Oricon Inc. (株式会社オリコン,Kabushiki-gaisha Orikon), established in 1999, is theholding company at the head of a Japanesecorporate group that suppliesstatistics and information on music and themusic industry in Japan andWestern music. It started as Original Confidence Inc. (株式会社オリジナルコンフィデンス,Kabushiki-gaisha Orijinaru Konfidensu), which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for itsmusic charts.^[1] Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter's Oricon record charts in April 2002.

Oricon Inc.
株式会社オリコン

Company type	Holding company, owner of Oricon Entertainment Inc.[1]
Traded as	TYO:4800
Industry	Broadcast of music entertainment (from Japan, North America and Europe)
Founded	November 1967 (as Original Confidence)[1] October 1, 1999 (as Oricon Direct Digital)[2] June 2001 (as Oricon Global Entertainment) July 2002[2]
Headquarters	Roppongi,Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Soko Koike:CEO
Owner	seeList of Oricon's shareholders
Number of employees	198 (full-time workers, as of September 30, 2016)[3]
Parent	Oricon Entertainment Inc. (October 1999 – June 2001)
Subsidiaries	Oricon Entertainment Inc. (June 2001 – present)
Website	Official site of Oricon Inc. Official site of Oricon Charts

The charts are compiled from data drawn from some 39,700 retail outlets (as of April 2011^[update]) and provide sales rankings of music CDs, DVDs, electronic games, and other entertainment products based on weekly tabulations.^[4] Results are announced every Tuesday and published inOricon Style by subsidiary Oricon Entertainment Inc. The group also lists panel survey-based popularity ratings fortelevision commercials on its official website.^[5]

Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2018.^[6]

Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company, was founded by the formerSnow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. That November, the company began publishing a singles chart on an experimental basis. EntitledSōgō Geinō Shijō Chōsa (総合芸能市場調査,surveys of total entertainment markets), this went official on January 4, 1968.

Like the preceding Japanese music charts provided by Tokushin Music Report which was started in 1962,^[7] earlyOriginal Confidence was an exclusive information magazine only for the people who worked in the music industry. In the 1970s, Koike advertised his company's charts to make its existence prevail among the Japanese public. Thanks to his intensive promotional efforts through multiple media including television programs, the hit parade became known by its abbreviation "Oricon" by the late 1970s.

The company shortened its name to Oricon in 1992 and was split into a holding company and several subsidiaries in 1999. Since Sōkō Koike's death, Oricon has been managed by the founder's relatives.

Oricon monitors and reports on sales of CDs, DVDs, video games, and entertainment content in several other formats; manga and book sales were also formerly covered. Charts are published every Tuesday inOricon Style and on Oricon's official website. Every Monday, Oricon receives data from outlets, but data on merchandise sold through certain channels does not make it into the charts. For example, the debut single ofNEWS, a pop group, was released only through7-Eleven stores, which are not covered by Oricon, and its sales were not reflected in the Oricon charts. Oricon's rankings of record sales are therefore not completely accurate. Before data was collected electronically, the charts were compiled on the basis of faxes that were sent from record shops.

In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in aSaizo (orCyso) magazine article as suggesting that Oricon was manipulating its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels, specificallyJohnny and Associates. Ugaya condemned the lawsuit as an example of astrategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in Japan.^[8] The lawsuit, filed by Oricon on November 17, 2006, accused Ugaya of "mendacious comments" and demanded 50 million yen (318,000 euros) in damages. In the interview, Ugaya had questioned the validity of Oricon's hit chart on the grounds that its statistical methods were not transparent. ManyNGOs, includingReporters Without Borders, denounced the lawsuit as a violation of free expression. A Tokyo District Court initially ordered Ugaya to pay one million yen in damages, but Ugaya appealed to theTokyo high court. Oricon later dropped the charges, after a 33-month battle.^[9] A settlement was reached under which the publisher of Saizo magazine, who intervened in the lawsuit from the High Court, apologized to Ugaya for "publishing inaccurate comments without permission" and paid him 5 million yen, and also apologized to Oricon for discrediting the chart. Oricon waived its claim for damages and Ugaya, who had also filed a counterclaim for damages, waived his counterclaim.^[10] No criminal charge was laid against the journalist.

Dropping a lawsuit is rare in Japan; for example, only 0.1% of cases that ended in 2007 were on account of the plaintiff ceasing the case.^[11]

(as of March 31, 2012)

• LitruPond LLC – 29.34%
• Yoshiaki Yoshida (DHC Corp. president) – 8.94%
• Hikari Tsushin, Inc. – 4.94%
• Ko Koike (CEO) – 2.75%
• Lawson, Inc. – 1.98%
• Hidekō Koike – 1.89%
• Naoko Koike – 1.87%
• DHC Corp. – 1.59%
• Yumi Koike – 1.55%

• Singles Chart (January 4, 1968 – present)
• Albums Chart (October 5, 1987 – present)
• Karaoke Chart (December 26, 1994 – present)
• DVD Chart (April 5, 1999 – present)
• Book Chart (April 7, 2008 – present)
• Comic Chart (February 6, 1995 – March 26, 2001; April 7, 2008 – present)
• Bunkobon Chart (April 7, 2008 – present)
• Blu-ray Disc Chart (September 7, 2008 – present)
• Music DVD & Blu-ray Disc Chart (October 14, 2013 – present)
• Long Hit Album Catalogue Chart (April 2, 2001 – present)
• Digital Albums Chart (November 14, 2016 – present)^[12]
• Digital Singles Chart (December 25, 2017 – present)^[13]
• Streaming Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)^[14]
• Combined Albums Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)^[14]
• Combined Singles Chart (December 24, 2018 – present)^[14]

• LP Chart (January 5, 1970 – November 27, 1989)
• CT Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978)
• Cartridges Chart (December 2, 1974 – April 24, 1978)
• CD Chart (February 6, 1984 – April 21, 1997)
• LD Chart (February 6, 1984 – January 31, 2000)
• Sell-Video Chart (February 6, 1984 – May 30, 2005)
• VHD Chart (February 6, 1984 – November 27, 1989)
• MD Chart (1994)
• Game Software Chart (February 20, 1995 – November 28, 2005)
• All-Genre Formats Ranking (May 24, 1984 – April 2, 2001)
• New Media Chart (January 2004 – 2005)
• Tracks Chart (September 6, 2004 – August 31, 2008)

• List of Oricon number-one singles
• List of Oricon number-one albums
• List of best-selling singles in Japan
• List of best-selling albums in Japan

• Official website(in Japanese)