 30p.] |
| 1980 | Yellow Magic Orchestra[ オリコン年鑑 1981年版. 31p.] |
| 1981 | Akira Terao[ オリコン年鑑 1982年版. 30p.] |
| 1982 | Off Course[ オリコン年鑑 1983年版. 27p.] |
| 1983 | Akina Nakamori[ オリコン年鑑 1984年版. 28p.] |
| 1984 | Seiko Matsuda[ オリコン年鑑 1985年版. 28p.] |
| 1985 | Akina Nakamori[ オリコン年鑑 1986年版. 345p.][ オリコン年鑑 1987年版. 379p.][ オリコン年鑑 1988年版. Capital 17p.] |
| 1986 |
| 1987 |
| 1988 | Hikaru Genji[ オリコン年鑑 1989年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'88. 28p.] |
| 1989 | Yumi Matsutoya |
| 1990 | Southern All Stars |
| 1991 | B'z |
| 1992 | CHAGE and ASKA |
| 1993 | Zard |
| 1994 | TRF |
| 1995 |
| 1996 | Namie Amuro[ オリコン年鑑 1997年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'96. 29p.] |
| 1997 | Glay[ オリコン年鑑 1998年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'97. 23p.][ オリコン、「第35回日本レコードセールス大賞」を発表。 . Narinari.com. December 29, 2002.] |
| 1998 | B'z[ オリコン年鑑 1999年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'98. 23p.] |
| 1999 | Hikaru Utada[ オリコン年鑑 2000年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ'99. 25p.][ オリコン「第35回日本レコードセールス大賞」発表 . Musicman編集部. December 12, 2002.] |
| 2000 | Ayumi Hamasaki[ オリコン年鑑 2001年版別冊 オリコン・チャート・データ2000. 26p.][ 浜崎あゆみ、CD売り上げ2年連続ナンバーワン. SANSPO.COM. December 14, 2001.][ オリコン年鑑 2002年版 データ本. 25p.] |
| 2001 |
| 2002 | Hikaru Utada[ オリコン年鑑 2003年版 データ本. 62p.] |
| 2003 | Ayumi Hamasaki[ オリコン年鑑 2004年版 データ本. 60p.][ あゆ2年ぶり｢セールス大賞｣ . スポニチアネックス. December 15, 2003.] |
| 2004 | Hikaru Utada[ オリコン年鑑 2005年版 データ本. 76p.][ 倖田來未、年間セールス127億円で初の大賞! . Oricon. 2006-12-21,14:00.] |
| 2005 | Orange Range[ オリコン年鑑 2006年版. 77p.][ 2005年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング . Oricon. December 19, 2005.] |
| 2006 | Kumi Koda[ オリコン年鑑 2007年版. 76p.][ 2006年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表! . Oricon. December 21, 2006.][ オリコン年鑑 2008年版. 76p.][ 2007年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表! . Oricon. December 18, 2007.] |
| 2007 |
| 2008 | EXILE[ オリコン年鑑 2009年版. 100p.][ 2008年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表! . Oricon. December 11, 2008.] |
| 2009 | Arashi[ 2009年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング . Oricon. December 18, 2009.][ 2010年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス . Oricon. December 20, 2010.] |
| 2010 |
| 2011 | AKB48[ 2011年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス . Oricon. December 19, 2011.][ 2012年 オリコン年間ランキング アーティストトータルセールス . Oricon. December 20, 2012.] |
| 2012 |
| 2013 | Arashi[ 2013年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング . Oricon. December 15, 2013.][ 2014年 年間音楽&映像ランキング発表 . Oricon. December 20, 2014.][ 2015年 年間音楽ランキングを発表！ .Oricon. December 23, 2015.][ 2016年 年間音楽&映像ランキング 嵐が前人未到の記録達成！ . Oricon. December 24, 2016.] |
| 2014 |
| 2015 |
| 2016 |
| 2017 |
| 2018 | Namie Amuro |
| 2019 | Arashi |
| 2020 |
| 2021 | BTS |
| 2022 |
| 2023 | King & Prince |
| 2024 | Snow Man |
| 2025 |
See also
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List of Oricon number-one singles
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List of Oricon number-one albums
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List of best-selling singles in Japan
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List of best-selling albums in Japan
Footnotes
External links
