BTS tops Japan's Oricon chart with 'Arirang' album

South Korean group BTS saw its fifth studio album Arirang lead Japan’s Oricon weekly rankings for the first half of 2026. The record claimed the number‑one spot on both the physical‑album chart and the combined album chart, which aggregates physical sales, digital downloads and streaming. With approximately 728,000 physical copies sold, the album recorded more than 800,000 points, making BTS the third act ever and the first overseas artist to surpass that threshold. The group also placed third on Oricon’s digital‑album ranking. International outlets such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, Complex, The Telegraph and NME cited Arirang among the best releases of the period.