Global phenomenon BTS has captivated Japan, dominating the front pages of major sports newspapers following their highly anticipated ‘WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN TOKYO’ concert.
On April 17th and 18th, Japan’s five leading sports publications – Nikkan Sports, Sports Nippon, Sports Hochi, Sankei Sports, and Daily Sports – extensively covered the event, dedicating their front-page headlines to the K-pop supergroup’s triumphant return.
Japanese media outlets prominently featured key phrases such as “Full group return after 7 years,” “Tokyo Dome frenzy,” and “Reunion with ARMY” (the group’s devoted fandom). They highlighted the profound significance of the concert, focusing on BTS’s long-awaited comeback to the Japanese stage as a complete septet and the electrifying response from the sold-out Tokyo Dome audience.
This marked BTS’s first full-group concert in Japan in approximately seven years, since their ‘BTS WORLD TOUR ‘LOVE YOURSELF : SPEAK YOURSELF’ – JAPAN EDITION’ in July 2019. Both dates of the ‘ARIRANG’ concert were completely sold out, unequivocally demonstrating the immense and unwavering anticipation for BTS among their Japanese fanbase.
This fervent interest extends beyond concerts to album sales. According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), BTS’s 5th full-length album, ‘ARIRANG’, achieved ‘Triple Platinum’ certification as of March, having shipped over 750,000 copies. This marks their second career ‘Triple Platinum’ certification in Japan, following their 4th Japanese full-length album, ‘MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 ～ THE JOURNEY ～’. Notably, ‘ARIRANG’ reached this impressive milestone in just 11 days since its release on March 20th, showcasing its formidable popularity in the local market. Furthermore, it stands as the first album this year to be awarded ‘Triple Platinum’ certification across both Japanese and international releases. The RIAJ bestows Gold Disc certifications monthly based on cumulative album shipments: Gold (over 100,000 units), Platinum (over 250,000 units), Double Platinum (over 500,000 units), Triple Platinum (over 750,000 units), and Million (over 1,000,000 units).
BTS also demonstrated strong performance on Japan’s Oricon charts. They placed five songs on the ‘Weekly Streaming Rapid Rise Ranking’ (dated April 20th, compiled from April 6th to April 12th), with new album tracks ‘2.0’ and ‘Hooligan’ soaring to No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Additionally, the group’s global mega-hits ‘Butter’ (No. 6), ‘Dynamite’ (No. 7), and ‘Permission to Dance’ (No. 9) all re-entered the Top 10, signaling a resurgence in popularity for their existing catalog alongside the success of their latest releases.
Globally, BTS continues to assert their formidable presence across major music charts. On Spotify’s latest weekly charts (compiled from April 10th to April 16th), they dominated both the ‘Weekly Top Album’ and ‘Weekly Top Song’ global charts for a remarkable fourth consecutive week. All 14 tracks from their new album also maintained their positions on the ‘Weekly Top Song Global’ for the fourth straight week. The album ‘ARIRANG’ secured the No. 5 spot on the UK Official Charts’ ‘Official Albums Top 100’ (dated April 17th – April 23rd), sustaining a top-tier position for four weeks. The title track, ‘SWIM’, also charted at No. 25 on the ‘Official Singles Top 100’.
