Weekly Oshikatsu News (Feb 27, 2026): 56% of FamilyMart Cat Day Buyers Have Never Owned a Cat

Here is our roundup of notable corporate oshikatsu (fan support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of February 20 to February 26, 2026.

This Week’s Highlights

The key theme this week was how people who “don’t own a cat, but love them” are supporting holiday retail campaigns.

Ahead of Cat Day on February 22 (chosen in Japan because the date 2/22 sounds like nyan-nyan-nyan, a cat’s meow), a wide range of companies—from convenience stores to travel booking platforms, electric power companies, and musical instrument manufacturers—rolled out special initiatives. According to a survey by FamilyMart, 56.2% of buyers in its 2025 “Family-nya-to Daisakusen!” campaign had never owned a cat. Those who “have no experience owning a cat, but love cats” accounted for 37.7% of the total.

There were also notable developments on the technology side of the fan business. Epic Games acquired Germany’s Meshcapade, with plans expected to integrate its digital human technology into MetaHuman. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began operating its AI public relations avatars, “Toseijin.”

“Don’t Own One, But Love Them”: The Audience Supporting Cat Day Sales

FamilyMart — In Year 4 of “Cat Day,” 56.2% of Buyers Have Never Owned a Cat

FamilyMart launched its “Family-nya-to Daisakusen!” campaign on February 10. Now in its fourth year, this year’s campaign rolled out 17 original products. The lineup included the “Paw Pad Tart” (Nikukyu Tart) and “mofusand Wafflame” supervised by illustration brand mofusand, the “Black Cat Terrine Chocolat” supervised by illustrator Coony, and the “Black Cat Omelet” cake in collaboration with Yamato Transport. The company announced that vacuum-insulated cafe tumblers would be sold at approximately 8,000 stores nationwide, and pouches with tails at approximately 5,000 stores. FamilyMart also announced that a portion of sales from campaign products would go toward supporting community cat activities (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

In a FamiPay survey (1,502 valid responses), 69.8% of respondents said they “like cats.” On the other hand, 11.7% currently owned a cat. Among buyers of the same campaign in 2025, those who had never owned a cat accounted for 56.2%, while the group with “no ownership experience, but love cats” made up 37.7% of the total. Among the 609 respondents who had purchased cat-themed food or drinks, “because it’s cute” accounted for 72.9% of purchase reasons; for purchase occasions, “as a reward for myself” was 41.2%; and for purchase triggers, “spotting it in the store and buying it” reached 73.7% (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

56.2%

2025 campaign buyers who have never owned a cat (base: 297 respondents)

37.7%

Share of 2025 campaign buyers who have never owned a cat but love cats

72.9%

Bought because they are cute (base: 609 buyers of cat-themed food or drinks)

73.7%

Cited encountering the product in-store as a purchase trigger (base: 609 buyers of cat-themed food or drinks)

Source: FamilyMart / FamiPay survey reported by AdverTimes.

According to Minako Yamaoka, Director of the Sweets Department in the Merchandising Division, Cat Day had evolved into “self-care and comfort for oneself” and “community excitement through social media.” She noted that this year’s theme was the coexistence of “a sense of reliability” and “freshness (surprise).”

Lab Note: A full 56.2% of buyers have no experience owning a cat. If you follow this number, the way you design a special-occasion sales campaign changes from the ground up. Products should not be designed as practical supplies for pet owners, but rather as personal treats for people who love the very concept of cats. Moreover, 73.7% of the 609 respondents who had purchased cat-themed food or drinks cited encountering the items in-store as a purchase trigger. Seeing the products on the sales floor leads to purchases even more than advance announcements on social media.

Rakuten Travel — 53 Cats Entered and 3,200 Votes in the Mascot Cat Ranking

Rakuten Travel announced its “2026 National Inn Pride Mascot Cat Ranking.” In the project, which has run since 2015, 53 cats were entered this year and 3,200 votes were cast. First place went to Fujiko-chan (in her fifth year as a mascot cat) at “ALBERGO del otto” in Yamanashi Prefecture, and second place went to Kabosu at “Sujiyu Onsen Shukubo Hanashinobu” in Oita Prefecture. Tied for third place were Chappy at “Shiobara Onsen Yamaguchiya Ryokan” in Tochigi Prefecture and Leon at “Ganbanyoku Jinoyu” in Hokkaido (Kanko Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese)).

Voters shared comments such as, “Being welcomed by those round eyes and gentle expression looks like it would melt my fatigue away,” and “After check-out, the cat spent time with me in the lobby until my bus arrived.”

Lab Note: Separate from facilities or cuisine, Rakuten Travel highlights the cats living at inns as a reason to choose where to stay. The stated purpose of the project—“to communicate the appeal of inns from a variety of angles”—is also crystal clear. Beyond your core products, is there a presence at your business that fans want to talk about? For companies that operate physical stores or facilities, this perspective offers a compelling angle for attracting visitors.

Olympic Sponsorship Has Shifted from Exposure to “Venue Utilization”

Mitsui Fudosan — Three Consecutive Games Since 2015, Evaluated on “Exposure” and “Venue Utilization”

Mitsui Fudosan became a Gold Partner (City Development) for the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2015 and has continued to support TEAM JAPAN ever since. Following the Tokyo 2020 Games and Paris 2024 Games, the company will continue its sponsorship through the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Tomohito Kurita, Project Leader in the company’s Sports & Entertainment Team, identified two evaluation axes for sponsorship: “exposure” and “venue utilization.” In the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo, the company carried out “city dressing,” displaying TEAM JAPAN athlete graphics on the exterior walls of buildings it owns. The “Unusual 2020 Exhibition” (Futsu Janai 2020 Ten), held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya and COREDO Muromachi Terrace, drew approximately 420,000 visitors. In 2024, the company also renamed its Retail Properties Division to the “Retail Properties, Sports & Entertainment Division” (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Kurita stated, “The affinity between the places we own and that content is extraordinarily high.”

Lab Note: Mitsui Fudosan has clearly replaced the value of sponsorship from simple logo exposure to drawing visitors to its own facilities. What’s more, it even changed its organizational structure by adding “Sports” into the division’s name. Just like Gunma Prefecture’s Gunmachan Promotion Office, which we covered in our February 6 issue, companies that demonstrate their commitment to continuity right on their organizational chart are producing results. Depending on whether you account for sponsorship fees as advertising expenses or treat them as business investments, your strategic moves will change.

JOC — Sponsorship Purpose Shifts from “Raising Awareness” to “Solving Corporate Challenges”

Masaki Wakimoto, Deputy Head of the Marketing Department at the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), spoke about the “TEAM JAPAN Partnership Program.” According to Wakimoto, the purpose of corporate sponsorship has been shifting away from a focus on raising brand awareness and sales promotion toward the perspective of “how much sports and TEAM JAPAN can solve our company’s specific corporate challenges.” The JOC formulated “JOC Vision 2064” and set the central message of its medium-term plan as “Together with Athletes: Turning the Power of Sports into the Power of Society.” Starting in 2025, the JOC began bundling rights with the Japanese Paralympic Committee (JPC), aiming to simplify contract procedures and expand activations through the unified use of both organizations’ emblems (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: As seen in the creation of the “ABE CUP,” a judo tournament for elementary school students launched with sibling judoka Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe, there are growing examples of individual athletes and companies building concrete projects together. Instead of a company simply buying the right to display a logo, it launches something alongside the athlete. Those being cheered on and those doing the cheering are moving closer to a relationship of joint business partners.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government — Launches Three “Toseijin” AI Public Relations Avatars

On February 20, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced the launch of three AI public relations avatars called “Toseijin” (literally “Capital Planetians”). Character designer Atsuko Nishida, known for her work on characters such as Pikachu, handled the designs. The trio consists of “Fukuho,” who lives in the Tama region; “Kikukame,” who lives in the Tokyo islands (Tosho); and “Tsutaneko,” who lives in the 23 special wards. In their backstory, the three were dispatched as investigators from “Tosei” (Capital Planet), a planet closely resembling Earth, and chose Tokyo as their research base for further development. The metropolitan government also announced plans to use generative AI to produce videos in which the three characters converse based on official announcements (TOKYO MX (in Japanese), Koubo (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Tokyo’s design choice to divide the avatars into three characters rather than stopping at one—assigning them separately to the Tama region, the islands, and the 23 wards—is highly effective. With municipal information, the closeness of the relationship with residents differs by region. By dividing up responsibilities, residents can receive the news as “a story about my own area.” The premise of mass-producing conversational videos with generative AI is also practical. If you are going to communicate information through characters, you need to decide right from the start who each character is speaking to.

Virtual Production Infrastructure Reshaped Through Acquisitions and Partnerships

Epic Games — Acquires Meshcapade to Strengthen MetaHuman

On February 18, Epic Games announced the acquisition of Meshcapade, a startup based in Tübingen, Germany. Epic Games announced that the Meshcapade team would join Epic Games’ AI research team, and that Epic would open a new office in the “Cyber Valley” AI research hub. Meshcapade was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. It developed technology based on SMPL, a 3D body model created by the institute. The company’s technology made it possible to capture 3D human body motion from standard video footage without dedicated motion-capture equipment, reproducing non-verbal expressions such as facial expressions and gestures as well (Mogura VR (in Japanese), CGinterest (in Japanese)).

Co-founder Naureen Mahmood stated, “Meshcapade’s mission has always been to make digital human creation easier, more expressive, and more accessible for creators.”

Lab Note: Even without a dedicated studio, creators will be able to capture 3D motion from smartphone video. This is a technology that significantly lowers production costs for VTubers and virtual talents. In our February 13 issue, we covered Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) investment in Shizuku AI. Looking at both moves together, we can see that investment in the virtual sector is shifting from “how things are presented” to “how things are made.”

AMATERASU × Sun Music Nagoya — VTubers Partner with a Traditional Talent Agency

AMATERASU, a VTuber agency operated by Virtual Peer Support LAB., formed a business alliance with Sun Music Nagoya, a group company of traditional entertainment agency Sun Music. Under the partnership, Sun Music Nagoya introduces and brokers appearance bookings, providing opportunities to appear on television, radio, and at in-person events. The stated goals of the alliance were expanding across the broader entertainment industry beyond the digital realm, cultivating hybrid talents, and building a regionally originated entertainment model (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: This is a model where a VTuber agency borrows the network of a traditional talent agency. In our January 2 issue, we covered ChumuNote establishing a new agency, and in our January 9 issue, we looked at VIC creating a support structure for talents. Putting these side by side reveals that extending the career longevity of performers has become a shared industry challenge. Companies that manage talent need to design career paths that do not limit their performers’ activities to a single medium.

22/7 — Real-Life Members and Characters Perform Together for the First Time Using Sony’s Swarm Robots

On February 23, the digital voice actress idol group 22/7 (Nanabun no Nijuni) held a performance at Nishiarai Cultural Hall in Tokyo as the official ambassador for “Japan Festa in ADACHI 2026.” The performance utilized “groovots,” an entertainment swarm robot system developed by Sony Group. This made possible the first-ever joint performance between real-life cast members and characters in 22/7’s history. The same technology was also introduced at The Idolmaster Chihaya Kisaragi solo concert at Nippon Budokan on January 24 and 25 (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Rino Mochizuki, who voices the character Honoka Sera, said, “Singing together with my character was a dream of mine. We will keep working hard so that we can put on stages using technology like this, so please continue to support all ‘14 of us’ from here on.”

Lab Note: The phrase “all 14 of us” expresses the meaning of this technology remarkably well. Mochizuki did not count the voice actresses and the characters separately; she placed them side by side as fellow members sharing the same stage. In our January 16 issue, we covered Sony’s glasses-free 3D display at Nijisanji Fest. Just like that example, investment continues to flow into technologies that stage a tangible “sense of real presence.”

From Railways to Convenience Stores, Brands Partnered with IP at Seasonal Milestones

Seasonal & Event Milestones

• JR Central × Cardcaptor SakuraShinkansen voice drama and Kyoto digital stamp rally (Mar 18–May 17)
• Tokyo Solamachi: Nintama × RascalPop-up with 25 advance-sale items and mascot visit (Feb 21–Mar 9)
• Tokyo Dome Hotel × SanrioMy Melody & Kuromi rooms from ¥63,300, 1 room each per day (Apr 1–Sep 30)
• Don Quijote & Apita: Monchhichi × Hello Kitty15 apparel and goods items starting at ¥2,199 (from Feb 21)
• Lawson × MedalistFigure skating anime goods launched right after the Winter Olympics (from Feb 24)
• AEON Cinema × Doraemon¥750 kids set and 14 exclusive items timed to the Feb 27 movie release

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of company announcements

Cardcaptor Sakura × JR Central “Oshi-Tabi,” Nintama Rantarou × Rascal the Raccoon

JR Central announced that its “Oshi-Tabi” (Fandom Travel) program would hold a collaboration with the TV anime Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, titled “Sakura and a Spring Trip to Kyoto.” The campaign period runs from March 18 to May 17, 2026. Passengers who listen to an original voice drama unlocked by riding the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train can obtain four different smartphone wallpapers, one per day. A digital stamp rally visiting four locations across Kyoto City was also organized (Nijimen (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, at Tokyo Solamachi, a collaboration event between Nintama Rantarou (Ninja Boy Rantaro) and Rascal the Raccoon (Araiguma Rascal) was held from February 21 to March 9. Twenty-five advance-sale items were sold at the venue, and a mascot character greeting event featuring Rascal took place on February 22 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: The design of a voice drama triggered by boarding the Shinkansen is brilliant. When you turn transit itself into content, fans can start enjoying the trip even before arriving at their destination. For transit operators handling anime pilgrimage (seichi junrei), the time passengers spend inside the train car is a versatile asset with many applications.

Tokyo Dome Hotel × Sanrio, Monchhichi × Hello Kitty

Tokyo Dome Hotel began accepting reservations at 3:00 p.m. on February 27 for collaboration accommodation plans featuring Sanrio’s My Melody and Kuromi. The stay period runs from April 1 to September 30, limited to one room of each theme per day. Pricing starts at 63,300 yen per room for two guests in a twin room (including room charge, breakfast, service charge, and taxes). Exclusive newly illustrated dessert plates created by the hotel’s chef de pâtissier were also renewed starting with stays on April 1 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, apparel maker Branch Out launched 15 collaboration items pairing “Monchhichi” and Hello Kitty exclusively at Don Quijote and Apita stores starting February 21. Items include a long-sleeve track jacket and pants set for 5,499 yen and a T-shirt for 2,199 yen (tax included) (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: On one hand is a plan exceeding 60,000 yen limited to one room per day; on the other is a 2,199-yen T-shirt. Even with the same Sanrio intellectual property (IP), the price range varies by more than 20 times depending on the partner. Monchhichi is a brand launched in 1974 that has sold over 70 million units cumulatively across more than 30 countries. Pairing two characters with long histories makes both feel fresh to each other’s fan bases.

Medalist × Lawson, Doraemon × AEON Cinema

Starting February 24, Lawson rolled out original merchandise for the TV anime Medalist at participating stores across Japan, with sales beginning on February 25 or 26 in some regions. Glitter pin badges were sold in four random designs for 660 yen (tax included). The series is notable for the line “Look… at my Tsukasa…” (Mina yo… ore no Tsukasa wo…), which ranked 7th in the “Net Buzzwords 100” (Net Ryukogo 100) in 2025. The release came immediately after the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, AEON Cinema began selling a “Doraemon Kids Set” for 750 yen (tax included) to coincide with the February 27 theatrical release of Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s New Underwater Adventure (Eiga Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Kaitei Kiganjo). The set includes popcorn, a drink, and a selectable bonus item, alongside 14 exclusive original merchandise items (Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Lawson introduced merchandise for an anime depicting figure skating right after the Winter Olympics. It is a way of putting a story about a sport onto store shelves at the exact moment public interest in that competition is at its peak. The approach of aligning your IP with an external event calendar can be applied beyond seasonal goods as well.

This Week’s Takeaways

This week, the single most important figure was FamilyMart’s finding that “56.2% of buyers have never owned a cat.”

The people buying Cat Day products are not only those who live with cats. Many people simply love the existence of cats and buy these items as a reward for themselves. Isn’t this structure identical to oshikatsu itself? Compared to the people who can meet their oshi (favorite idol or character) in person, there are overwhelmingly more people who cannot meet them, yet love them all the same. When designing an initiative, both the product and the price point change depending on which group you have in mind.

Mitsui Fudosan reframed the value of sponsorship around “venue utilization,” while the Tokyo Metropolitan Government divided its characters into three to cover distinct regions. Both designed their initiatives based on the breadth of ways people engage, rather than just the intensity of fan devotion. The companies featured this week put significant effort into this kind of structural design.

When reviewing this week’s developments through the lens of your own target customers, our guides on Oshikatsu Marketing Design Principles and Fan Marketing also offer helpful context.

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Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of oshikatsu and business developments. You can browse past issues in the Oshikatsu × News category.