Shizuka Arakawa
© AFP/File Franck FifeTOKYO (AFP) - CDs have been flying off the shelves of Universal Music Japan's "Princess and Prince on the Ice," a compilation of figure-skating numbers from Turin that includes the Puccini.
"We have received 10,000 additional orders since the CD's release on February 22. It is a splendid achievement for classical music," said Hiroko Kawachi at the classics and jazz section at Universal Music Japan.
A classical CD rarely sells more than 10,000 copies in Japan, she said.
"It is expected to be sold even more after she returns to Japan. And we can't predict how many additional orders we will still receive," she said.
Japanese FM radio station J-Wave said its early-morning sports program was receiving inquiries asking about the work, with listeners saying by e-mail that it touches them due to Arakawa's triumph.
Arakawa has said she felt "destiny" when Italian tenor sang part of Turandot during the opening ceremony in Turin.
Arakawa beat Sasha Cohen of the United States and two-time world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia to become the first Asian woman to take home the gold in figure-skating.
It was the only medal for Olympic-loving Japan, which made its worst showing at the Winter Olympics since Sarajevo in 1984.
In addition to the music, a company selling rice has reported massive orders since Arakawa appeared in its commercial.
"We have received more than 200 orders on the Internet in two days over the weekend, which is the number or orders we used to get in a month," said Takako Suzuki, a spokesman for Toyorice.
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