Weekly Oshikatsu News (Nov 6, 2026): A Charm Tops Japan’s Hit List, Fuji Teams With SBI & Kanto Courts Fans
From announcements made between October 30 and November 5, 2026, we selected eight stories on oshikatsu (fan activities supporting favorite idols, characters, or creators) marketing and the fan business. This was the week the marker charm, a small item that has become a staple of oshikatsu, took first place in Nikkei Trendy’s “Top 30 Hit Products of 2026.” It also stood out that, timed to November 4, “Good Oshi Day” (Ii Oshi no Hi, a pun on the date 11/4), national and prefectural governments rolled out efforts to connect oshikatsu to regional economies.
The complete edition covering all 13 stories is published on note. In this article, we introduce eight stories highlighting corporate initiatives and survey findings.
Read the complete November 6, 2026 issue of Weekly Oshikatsu News (in Japanese)
This Week’s Highlights
Nikkei Trendy chose the marker charm as No. 1 in its “Top 30 Hit Products of 2026,” explaining that low-priced products made in collaboration with characters won support thanks to the added value of being tied to an oshi (favorite). USEN’s song-voting service “Oshi Request” (Oshi Riku) has reached 2.17 million registered users, and more than 750,000 people have actually visited stores to request songs by their oshi.
On the corporate side, Fuji Media Holdings and SBI Group signed a capital and business alliance and began exploring a fan platform business where idols and fans stay connected throughout the year. DeNA officially launched a feature that lets fans talk with AI characters authorized by streamers on its live-streaming app Pococha.
National and local governments moved too. The Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry held its first event aimed at connecting oshikatsu demand to regional business, and Shizuoka Prefecture announced an industrial plan with oshikatsu tourism as one of its pillars. JR Tokai Bus added Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City as a new stop for one of its overnight bus routes.
More People Keep Their Oshi Close, From Tiny Charms to Store Background Music
Nikkei Trendy — The Marker Charm Ranks No. 1 Among the Top 30 Hit Products
Nikkei Trendy released the 2026 edition of its “Top 30 Hit Products,” a ranking the magazine publishes every year in its December issue. It evaluated products and services announced or released between October 2025 and September 2026 on three criteria: sales, novelty, and influence. First place went to the marker charm (mejirushi charm), a silicone ring that can be attached to all sorts of belongings. Bandai’s version shipped 120 million units and drove the capsule toy market. Second place went to “TikTok Shop,” and third to the “Bonbon Drop Seal” stickers, whose cumulative sales have topped 45 million sheets. Nikkei Trendy’s analysis is that low-priced products made in collaboration with character IP won support thanks to the added value of the oshi, and that “pocket consumption” (poketto shohi)—finding small moments of happiness while keeping spending down—has spread.
Source: Nikkei Cross Trend, “Nikkei Trendy’s ‘Top 30 Hit Products of 2026’: What Sold This Year” (in Japanese), ORICON NEWS (in Japanese)
Lab Note: In the Taito survey we introduced last week, marker mascots and charms also ranked first among the oshikatsu goods people felt were popular in 2026. It is wonderful news that an item that spread as an oshikatsu staple has now been chosen as the year’s No. 1 hit product. Being able to carry your oshi with you at an affordable price seems to be why so many people chose it amid rising prices.
- 120M
- Bandai marker charms shipped, the No. 1 hit product of 2026
- 2.17M
- Registered users of USEN's Oshi Request as of September 30
- 750K+
- People who visited stores in person to request songs
- 78%
- Share of Oshi Request users who are women
Sources: ORICON NEWS (marker charm); Musicman (USEN Oshi Request)
USEN — Song-Voting Service “Oshi Request” Reaches 2.17 Million Users
USEN released usage figures for its song-voting service “USEN Oshi-Katsu Request” (Oshi Riku for short). Launched in March 2024 as a free service, it lets fans vote, and the top-ranked songs are played in stores nationwide through USEN’s background music service for businesses. As of September 30, it had 2.17 million registered users, about 1.57 billion total requests, and about 10,000 participating stores. Of its users, 78% are women, and people in their teens and twenties make up 44%. With the “USEN Oshi-Katsu Request MAP,” launched in March 2026, fans can find stores where their oshi’s songs are playing, as well as stores where visiting earns them one extra request. More than 750,000 people have actually gone to a store to make a request.
Lab Note: Hearing your oshi’s song playing in a shop around town is a proud moment for a fan. Stores, for their part, can reportedly use data on request trends and on the age and gender of visitors to attract customers, so fans’ support turns directly into a reason to visit. We were struck by how background music, such a familiar medium, has become a place that connects fans and stores.
TV, Finance, and a Streaming App Put Fan Relationships at the Center of Their Business
Fuji Media Holdings and SBI — Exploring a Business That Connects Idols and Fans
On November 2, SBI Holdings, SBI Neo Media Holdings, and Fuji Media Holdings signed a capital and business alliance agreement in the media and content field. Treating places where people actually gather, such as concerts, events, and sports, as “real media,” they plan to establish a joint venture centered on these in January 2027, with each group holding a 50% stake. As the first step of the alliance, they are considering setting up a subsidiary for a fan platform business where artists, starting with idols, and their fans stay connected throughout the year. By combining Fuji’s ability to plan and produce programs and events with SBI Group’s customer base of more than 88 million and its payment technology, they aim to take a model established in Japan to Asia and then overseas.
Source: SBI Holdings, “Notice of Strategic Capital and Business Alliance in the Media and Content Field Between SBI Group and Fuji Media Holdings” (in Japanese), Impress Watch (in Japanese)
Lab Note: We were surprised that a TV broadcasting group and a financial group are trying to make the relationship between fans and artists itself a pillar of their business. SBI Group calls the economy that arises from a cycle of emotions an “emotion economy” (kanjo keizaiken), and the vision seems to be one where the feeling of supporting someone connects all the way to payments and investment. We are watching closely to see what form a place for connecting with fans all year round, not just on event days, will take.
DeNA — Talking With AI Characters Authorized by Pococha Streamers
On November 4, DeNA announced the official launch of a feature linking its live-streaming app Pococha with the oshikatsu AI app “OSHIAI.” OSHIAI is an app that lets fans chat or talk by voice with AI characters authorized by idols, VTubers, streamers, and others. A “Pococha Organizer,” the agency a streamer belongs to, explains the service to the streamer and gets their consent, then imports the streamer’s Pococha profile information to create the authorized AI. The AI’s name, introduction, and image can be checked and edited before it goes public. This partnership is the official version of an initiative announced in May 2026, and its aim is to widen the points of contact between fans and streamers even during hours with no live stream.
Source: DeNA, “Pococha Officially Releases Integration With Oshikatsu AI App ‘OSHIAI’” (in Japanese), CNET Japan (in Japanese)
Lab Note: Having time to talk with your oshi even after a stream ends may be a welcome change for fans. All the more reason, we felt, that it matters to get the person’s consent properly and to have a system that allows the content to be checked before it goes public.
National and Prefectural Governments Move to Link Oshikatsu Demand to Regional Economies
Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry — First Event Connecting Oshikatsu Demand to the Regions
On November 4, “Good Oshi Day,” the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Industrial Location Center held their first “Oshikatsu Industry Creation Networking Event” at the METI Annex in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Aimed at local governments, businesses in food service, tourism, lodging, and transportation, content holders, and DMOs (destination management organizations), the event was meant to connect oshikatsu demand to regional business. In a survey the bureau conducted in July with Oshicoco and others, about 70% of fans who travel to see their oshi (ensei) said they spend ¥30,000 (roughly $200) or more per trip, and about 60% said they “came to love the area” or “want to visit again.” Meanwhile, although about 90% of local governments said oshikatsu is effective for regional revitalization, more than half have not yet reached concrete initiatives.
Source: Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, “We Will Hold the ‘Oshikatsu Industry Creation Networking Event’” (in Japanese), NHK News (in Japanese)
Lab Note: We found it very candid that the survey showed fans spending money and coming to love a place, while the receiving side has not yet caught up in its preparations. When transportation and lodging companies, local governments, and the companies holding the rights to works talk together in the same room, the number of places fans can easily visit should gradually grow.
Oshikatsu industry networkingKanto bureau of METI, November 4
- Local governmentsAbout 90% call oshikatsu effective, yet over half have no concrete plans
- TransportationGetting traveling fans to the places they want to visit
- Lodging and foodAbout 70% of traveling fans spend ¥30,000 or more per trip
- Content holdersThe companies that hold the rights to the works fans love
- DMOsRegional tourism organizations planning visits
About 60% of traveling fans said they came to love the area or want to return.
Shizuoka Prefecture — An Industrial Plan With Oshikatsu Tourism as a Pillar
On November 4, Shizuoka Prefecture announced a “Regional Industry Cluster Plan” that aims to revitalize the region through content-related industries, in line with the national government’s regional future strategy. With the plastic model industry at its core, the plan anticipates a total of ¥13 billion (roughly $87 million) in investment over the five years from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2030. It positions three efforts—promoting oshikatsu tourism, developing creative talent, and boosting the content industry—as the “Three Arrows of Oshinomics” and will pursue them in tandem.
Lab Note: We took note that oshikatsu tourism—visiting the real-world settings of anime and films—has become one of the pillars of a prefecture’s industrial plan. It is fitting for Shizuoka, known for making plastic models, to try to tie manufacturing to fans’ travel.
Overnight Buses and Music Streaming Support Fans on the Move and Their Cheering
JR Tokai Bus — An Overnight Bus Now Stops at Ikebukuro Sunshine City
On October 29, JR Tokai Bus announced that, starting December 1, it will add trips serving Ikebukuro to its “Dream Nagoya” overnight bus between Nagoya and Tokyo. The trips via Ikebukuro are the No. 6 bus departing Nagoya Station at 10:30 p.m. and the No. 9 bus departing Tokyo Station at 11:20 p.m., and they arrive at and depart from the “Ikebukuro Sunshine City Bus Terminal” in Higashi-Ikebukuro. The bus from Nagoya arrives in Ikebukuro at 5:05 a.m. One-way fares start at ¥2,400 (the discounted tokuwari fare), and the route uses buses with four seats per row. The company describes the location as “convenient not only for sightseeing and business, but also for attending events and for oshikatsu,” in our translation.
Lab Note: Arriving early in the morning by overnight bus and heading straight to an event must be reassuring for fans who travel to see their oshi. The fact that a transportation company introduces a destination with the word oshikatsu suggests that fans’ travel is seen as major demand.
Rakuten Music — Stream 1,000 Times to Enter a Drawing for a Send-Off Event
On the music streaming service Rakuten Music, a streaming campaign for the idol group Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu began to coincide with “Good Oshi Day” on November 4. It runs until November 27. Fans who add the “Cho Toki Sen ‘Good Oshi Day’ Playlist” to their favorites and play its songs a combined 1,000 times or more become eligible for a drawing to attend a send-off event (omiokuri-kai, where members see fans off one by one) on December 19. Thirty people will be invited, and every participant receives a digital group photo exclusive to Rakuten Music. Playing one song in full counts as one play, and only plays in the app count.
Source: Mynavi News (in Japanese), Musicman, “Rakuten Music Launches Streaming Campaigns for AND2BLE’s ‘French Kissing’ and a Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu Playlist” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: We found it an interesting mechanism that listening to songs every day, not just buying tickets or merchandise, itself leads to taking part in an event. Play counts are an important number for artists too, so fans’ love builds up directly as support.
Editorial Reflections on the Week
The marker charm was chosen as Nikkei Trendy’s No. 1 hit product, and a staple oshikatsu item was featured as the thing that best represented the year’s consumption. Mechanisms like USEN’s “Oshi Request,” where playing an oshi’s songs in stores brings fans through the door, are also spreading. It was a week that showed clearly how oshikatsu is tied to everyday shopping and outings.
The Fuji Media Holdings–SBI Group alliance and Pococha’s authorized AI reveal companies trying to build places to connect with fans throughout the year, not only during events or streams. The question now, we feel, is how to expand that connected time while respecting the consent of the people involved and the feelings of fans.
As the Kanto bureau’s event and Shizuoka Prefecture’s industrial plan show, national and prefectural governments have begun to talk about oshikatsu in the language of regional economies. Just as the overnight bus added trips to Ikebukuro, if systems that make it easier for fans to visit gradually take shape, traveling to see one’s oshi may become a valuable chance for encounters for the regions as well.
Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a roundup of oshikatsu and business every week. Read the full edition here:
Weekly Oshikatsu News (November 6, 2026 Issue) on note (in Japanese)
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