The hit group EXILE found their way to the top of the charts again by selling 200,000 copies of "LAST CHRISTMAS," their cover of the Wham! song that has long been a Christmastime staple in Japan. The tune has previously been covered several times by various artists, including BoA and Yuji Oda.

w-inds. took #2 on the charts with 48,000 copies of their new tune, "Everyday / CAN'T GET BACK," while Acid Black Cherry reached #3 with "Jigsaw." Several other artists made the top ten with new releases: °C-ute, JUJU, Mai Kuraki, L'Arc~en~Ciel, and Kurumi Enomoto.

Meanwhile, Junko Akimoto's "Ai no Mama de" climbed up the charts to land at #9. The song was released in January of this year, but this is its first appearance in the top ten. At the age of 61 years and 6 months, Akimoto is now the oldest enka artist and oldest female singer to make the top ten.

On the album charts, Mika Nakashima ranked 1st with "VOICE," selling 156,000 copies. At #2 was Shota Shimizu with 56,000 copies of "Umbrella," making him the first solo artist born in the Heisei era (1989-present) to have a Top 3 album.

The compilation album "Studio Ghibli no Uta" was #6 on the charts. BREAKERZ (#8) and SEAMO (#10) also managed to make the top ten.