Has the Japanese Hallyu wave cooled down?

In 2011 and 2012, K-Pop was in the midst of a boom, and many idol groups delivered news that they would be going out to Japan. However, in 2013 the relationship between Korea and Japan cooled down, and news of entering the Japanese market became more scarce. Nowadays it's hard to hear of any K-Pop idol groups entering the Japanese market.

KARA was one of the leading K-pop groups in Japan. However, with the news of KARA's Nicole and Jiyoung leaving the group, their popularity has faded in both Korea and Japan. Word has it that the Hallyu wave 'boom' has come to an end.

It's obvious that the Hallyu wave has slowed down in momentum, but it's too early to say that the Hallyu wave in Japan has completely ended. Rather, it can be said that the Hallyu wave has evolved into K-Pop becoming an established genre in Japan.

This becomes an even more solid statement when we take a look at the Hallyu reps in Japan. A Hallyu expert Onoda Mamoru recently stated in a Japanese magazine called Weekly SPA! "In the past, there were many articles that stated, 'Korea's so-and-so will be striking Japan.' So it was seen as a 'boom.' However, established groups with a stable audience that are making regular CD sales are no longer a 'boom.'" The expert was explaining the fact that these stars still do have a following in Japan, but they're no longer referred to as being part of a Hallyu 'boom' because they are quite established already.

In fact, last year TVXQ held 2 performances for their solo concert at the Nissan Stadium, which seats 72,000 people. They essentially sold out 140,000 seats for their solo concert. Big Bang also held their 6 Dome Tour in Japan for a total of 16 performances, to which a total of 771,000 came to see them perform.

Not only that, on January 29th 2PM released their 3rd album Genesis of 2PM in Japan and sold 63,000 copies, even ranking number 1 on Oricon weekly charts. CNBLUE's Present album sold 19,729 copies in its first week, and ranked number 2 on weekly charts, and proved their presence in Japan as a Hallyu group.

So it can be said that the 'Hallyu boom' has gone, but the Hallyu wave is still ongoing in Japan. However, the situation with girl groups is a little different from that of boy groups.

Onoda Mamoru stated in Weekly SPA, "Girl groups that currently have a strong presence in Japan are KARA, Girls' Generation, and 2NE1, but there aren't any after that. K-Pop girl group fans are not men but rather teen females. K-Pop girl groups have stood their ground among Japanese female artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Komi Kuda. However now that various Japanese idols are emerging and quickly gaining popularity, there's really no room for new K-Pop girl groups to enter. Only Girls' Generation's popularity is ever increasing," and thus stated that it'll be difficult for a new K-Pop girl group to follow in the footsteps of KARA and Girls' Generation, at least in Japan.