Kara Emerge as Most Profitable K-Pop Group in Japan

Published on 2011/12/20 | Source

Girl group Kara have recorded W70 billion in sales of their CDs and DVDs in Japan, ranking first among K-pop singers who have made inroads into the country. Local media outlets reported Monday that Kara earned revenue of 4.93 billion yen (W74 billion) from sales of their CDs and DVDs this year, according to data released by the Oricon chart.

Top Japanese idol girl group AKB48, which has over 50 members divided into four teams, captured the top spot with 16.28 billion yen. Boy group Arashi came second with 15.37 billion yen, trailed by 14-member male group Exile, which made 5.6 billion yen.

K-pop singers who debuted in Japan this year also saw successful results. 2PM ranked second on Oricon's list of newcomers who earned the most revenue, with 990 million yen, and SHINee came third with 870 million yen.