=LOVE claimed the top spot on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 this week with "Koi, Hajimemashita." (Beginning Love), the title track of their 21st single released August 26.

The song launched with 503,043 copies sold in its opening week—the group's first time crossing the half-million threshold. While "Koi, Hajimemashita." dominated physical sales, it charted at No. 8 for video views and No. 9 for streaming. Combined across all metrics tracked by Billboard Japan—physical sales, digital sales, streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke—the overall point total surged 385% week-over-week to secure the No. 1 position.

The chart saw several notable debuts and shifts. RIIZE's "Sunburst," the title track of their third Japanese single, entered at No. 2 after strong showings in physical sales and radio airplay. MORE STAR, a new girl group under ASOBISYSTEM, debuted their double A-side single "Summer Go!!" at No. 5 after moving 88,280 copies and hitting No. 3 for sales.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER's "Setsuna Hanabi" fell from last week's No. 1 to No. 4, though it retained its position in the top five despite overall points dropping to 48% of the previous week's total. The rest of the top 10 largely mirrored the previous week's lineup, with Mrs. GREEN APPLE's "Brand New" at No. 6, followed by M!LK's "Sukisugite Metsu!" and "Bakuretsu Aishiteru" at Nos. 7 and 8.

Lower on the chart, Motoki Ohmori—frontman of Mrs. GREEN APPLE—entered at No. 12 with "Haiiro," the theme song for the film Hakucho to Komori, which topped the downloads category. Kenshi Yonezu's "IRIS OUT" reached its 50th consecutive chart week at No. 13, demonstrating sustained listener interest. The duo TAKARA debuted at No. 16 with "Akarui Yume," which topped the radio airplay metric.