Foreign music's position continues to weaken in Japan

Foreign music’s position in the Japanese market continues to weaken, according to first-quarter physical-music shipments data released April 19 by local labels body the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).Shipments of international audio product by the RIAJ’s 59 member companies in the January-March period totaled 8.9 million units, down 18% from the first quarter of 2009, for