No longer a temporary phenomenon, K-pop is affirming its sustainable position through stable purchasing power and wide coverage on both album and single charts.
According to statistics, K-pop groups and groups directly related to Korean entertainment companies have occupied nearly half of the top 100 best-selling albums in Japan in 2025. In particular, Stray Kids is the most prominent name with 5 albums on the chart, the most among K-pop artists this year. The group's Japanese mini album Hollow ranked 5th, becoming the highest-charting K-pop album on Oricon 2025, showing the group's strong appeal in the Japanese market.
Besides Stray Kids, SEVENTEEN continues to prove their position as one of the top K-pop boy groups with many products featured, including the album HAPPY BURSTDAY, SPILL THE FEELS and the BSS single project on the year-end singles chart. TXT and ENHYPEN also made a clear impression with their high-ranking albums, reflecting their loyal fan base and stable release strategy in Japan.
A notable point in 2025 is the strong emergence of new-generation music groups. ZEROBASEONE has had four albums in the top 100, while BOYNEXTDOOR, TWS, NEXZ and RIIZE all participated, showing the ability of the next generation to quickly expand the market. &TEAM - a group mainly active in Japan under the management of HYBE - continues to hold a high position with two albums in the top 10 and top 20, becoming a typical bridge between K-pop and J-pop.
In the girl group category, TWICE maintained a lasting influence with many albums and small group projects MISAMO entering the chart. IVE attracted attention with three albums, while LE SSERAFIM showed stable purchasing power not only in the album but also in the single segment, with three songs on the year-end chart. The appearance of aespa and Baby Monster shows that new generation girl groups are also gradually asserting their position in Japan.
On the 2025 year-end singles chart, K-pop groups continue to dominate with 12 positions, stretching from ENHYPEN, &TEAM to SEVENTEEN and LE SSERAFIM. This shows that not only the album but also the individual products of the K-pop group have good sales in the Japanese market.
The dominance of K-pop groups on the Oricon 2025 rankings reflects an increasingly effective localization strategy, from releasing Japanese albums, organizing tours, to maintaining long-term promotional activities. More importantly, this affirms that K-pop is no longer a "guest" in Japan, but has become a stable part of the music market of this country.
