Weekly Oshikatsu News (Oct 30, 2026): Young Fans, Sony’s Fan Phone & Saison’s Manga Award
From announcements made between October 23 and October 29, 2026, we selected eight key stories on oshikatsu (fan activities supporting favorite idols, characters, or creators) marketing and the fan business. This was the week oshikatsu appeared in clear numbers within national leisure statistics in the Japan Productivity Center’s Leisure White Paper 2026 (Rejaa Hakusho 2026). At the same time, a growing number of companies are bringing time spent with one’s oshi (favorite) into everyday items people carry around with them, such as smartphones and credit cards.
The complete edition covering all 18 stories is published on note. In this article, we introduce eight stories highlighting corporate initiatives and survey findings.
Read the complete October 30, 2026 issue of Weekly Oshikatsu News (in Japanese)
This Week’s Highlights
According to a special survey in the Leisure White Paper 2026, 23.6% of respondents engaged in oshikatsu in 2025, reaching 47.7% among people in their teens and 45.0% among those in their twenties. The music concert market reached its largest size on record, which the white paper analyzes as having been supported by large-scale arena performances and the enthusiasm of oshikatsu. A separate survey by Taito also found that 75.6% of teenage women have an oshi.
On the corporate side, Sony made “Fan Sync”—a feature that switches a smartphone’s wallpaper to artwork from a fan’s favorite series—a key selling point of its new model, while Nudge launched an official credit card for the virtual singer CIEL. Credit Saison established a manga original story award to begin cultivating intellectual property (IP) on its own, and Dentsu launched a service that analyzes the characteristics of IPs and their fans.
Spaces for giving tangible form to fans’ affection are also expanding. The 41st Sanrio Character Ranking gathered a record-high 70.64 million votes, and for the birthday of ME:I member Momona Kasahara, 1,000 drones funded by fans lit up the night sky.
The Spread of Oshikatsu Appears Clearly in Leisure Statistics
Leisure White Paper 2026 — Nearly Half of Teens and Twenty-Somethings Practice Oshikatsu
On October 27, the Japan Productivity Center held a presentation for its Leisure White Paper 2026. Japan’s leisure-related market in 2025 reached 78.132 trillion yen, up 3.9% from the previous year and 8.1% above the pre-pandemic level of 2019. Music concerts reached their largest scale ever; in addition to rising attendance numbers and average ticket prices, the white paper analyzes that large-scale arena concerts and the passion of oshikatsu supported this growth. In its special survey, the share of people who did oshikatsu in 2025 was 23.6% overall, including 47.7% of people in their teens, 45.0% of those in their twenties, 29.1% of women, and 18.0% of men. The most common source of information was “official websites, official social media, and official apps” at 55.3%.
Lab Note: You can feel real momentum in the figure showing that nearly half of people in their teens and twenties are doing oshikatsu. The finding that fans check official communications first also underscores how important it is for companies and management teams to share updates in their own words.
Taito — “Marker Mascots” Top the List of Trending Merchandise in 2026
To coincide with “Good Oshi Day” (Ii Oshi no Hi) on November 4, Taito released the results of its fourth survey on oshikatsu and merchandise. Conducted from October 6 to October 9 with 2,000 men and women in their teens through thirties in the screening survey and 500 people with an oshi in the main survey, the survey found that “marker mascots and charms” (mejirushi masukotto, small charms attached to bags, umbrellas, or bottles as personal markers) ranked first among oshikatsu goods respondents felt had trended in 2026. For favorite oshi merchandise overall, small- and medium-sized plush toys took first place for the third consecutive year. Overall, 45.2% of respondents said they have an oshi, rising to 75.6% among teenage women. As for where fans get their merchandise, official shops and venue merchandise sales led at 70.4%, while crane games and capsule toys each accounted for 25.2% in a multiple-response question.
Source: Taito, “Survey on ‘Oshikatsu’ and ‘Merchandise’” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: The popularity of mascots attached to bags as identifying markers may reflect how many more people now go out wearing or carrying their oshi with them. The finding that crane games and capsule toys were each cited by about one in four respondents is an insight uniquely suited to Taito as an arcade operator.
- 47.7%
- Share of teens who did oshikatsu in 2025 (Leisure White Paper 2026; 20s at 45.0%)
- 55.3%
- Fans citing official websites, social media, and apps as their top information source
- 75.6%
- Share of teenage women who have an oshi in Taito's survey (45.2% overall)
- 70.64M
- Record total votes cast in the 41st Sanrio Character Ranking in 2026
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of cited survey and event announcements
Bringing Time with Your Oshi into Everyday Smartphones and Cards
Sony — “Fan Sync” Switches Smartphone Wallpapers to Favorite Works
The Xperia 10 VIII smartphone, released by Sony on October 8, promotes a new service called “Fan Sync” as a headline feature. By scanning a dedicated card, users can switch their home screen wallpaper, lock screen wallpaper, and clock-area design to match a featured work. In a launch campaign, two types of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba design cards are offered to the first 20,000 buyers who purchase the phone and apply within the campaign periods, and the Sony Store sold a limited run of 1,000 sets of a Hello Kitty collaboration model. Nikkei Cross Trend reports that as the weaker yen and surging memory prices pushed the handset’s price more than 20,000 yen higher than the previous model while basic specifications remained largely unchanged, Sony is positioning oshikatsu as its axis of differentiation.
Source: Sony, “Launch of Smartphone ‘Xperia 10 VIII’ Featuring the New ‘Fan Sync’ Service” (in Japanese), Nikkei Cross Trend (in Japanese)
Lab Note: Now that smartphones find it harder to stand apart on specs or price alone, we may be entering an era where devices are chosen by whether you can carry them around together with your oshi. Sony is also running a survey asking fans which oshi they would like to see adopted for Fan Sync, and the fun could grow if fan feedback expands the lineup of supported works.
Nudge — Official Credit Card for Virtual Singer “CIEL”
On October 29, Nudge partnered with THINKR to launch the “CIEL CARD,” an official credit card for the virtual singer CIEL. Users can choose between the JCB and Visa international brands; there is no annual fee, and the card issuance fee is 3,000 yen (tax included). An original card design is available exclusively to members who join the CIEL CARD club in the Nudge app, and depending on usage, cardholders receive a handwritten-style digital welcome message, limited-edition newly illustrated wallpapers, and newly recorded voice messages (to be released at a later date). When the card is used, a portion of the payment processing fee is returned to the club.
Source: Nudge, “Launch of Official Credit Card for Virtual Singer ‘CIEL’” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: Following Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos’s “Oen+ Card” (Support+ Card), which we introduced last week, yet another card now links everyday payments directly to supporting an oshi. For an oshi who performs on the other side of a screen as well, a system where fans’ daily shopping helps sustain their activities must feel reassuring.
Card Companies and Ad Agencies Step Into Cultivating and Selecting IP
Credit Saison — “Manga Saison Original Story Award” Calls for Manga Stories
Credit Saison teamed up with indent, which operates a creative writing platform, to launch the “Manga Saison Original Story Award” (Manga Saison Gensaku Taisho) calling for original manga stories. The submission period runs from October 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and is open to both professionals and amateurs across any genre. Prize money is 2 million yen for the Grand Prize and 500,000 yen each for Excellence Awards; Grand Prize and Excellence Award winners are guaranteed manga adaptation and are scheduled for distribution on the company’s e-book service “Manga Saison.” Having established a company-wide “Oshikatsu Section” (Oshikatsu-ka) in August 2026, Credit Saison is also considering developing winning works into fuller IP by connecting them with credit cards, merchandise, its e-commerce site “STOREE SAISON,” and events.
Source: Payment Navi, “Holding the ‘Manga Saison Original Story Award’ with indent” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: It feels new to see a credit card company—which until now has typically partnered with existing IP holders on co-branded cards—stepping onto the side of creating IP itself. By getting involved from the original story stage, the company and fans alike may be able to enjoy the very process of watching a work grow.
Dentsu — Visualizing an IP’s Market Position and Fan Characteristics
On October 27, Dentsu began offering its “Content Data Solution,” which visualizes the market positioning and fan characteristics of content such as anime, films, and musical artists using shared indicators. Building on “Content Planner,” an internal analysis tool Dentsu has used since 2020, the solution combines survey data from more than 100,000 people nationwide with a consumer attitude survey conducted twice a year among roughly 150,000 respondents. It offers four service menus, including the “Dentsu Content MAP,” which shows an IP’s market position and relationships with competitors, and “Dentsu Content Fan Profiling,” which analyzes fan scale, demographics, values, and behavioral traits. Dentsu plans to expand coverage to sports and overseas markets in the future.
Source: Dentsu, “Launch of Content Data Solution” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: Being able to take fans’ underlying values into account when choosing a collaboration partner is a reassuring resource for companies. After verifying compatibility through data, what ultimately matters is whether a company can turn the project into one that conveys genuine care for that work or artist.
Everyday Oshikatsu Ecosystem
- National & Youth SurveysLeisure White Paper 2026 (23.6% overall) and Taito survey (45.2% have an oshi)
- Daily DevicesSony's Xperia 10 VIII uses Fan Sync cards to customize wallpapers and clocks
- Fan Payment CardsNudge's CIEL CARD returns part of transaction fees and unlocks digital rewards
- Original IP CreationCredit Saison's manga story award links winning works to cards, goods, and events
- IP & Fan AnalyticsDentsu's Content Data Solution maps IP positioning and fan values across 100,000+ people
- Participatory CelebrationsSanrio's 70.64M-vote ranking and 1,000 fan-funded birthday drones for ME:I's Momona Kasahara
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the eight stories in this issue
Giving Shape to Fans’ Affection Through 40-Year Voting Traditions and Night-Sky Ads
Sanrio — Character Ranking Reaches a Record 70.64 Million Votes
On October 27, Sendenkaigi’s AdverTimes published an interview from the December issue of Hansoku Kaigi (Sales Promotion Conference) with 日置佳苗 of Sanrio, who oversees planning and operations for the Sanrio Character Ranking. Marking its 41st edition in 2026, the ranking reached a record total of 70,647,379 votes over a 46-day voting period. When the first ranking was held in 1986, voting was conducted by postcard and drew more than 30,000 entries. Today, fans can vote online once per character per day, as well as through purchases at physical stores and the online shop. With around 90 characters entered, Sanrio has also added features such as registering up to 15 favorite characters to vote for them all at once, and “Daily Voting Stamps” (Mainichi Tohyo Sutanpu) that grant bonus voting tickets based on the number of days a fan votes.
Source: AdverTimes, “Why Does the ‘Sanrio Character Ranking’ Generate Such Excitement?” (in Japanese)
Lab Note: You can feel Sanrio’s sincerity toward fans in how it listens to feedback that voting every day takes effort and refines the system little by little each year. Positioning the ranking as a place where characters and fans express their mutual love is wonderful, too.
Senil JAPAN — A 1,000-Drone Birthday Show Funded by Fans
On October 24, a 1,000-drone show celebrating the birthday of ME:I member Momona Kasahara was held along the Sumida River in Tokyo. The event was organized by the volunteer fan group “Momona Kasahara FANBASE,” planned and produced by cheer-advertising agency Senil JAPAN, and operated by Drone Show Japan. Funding was raised from fans through “Oshi Crowdfund” (Oshi Kurafan), a crowdfunding service dedicated to fan support ads. Set to ME:I’s music, the drones drew the message “We love you most in the universe, Momona-chan” (Momona-chan uchuichi aishiteru) and a birthday cake across the night sky. It was the second installment in the “Oshikatsu Drone Show” series, following one held for BTS’s JUNG KOOK in September.
Source: Mynavi News (in Japanese)
Lab Note: Cheer advertisements (oen kokoku), already familiar in train stations and city streets, have finally expanded all the way into the night sky. Frameworks that connect fans who want to celebrate a birthday with companies holding the technology to make it happen are steadily widening how oshikatsu can be expressed.
Editorial Reflections on the Week
In the Leisure White Paper 2026, oshikatsu appeared as clear numbers within national leisure statistics. Nearly half of people in their teens and twenties are practicing oshikatsu, and the enthusiasm of oshikatsu was cited among the reasons the music concert market reached an all-time high. The finding that fans go first to official channels for information is another point companies cannot afford to overlook.
Efforts to bring one’s oshi into items carried every day, such as smartphones and credit cards, are also continuing. Sony’s Fan Sync and the CIEL card give a strong sense that more purchasing decisions are being made not only on specs or price, but on whether a product lets fans feel together with their oshi.
From Credit Saison’s original manga story award and Dentsu’s analytical service, we can see companies moving beyond simply licensing existing IP toward cultivating IP themselves and verifying compatibility in advance. And as shown by the Sanrio Character Ranking and the fan-funded drone show, carefully preparing spaces that give tangible form to fans’ love is what leads to long-lasting relationships of support.
Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of oshikatsu and business every week. Read the full edition here:
Weekly Oshikatsu News (October 30, 2026 Issue) on note (in Japanese)
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