BTS Tops Japan's First-Half Album Sales as 6 K-pop Acts Rank in Top 20

The best-selling album in Japan during the first half of this year was BTS's fifth studio album "ARIRANG," according to the latest tally. K-pop-related groups demonstrated their strength by accounting for six acts in the top 20.

According to Billboard Japan's first-half "Top Album Sales" chart released Monday, "ARIRANG" ranked first with 706,961 copies sold, beating local artists. Notably, the top 20 of the chart included six K-pop-related groups, including BTS, underscoring the intense heat of the Korean Wave.

"We on Fire," the third mini-album by &Team, a Japan-based boy group under HYBE, ranked second, while Enhypen's seventh mini-album "THE SIN : VANISH" took fourth place. Tomorrow X Together (TXT)'s eighth mini-album "7TH YEAR: When a Breeze Briefly Stopped in the Thornbush" ranked seventh, and TWS's "NO TRAGEDY" came in tenth.

BTS, &Team, Enhypen, Tomorrow X Together, and TWS are all signed to labels under HYBE.

Regarding &Team, HYBE said, "It holds great symbolic significance as a team presented by a label under HYBE Japan that transplanted the K-pop production system." The company added, "Combining the K-pop training, production, and operation model while reflecting local Japanese sentiment led to these strong results."