Cover of KARA's upcoming maxi single "SPEED UP/Girls Power" [KARA's official Japanese website]

Korean girl group KARA and songstress IU saw their latest Japanese releases enter in top ten on Oricon's singles chart.

On Wednesday, Oricon's official website showed that KARA ranked in No. 2 on its singles chart after selling 21,352 copies of their Japanese maxi single "SPEED UP/Girls Power" since it went on sale in the country on March 21.

Composed of members Gu Hara, Han Seung-yeon, Park Gyu-lee, Kang Ji-young and Nicole, KARA is currently one of the most successful Korean girl groups to break into the Japanese market.

The girls will promote "SPEED UP/Girls Power" in Korea and will soon release figurines of themselves in the country this month.

In the meantime, IU's Japanese debut single "Good Day," composed of the Japanese version of her songs "Good Day" and "Raindrop," came in the eighth place on the same chart.

Ahead of the release, IU held her showcase "IU JAPAN PREMIUM 'SPECIAL LIVE" in January which attracted some 4,000 fans.

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, made her debut with her first mini-album "Lost and Found" in September 2008. She has since produced a number of hit songs such as "Boo," "Marshmallow" and "Nagging" with 2AM member Seulong.

IU [Loen Entertainment]

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