, 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 music. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter's Oricon record charts in April 2002.
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. Results are announced every Tuesday and published in Oricon Style by subsidiary Oricon Entertainment Inc. The group also lists panel survey-based popularity ratings for television commercials on its official website.
Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2018.
They also started publishing English content related to anime and manga to Japan Anime News powered by ORICON NEWS.
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 , this went official on January 4, 1968.
Like the preceding Japanese music charts provided by Tokushin Music Report which was started in 1962, early Original Confidence was an exclusive information magazine only for the people who worked in the music industry. In the 1970s, Koike advertised his company's charts to make its existence prevail among the Japanese public. Thanks to his intensive promotional efforts through multiple media including television programs, the hit parade became known by its abbreviation "Oricon" by the late 1970s.
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.
They release an English publication for North America dedicated to anime and manga called Japan Anime News powered by ORICON NEWS.
In 2026, Oricon underwent a management buyout. A tender offer launched by an acquisition vehicle backed by Marunouchi Capital was initially priced at ¥1,332 per share and was later increased to ¥1,370 per share. In September, shareholders approved a 2,333,576-to-1 share consolidation as part of the transaction, and Oricon was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on September 28, 2026.
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 NGOs, 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% Yoshiaki Yoshida (DHC Corp. president) – 8.94% Hikari Tsushin, Inc. – 4.94% Ko Koike (CEO) – 2.75% Lawson, Inc. – 1.98% Hidekō Koike – 1.89% Naoko Koike – 1.87% DHC Corp. – 1.59% Yumi Koike – 1.55%
Charts Current charts Singles Chart (January 4, 1968 – present) Albums Chart (October 5, 1987 – present) Karaoke Chart (December 26, 1994 – present) DVD Chart (April 5, 1999 – present) Book Chart (April 7, 2008 – present) Comic Chart (February 6, 1995 – March 26, 2001; April 7, 2008 – present) Bunkobon Chart (April 7, 2008 – present) Blu-ray Disc Chart (September 7, 2008 – present) Music DVD & Blu-ray Disc Chart (October 14, 2013 – present) Long Hit Album Catalogue Chart (April 2, 2001 – present) Digital Albums Chart (November 14, 2016 – present) Digital Singles Chart (December 25, 2017 – present) Streaming Chart (December 24, 2018 – present) Combined Albums Chart (December 24, 2018 – present) Combined Singles Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)
Past charts LP Chart (January 5, 1970 – November 27, 1989) CT Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978) Cartridges Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978) CD Chart (February 6, 1984 – April 21, 1997) LD Chart (February 6, 1984 – January 31, 2000) Sell-Video Chart (February 6, 1984 – May 30, 2005) VHD Chart (February 6, 1984 – November 27, 1989) MD Chart (1994) Game Software Chart (February 20, 1995 – November 28, 2005) All-Genre Formats Ranking (May 24, 1984 – April 2, 2001) New Media Chart (January 2004 – 2005) Tracks Chart (September 6, 2004 – August 31, 2008)
Top Artists' total sales revenue by year Year Artist 1974 Yōsui Inoue . Oricon. 14 January 2011 4:00. 1975 1976 Yumi Arai. 31p. 1977 Pink Lady. 28p.. 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 Arashi2009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 AKB482011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 2013Arashi2013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 List of Oricon number-one singles List of Oricon number-one albums List of best-selling singles in Japan List of best-selling albums in Japan
Footnotes
References
External links
- Japan Anime News