I assume the point you're making here is that certain 'stables' of artists dominate TV in Japan more than their sales warrant, and that the reason for this is the shady connections between their management companies and the TV networks?

Even assuming that record charts represent actual sales to the public (not generally the case anywhere in the world, alas), I don't think it would follow that television appearances would or should correlate to album sales. Television is a different medium with different requirements than playing a CD at home.

If the notion of "proportional representation" could somehow be applied to TV, why stop at record charts? Why not put amateurs and members of the public directly on TV, performing music, and represent proportionally the TV audience itself? Ah, they already do that...

There does not have to be shady connections to explain this: more in Japan than in the US or UK, network television is the primary medium of information distribution about music products. (Radio has almost no power in Japan, and the video channels are relatively new and uninfluential .) Getting on television cannot guarantee you a hit single, but having a music career without being on TV is next to impossible. How TV producers perform their gatekeeping role is important, and may explain why even with so much glorious music diversity in Japan, only 450 artists make up 1700 slots of top 100 charts between '88-'92 (only 350 artists on the same years' album charts.) For all the popular perceptions of Japan being a very fad-oriented, "here today, gone tomorrow" culture, the rate of cultural change in the music market is much much slower than the American market. I think the fact that the hit artists now are products of the exact same management companies 15 years ago may have something to do with it.

i like idols. i have my favorite, and ones i don't like. i like how they are just "idols", and not pretending to be more then they really are.. [though they may sometimes try to be more then they are]

momus is clearly right to attack you for the meaning he inferred from these numbers. also, you smell.

Is it actually Avex, Inc., or have I been misreading the same thing over and over for several years?

Avex's old artist management company was called Axev, but now they've taken it over completely and renamed it Avex. Confusing.

Interesting....

Momus, did you get that restraining order revoked and now you are allowed near statistics again?

It's got to the point where I know Marxy's drill so well that he just needs to publish some random stats and I find the "termial" in them myself, totally unbidden.

It would be great if his new big point about Japan were something totally random, though.

I'd be great if you actually lived in Japan, instead of talking about it all the time.

Oh. It'd also be great if you realized you play the same old shitch, time and again, yourself.

Except you just do it to be contentious.

Though that's probably because you're a narcissistic psuedo-academic, who's stale music career never went anywhere.

Oh look! Momus is being illogically sanctimonious, again! How polemical!

Back under your bridge, illiterate troll! Foolish kappa!

Haha....

And to think how people masterbate over your prententious aphorisms.

Go educate the world about more pointless dribble, and feel important within your own standards.

バカヤロウ！

You guys are awesome.

Hey, look at that. Katakana.

Maybe he'll Kanji, in couple years?

Then after that, maybe he'll actually learn how to speak the language of the culture he advertises.

Oh wait. That's logical.

It'd be much hipper to flash Katakana!

Kawaii!!!!

馬鹿野郎!

Wow.

You win.

Four characters have shown me the light.

You really are fluent.

i like it when people spell masturbate with an "e".

gives the internet that homey quality that so hard to find in digital media.

I dare anybody else to start a blog about Japan attracting this level of discourse!

marxy: they already did, its called japantoday

momus: did you type those all by yourself or did hisae help you find something to paste in?

My vote is: less bitter bitching, more charts and graphs.

Momus: Apparently somewhere along the line, Marxy misspelled the word "terminal." We got it; thanks. The "amusing" dialogue about "Marxy Blair" or whatever it was made that abundantly clear.

I wasn't even the one to misspell it! He got that from an Amazon.com review of Dogs and Demons.

I remember that I watched 光Genji zillions of times on this TV show called ザ・ベストテン, hosted by 黒柳徹子 & 久米宏 back in 80s and early 90s. But according to the chart up in here, it wasn't even millions. I am surprised.
***Very Good News***
Go to this karaoke joint called Festa Iikura, near Roppongi and sing this song by H.G., パラダイス銀河. you will be able to witness the greatest live performance by the seven of the cutest guys in the Japanese music history.