BTS has set a new record in the Japanese music market, becoming the first foreign artist to accumulate 1 million points on the Oricon chart.
Oricon reported on Wednesday that BTS’s fifth studio album, Arirang, has reached a cumulative total of 1 million points in the Combined Album Ranking as of August 17. This ranking aggregates physical album sales, digital downloads, and streaming numbers.
With this achievement, BTS now boasts three albums that have surpassed the 1 million point mark, following BTS, The Best and their fourth Japanese studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~. This feat places them third in history, behind only local favorites Snow Man and Mrs. Green Apple, and stands as a unique accomplishment for a foreign artist.
BTS has also shattered records on Billboard Japan. Their 2020 English-language debut single, “Dynamite,” has surpassed 1 billion streams, a total that combines plays from major Japanese music platforms and YouTube Music. This makes “Dynamite” the first foreign song to reach the billion-stream milestone in Japan.
Earlier this year, their fifth studio album Arirang dominated Oricon’s First Half Ranking 2026, clinching both the Album Ranking and Combined Album Ranking titles. Notably, the album’s sales exceeded 700,000 copies in the first half of the year, a feat not seen since Queen’s “Jewels” in 2004 – a 19-year gap.
By breaking records in both physical and digital charts, BTS has once again cemented its unparalleled status in Japan. As the group continues to make history and exert global influence in the music industry, fans and critics alike eagerly anticipate BTS’s next moves.
