BTS achieved another major milestone in Japan after scoring a double win on Oricon’s 2026 mid-year chart with their fifth album, ARIRANG.
The charts, released on June 25, covered musical performances from December 8, 2025 to June 7, 2026. The group took first place on both the album chart and the combined album chart, further solidifying their record-breaking success in one of the world’s largest music markets.
ARIRANG sold about 728,000 copies during the tracking period, making BTS the only foreign group to top the Oricon album chart twice, The Chosun reported.
Their first success came in 2020 with the Japanese studio album Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~. The latest result also marks the first time in 22 years that a foreign male artist has surpassed 700,000 album sales in Oricon’s first-half chart, after Queen. Jewels in 2004. The group also created another first by topping the combined Oricon album chart with 922,000 points.
BTS breaks new ground on Oricon
BTS became the first foreign artist and first K-pop group to lead the category. Only three albums in Oricon history have earned more than 800,000 points, placing ARIRANG along with releases from King & Prince and Snow Man.
Adding to their success, BTS ranked third on the digital album chart, showing strong support from both physical album buyers and digital listeners.
In a statement shared via Oricon, BTS thanked fans for supporting their latest release.
“ARIRANG is our first album with the entire group in three years and nine months. We are happy that an album that reflects who we are today has received so much love,” the group said.
According to AllKPop, they also expressed gratitude to ARMY, adding, “We sincerely thank everyone who has loved and supported BTS and our music.”
The album’s results extended beyond Japan. ARIRANG it was included in several international lists of the best mid-year albums by Billboard, Rolling Stone, Complex and NME.
Billboard praised BTS’s return after the hiatus and highlighted the title track “SWIM” for topping the Billboard Hot 100. The publication also recognized songs such as “Body to Body”, “Hooligan” and “Like Animals” for showing the group’s musical growth.
