J-pop idol groups, Arashi and AKB48, have help set a new record in singles sales according to Oricon.

For the 9/6 weekly rankings, this year�s total (dating from 2009.12.28-2010.8/29) has exceeded 34,087,000,000 yen. �It�s been a whole five years since the fiscal year numbers have been surpassed. �This surge was due in large part to Arashi�s �Troublemaker� (ranked no.1 during the week of 9/6 and sold 696,000 copies) and AKB48�s �Ponytail and chou-chou� (ranked no.3 and sold 630,000 copies).

When looking at the top 10 ranking artists, these two groups' sales take up more than half of the total. Arashi took three spots: 1st�with �Troublemaker�, 2nd with�"Monster" (692,000 copies), and 5th with��To be free� (507,000 copies). AKB48 also took three spots: �Ponytail and chou-chou� in 3rd, 4th with��Heavy Rotation� (592,000 copies), and 7th�with �Sakura no Shiori� (385,000 copies).

Over the course of the past couple of years, music DVD sales have had a firm holding as well, with a 139.9% markup that is expected to continue for some time. Arashi�s �ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5x10� was #1 and sold 740,000 copies, while�TOHOSHINKI�s �TOHOSHINKI VIDEO CLIP COLLECTION �THE ONE-� ranked 2nd�and�sold 172,000 copies. �Eight out of the ten spots were taken by male artists.

Tip: HYDE
Source: Oricon