Billboard Japan will launch its first-ever comprehensive book chart this fall, marking a new chapter in the music brand’s 130-year history. The announcement was made during the Billboard ASIA Conference 2025, held on June 27 in Tokyo, which featured Billboard CEO Mike Vann among its keynote speakers.
The new chart will be unprecedented in Japan, tracking performance across multiple formats, including physical book sales from bookstores and e-commerce platforms, e-book purchases, subscription services, and even library loans. In total, eight charts will be released:
- A main comprehensive ranking
- Four genre-specific lists (literature, manga, politics, and economics)
- Three historical-era charts reflecting works from the pre-Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa periods
According to Seiji Isozaki, Senior General Manager of the Billboard Business Division at Hanshin Contents Link, the project was driven by the growing global interest in Japanese entertainment. He noted that Billboard Japan ultimately aims to expand its scope by publishing data on reading trends worldwide.
For data enthusiasts and publishing industry watchers, one of the chart’s most notable features is its inclusion of digital formats and nontraditional consumption metrics. Japan’s two major existing sales trackers—Oricon and Shoseki—primarily report physical sales estimations for books and manga, which means e-book performance, subscription reads, and library loans often go uncounted in the national conversation about bestsellers.
By incorporating these additional data streams, Billboard Japan’s chart could offer the most comprehensive snapshot yet of what people in Japan are actually reading, whether they’re flipping through a paperback, swiping on a tablet, or borrowing from the local library. This is especially useful considering 70% of manga sales in Japan are digital. So hooray for Billboard Japan! I love me some digital sales stats.
