Hirai Ken‘s hit single “Hitomi wo Tojite” (Close Your Eyes) is the biggest seller of the year, despite the fact that it never made No.1 in the Oricon weekly charts. It sold 834,000 copies (of 950,000 distributed), helped largely by being the theme song for the sleeper hit movie “Sekai no Naka de, Ai wo Sakebu.” Hirai (32) is the first male solo artist to top the annual rankings since Oda Kazumasa sold over 2 million copies of “Oh! Yeah/Love Story wa Totsuzen ni” in 1991. His latest album, “SENTIMENTALovers” is already a million-seller, just three days after its release. The best-selling album of the year was the greatest hits collection by Utada Hikaru (21). Her “Single Collection Vol.1” sold almost 2.5 million copies. She is the first artist to top the rankings four times, and has done so with just four albums released.