SEVENTEEN Sets K-pop Record With 4th Japan Million Cert as IVE, NCT WISH, and ILLIT Also Score Big

SEVENTEEN has set a new record among K-pop artists in Japan, picking up their fourth Million certification from the Japan Record Industry Association (RIAJ) in the body of one month. The group's Japanese best album Always Yours crossed the 1,000,000 shipment threshold, making SEVENTEEN the K-pop act with the most Million-tier certifications in RIAJ history.

The RIAJ publishes monthly Gold Disc certifications, and the July 2026 list, released on August 10, was unusually crowded with K-pop entries. Alongside SEVENTEEN's milestone, IVE and NCT WISH both received Platinum certifications, while ILLIT, ATEEZ, aespa, and NiziU each earned Gold.

IVE's fourth Japanese album, LUCID DREAM, released in May, cleared the 250,000-shipment threshold required for Platinum, adding another marker to what has been a steady Japanese rollout for the group. NCT WISH reached Platinum for the first time as a unit: their single YO-I-DON! / BOY MEETS GIRL, out July 15, hit the same benchmark and gives the SM Entertainment rookie group a concrete foothold in a market where first-impression numbers tend to stick.

The ILLIT entry is the one to note for pace. The group's second Japanese single, I Got Your Back, dropped on July 29, and the Gold certification (100,000 shipments) reflects only three days of tracked sales. It is also their second consecutive Gold, following Toki yo Tomare, which means ILLIT is building a consistent release-to-certification pattern in Japan rather than a one-off result.

ATEEZ's single BAD (Japanese Ver.), aespa's album KISS N TELL, and NiziU's album Portfolio also received Gold certifications in the same cycle. NiziU, a JYP Entertainment group formed specifically for the Japanese market, continuing to certify domestically is expected; aespa and ATEEZ earning Gold alongside them signals that the mid-tier of K-pop's Japan presence is broadening.

For SEVENTEEN, the fourth Million is the headline number. The RIAJ Million tier sits above Platinum and requires shipments of one million units, a threshold that very few non-Japanese acts reach even once. Four certifications at that level, accumulated across different releases over time, puts the group in a category of their own within the K-pop space in Japan. Early returns on Always Yours suggest the best-album format, which consolidates catalog material for a broader audience, is doing exactly the kind of long-tail work their label Pledis and HYBE likely intended. Circle the date: this is the certification that will lead the Japan chapter of whatever retrospective covers this era of K-pop.