South Korean girl group Twice (JYP Entertainment)

South Korean girl group Twice is making a splash in Japan, with many local media covering the group’s popularity.

Twice released its Japan debut album “#TWICE” on June 28, which reached the second spot on Oricon Daily Album Chart on Saturday. The album reached the fifth spot on July 5, and third spot on July 7. The group gained a following in Japan with its debut song “Ooh-Ahh” in October, 2015. Its fourth mini album “Signal” also reached the top spot on Korea’s music charts.

Thanks to its soaring popularity, Twice sold 220,000 albums as of Friday.

Twice was formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015 through the reality show “Sixteen.” The group has nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. The group debuted on October 20, 2015 with the extended play “The Story Begins.”

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)