Tomohisa Yamashita, who was recently announced to have landed the role for the upcoming drama “Flowers for Algernon,” has allegedly been involved with a side business which is forbidden by Johnny’s, according to Tokyo Sports.

On the single side, Johnny’s WEST topped the chart with “Zundoko Paradise”, with its CD+DVD Limited Edition Type A selling 36,505 copies. Between its 3 editions (which took the top 3 spots on the chart), the single sold 94,747 copies, making it the best selling single this week.

On the album side, Sandaime J Soul Brothers continued their reign at the top of the chart with “PLANET SEVEN”. Its CD+2DVD edition stayed at #1,  selling 57,498 copies. It was the top selling album this week, selling 113,513 copies in total between its 4 editions. Two of these editions took the top 2 spots on the chart.

The Oricon physical music sales charts for the week of 2/2 to 2/8 has been released!

For this week, Johnny’s WEST just barely misses the 100k mark by selling a still respectable 97,439 copies of their third single “Zundoko Paradise”. In its second week, Sandaime J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE stays in the #1 spot with their new album PLANET SEVEN by pushing an additional 109,816 copies on top of their already massive 508,337 sales.

Check out the rest of the top 10 charts for singles and albums below.

In a recent press release published by their business division, holding company Oricon Inc. has announced that as of April 6th this year their sales charts will no longer include any version of a release which is sold in a music card format.  Music cards are a type of physical media with which a code is enclosed that will allow the buyer to download the contents of a particular single or album digitally to their computer or other device of choice.

For a full explanation of the company’s reasoning for this sudden change to their counting policy, as well as a look at what this might mean for other controversial sales methods, please read on below.

Recochoku:
1. Kumamushi – Attakaindakara
2. Sandaime J Soul Brothers – Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!
3. Sandaime J Soul Brothers – R.Y.U.S.E.I.
4. SEKAI NO OWARI – Dragon Night
5. chay – Anata ni Koi wo Shite Mimashita
6. back number – Heroine
7. MISIA – Shiroi Kisetsu
8. Nishino Kana – Darling
9. NyaaKB with Tsuchinoko Panda – Idol wa U~nyanya no Kudan (TV Anime Ending Theme Version)
10. CHiCO with HoneyWorks – Ai no Scenario

iTunes:
1. Kumamushi – Attakaindakara 49,361
2. back number – Heroine 27,541
3. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] – &Z 18,235
4. SEKAI NO OWARI – Dragon Night 17,626
5. chay – Anata ni Koi wo Shite Mimashita 16,693
6. Sandaime J Soul Brothers – R.Y.U.S.E.I. 14,277
7. Sandaime J Soul Brothers – Eeny, meeny, miny, moe! 11,173
8. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off 7,337
9. Nishino Kana – Darling 7,173
10. Che’Nelle – Happiness 6,818

J-pop group Momoiro Clover Z tweeted a backstage photo from an upcoming Music Fair appearance. The girls were wearing their signature colorful outfits but there was a new glaring addition to their ensembles, blackface. In the photo they are joined by veteran artists Masayuki Suzuki, Yoshio Sato, and Nobuyoshi Kuwano. The three of them make up the group Rats & Star, who specialize in “doo-wop” influenced music.

Blackface became widely popularized  in the 1800’s through American minstrel shows, where said minstrel shows harshly stereotyped black people as being lazy, unintelligent, buffoonish, and musically gifted. From there it spread to Europe and some parts of Asia. The use of blackface has significantly decreased over the years in Asia, but it can still occasionally be seen today on some Japanese and South Korean variety shows. It’s use continues to be an extremely sensitive subject.

Momoiro Clover Z and Rats & Stars’ Music Fair collaboration will air on March 7th. Check out the backstage photo below.

As previously reported, MISIA is set to release her new single “Shiroi Kisetsu / Sakura Hitohira” on February 18. She has now released a short music video for “Sakura Hitohira.” The song is the theme song for TV Tokyo’s drama adaptation of the movie “Eien no 0.” The 3-part drama airs February 11, 14, and 15. The music video features footage from the drama. Check it out after the jump along with clips of the other songs on the single!!

As previously reported, Shiina Ringo is set to release her new single “Shijou no Jinsei” on February 25. It is the theme song for Kou Shibasaki’s Nippon TV drama “Marumaru Tsuma”. Today, Ringo released the short music video for the song. In the black and white clip, Ringo is surrounded by her backing band as she sings the 90s-tinged song. Check out the video after the jump!