The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Oricon does not include download sales. In Japan, physical sales decreased sharply in the 2000s, while download sales hit three to four times the amount of single sales.
Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company, was founded by the former Snow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. That November, the company began publishing a singles chart on an experimental basis. Entitled Sōgō Geinō Shijō Chōsa (総合芸能市場調査, Surveys of total entertainment markets), it went official on January 4, 1968.
Charts are published every Tuesday in Oricon 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 of NEWS, a pop group, was released only through 7-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.
The first number-one song on the Oricon Singles Chart was "Kitaguni no Futari (In a Lonesome City)" by Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets on November 2, 1967.