Nogizaka46 Bows at No. 1 as back number’s Seasonal Favorite Returns to Top 10 on Japan Hot 100

Nogizaka46’s “Hodoukyo” tops the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart released Dec. 18 tallying the week from Dec. 9 to 15.

The popular girl group’s 37th single dropped on Dec. 11 and launched with 609,776 CDs to hit No. 1 for sales, while also coming in at No. 11 for downloads and No. 6 for radio airplay.

Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT.” holds at No. 2. The pop-punk hit continues to rule streaming and video views with slight gains in both metrics, while radio is up to 114% compared to last week (moving 6-4) and karaoke to 125% (67-60). Rosé’s first solo album rosie, which includes this track, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 this week.

LE SSERAFIM’s “CRAZY” follows at No. 3. The title track off the group’s fourth mini-album was released in August and debuted at No. 67 on the chart released Sept. 4 and shot to No. 8 the following week. The CD version sold 142,223 copies to power the single to No. 3 this week.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Bitter Vacances” drops to No. 5 after topping the tally last week. The track is down in downloads (64% week-over-week), streaming (82%), radio (42%), and video (66%).

back number’s “Christmas Song” (released Nov. 18, 2015) climbs eight notches to hit No. 7 this week. The seasonal favorite by the three-man band has returned to the top 10 every year since 2021 near Christmas, but the only time it’s been in the top 10 outside of the week including Dec. 24th was in Jan. 2016. Looking at the number of streams for the track from Dec. 1 to 14 since 2021, using Luminate’s analysis tool CONNECT, streams have been increasing every year, indicating that this yearning love song has taken hold as a holiday season staple in Japan. Streams for the track during the Christmas period have also increased in other Asian countries, with South Korea at 103% compared to last year and Taiwan at 108%.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Dec. 9 to 15, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.