The AP is reporting that the iPod has become so popular in Japan, despite the introduction of the Sony Walkman NW-HD1, that six of the top 8 selling music players in the country are iPod models. The AP cites Gfk Japan, a market research company for its figures. This information comes to us in an article about how the iPod has taken on the same cultural icon status it has achieved in the US. From the AP:

When Sony Corp. President Kunitake Ando showed off the new Walkman meant to counter the assault by Appleis iPod portable music player, he held the prized gadget at the gala event upside down.

That may have been a bad omen.

The iPod is proving a colossal hit on the Japanese electronics and entertainment giantis own turf. The tiny white machine is catching on as a fashion statement and turning into a cultural icon in Japan, much the same way it won a fanatic following in the United States.

There is much more information about the iPodis success in Japan in the full article, which we recommend as a very interesting read.