Billboard Japan is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine Billboard. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from Billboard's parent company to the Billboard brand name in Japan, and manages, among others, the website www.billboard-japan.com and several "Billboard Live"-branded music clubs located in the country.

In February 2008, Hanshin Contents Link, under licence from Billboard, launched the Billboard Japan Hot 100 music chart. As of 2025, the list of charts compiled by Billboard Japan also included an albums chart named Billboard Japan Hot Albums, physical-sales-only-based charts Top Singles Sales and Top Albums Sales, download-only-based charts Download Songs and Download Albums, an animation music chart named Hot Animation, and a chart for foreign songs named Hot Overseas, etc. In November 2025, the company launches book charts to list the best-selling books in Japan.

From 2010 to 2016, Billboard Japan holds an annual awards ceremony called the Billboard Japan Music Awards, which honors domestic and international artists who achieved the best results on Billboard Japan's music charts during the previous year.

Charts

Singles and tracks

TitleTypePositionsDescription
Japan Hot 100Physical sales + digital sales + streaming + airplay + video playback + karaoke100Charts for comprehensive released songs First launched on March 3, 2008
Hot Animation20Charts for anime and video game music songs First launched on December 1, 2010
Hot Overseas20Charts for internationally released songs by Western artists First launched on December 9, 2013
Top Singles SalesPhysical sales100Chart for top-selling physical singles sales One of the component charts of the Japan Hot 100
Download SongsDigital sales100Chart for top-selling digital song sales One of the component charts of the Japan Hot 100 Launched on October 9, 2017, after Radio Songs Chart became defunct
Streaming SongsStreaming100Chart for top-streaming songs One of the component charts of the Japan Hot 100 Launched on October 9, 2017, after Radio Songs Chart became defunct
Top User Generated SongsVideo playback20Chart for top-user-generated views songs from YouTube views One of the component charts of the Japan Hot 100 Launched on December 7, 2020
Heatseekers SongsDigital sales + streaming + airplay + video playback20Chart for songs from new artists that have never attained the top 20 of the Japan Hot 100. Launched on December 7, 2020
Niconico Vocaloid Songs Top 20Video views + video uploading + comments + likes20Chart for Vocaloid songs posted in video hosting service Niconico Launched on December 7, 2022 Discontinued between the week of June 12 and September 4, 2024, due to the cyberattack on Niconico.
Global Japan Songs Excl. JapanDigital sales + streaming20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from territories outside Japan Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (South Korea)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from South Korea Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (Singapore)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Singapore Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (India)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from India Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (France)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from France Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (UK)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from the United Kingdom Launched on September 14, 2023
Japan Songs (Thailand)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Thailand Launched on November 9, 2023
Japan Songs (South Africa)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from South Africa Launched on November 9, 2023
Japan Songs (US)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from the United States Launched on November 9, 2023
Japan Songs (Brazil)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Brazil Launched on November 9, 2023
Hot Shot SongDigital sales + streaming + video playback20Chart for the most increased songs in Japan from the previous week Launched on December 4, 2024
Japan Songs (Taiwan)Digital sales + streaming20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Taiwan Launched on December 5, 2024
Japan Songs (Germany)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Germany Launched on December 5, 2024
Japan Songs (Indonesia)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Indonesia Launched on March 27, 2025
Japan Songs (Malaysia)20Chart for Japanese comprehensive released songs from Malaysia Launched on March 27, 2025

Albums

TitleTypePositionsDescription
Hot AlbumsPhysical sales + digital sales + streaming100Charts for comprehensive released albums (include extended plays) Launched on June 4, 2015, replaced from Top Albums
Top Albums SalesPhysical sales100Chart for top-selling physical album sales One of the component charts of the Hot Albums
Download AlbumsDigital sales100Chart for top-selling digital album sales Launched on October 9, 2017 One of the component charts of the Hot Albums

Artists

TitlePositionsDescription
Artist 100100Chart for the artists who earned points at the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums Launched on December 7, 2020
Hot 100 Lyricists100Chart for the lyricists who earned points at the Japan Hot 100 Launched on December 7, 2020
Hot 100 Composers100Chart for the composers who earned points at the Japan Hot 100 Launched on December 7, 2020

Books

TitleTypePositionsDescription
Book Hot 100Physical books + E-books + loaned books from library + social media indicator100Chart for best-selling books Launched on November 6, 2025
Hot Bungei Books20Chart for best-selling literary books Launched on November 6, 2025
Hot Manga20Chart for best-selling comic books (manga) Launched on November 6, 2025
Hot Economy Books20Chart for best-selling politics and economy-related books Launched on November 6, 2025
Hot Culture Books20Chart for best-selling culture and art-related books Launched on November 6, 2025
Showa Books20Chart for best-selling books first published during the Shōwa era Launched on November 6, 2025
Heisei Books20Chart for best-selling books first published during the Heisei era Launched on November 6, 2025
Reiwa Books20Chart for best-selling books first published during the Reiwa era Launched on November 6, 2025
Hot Shot Books20Chart for the most increased-selling songs in Japan from the previous week Launched on December 4, 2025

Music Labo

Music Labo(ミュージック・ラボ) was a music magazine in Japan, published from 1970 to 1994. Billboard Publications bought 45% of that business to create Billboard Japan/Music Labo in 1971. The magazine published a number of record charts including the "Hot 150", the "Hot 100", and the "Hot 50". The Music Labo charts were used for the "Japan" section of "Hits of the World" in Billboard. There were Billboard and Music Labo Awards at the Tokyo Music Festival.

See also

Notes

External links

  • (in Japanese)