This week's Oricon features many of Japan's mainstream artists. YUI's song "It's My Life" debuts at 30th, hip-hop group Ketsumeishi has their song "Ballad" at 28th, and our favorite army of teenage girls, AKB48, shows up with "Heavy Rotation" at 24th.

Unlike the Oricon charts of previous weeks filled with ballads and rock, this week's songs are heavily seeped in pop and rock. Yet, Japan's music industry shows that you don't need to be signed by a record label or do rock/pop to do well. The list features Claris, a two junior-high female group that originated from the popular Vocaloid genre.

Another trend is J-pop is slowly moving to bigger boy and girl bands. New groups Tokyo Girls Style, Happiness, YGA, and megagroup EXILE are just some examples. However, the boy/girl group trend is nowhere near as dominant as their South Korean neighbors across the sea. With talented solo singers, such as Chihara Minori, Shibasaki Kou, Kana Nishino, and YUI, there's still a large place to go it alone and be successful in J-pop.

Kat-Kun (9th), Hikawa Kiyoshi (4th), and RADWIMPS (2nd), round out a solid rock-based top 10. Yet, the big winners this week is that aftermentioned megagroup, EXILE, who claim the top spot with their catchy hit "Each Other's Way".