Hakuhodo's Fandom Lab & Ito En's WBC 2026 Partnership [Weekly Oshikatsu News: Dec 26, 2025]

Here is our roundup of the most notable oshikatsu (fan support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of December 19 to December 25, 2025.

This Week’s Highlights

This was the week when oshikatsu began being built directly into companies’ core business operations.

On December 18, advertising agency Hakuhodo announced the launch of a research project called “Hen’ai Kaigi” (Passionate Fandom Council). According to the company’s own research, 53.7% of respondents said they have a person, thing, or activity that they actively support as an oshi (a favorite idol, character, or passion). Meanwhile, a survey by Deloitte Tohmatsu revealed that within Generation Z, willingness to spend on oshikatsu grew compared to 2024, particularly among 15- to 19-year-olds. Companies have begun treating oshikatsu not as a niche habit limited to a handful of devoted fans, but as a mainstream theme engaging more than half of the survey respondents.

There was also significant movement on the retail and infrastructure side. Convenience store chain FamilyMart unveiled a new store theme, the “Asoberu Konbini” (Playable Convenience Store), installing crane games and amusement machines directly inside shops. It also expanded its “Famima Print” multi-copy machines into an “oshikatsu platform” where fans can print custom fan-service uchiwa (handheld cheering fans) and collectible bromide photo prints. In the virtual space, HIKKY announced “Virtual Market 2026 Summer,” scheduled for July 2026, and opened applications for corporate exhibitors and sponsors.

53.7%

Respondents aged 10–69 who have a person, thing, or activity they support as an oshi (Hakuhodo survey)

53.3%

Respondents aged 10–69 who feel they belong to a specific fandom community or subculture (Hakuhodo survey)

95M+

Cumulative global shipments and digital downloads for the Dragon Quest series

~16,400

FamilyMart locations across Japan highlighted in the Lab Note as potential retail oshikatsu hubs

Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article

Hakuhodo and Deloitte Begin Decoding Oshikatsu Through Data

Hakuhodo Launches “Hen’ai Kaigi” — Researching Oshikatsu Together with Consumers

On December 18, Hakuhodo announced the launch of “Hen’ai Kaigi” (Passionate Fandom Council), a community-driven research project. The initiative studies fandom alongside everyday consumers who hold a deep passion (hen’ai, an intense, specialized love for a subject) for oshikatsu and specific kaiwai (niche fandom communities or subcultural circles). Led by Hakuhodo’s in-house specialist organization, the Institute of Sei-katsu-sha Insight and Technology (Hassou Giken), the project brings together external researchers with deep passions spanning idols, music, anime, characters, sports, and more. In a survey of people in their teens through their 60s conducted by the institute in March 2025, 53.7% of respondents answered that they have a person, object, or activity they support as an oshi. In addition, 53.3% answered that they feel they belong to a specific fandom community (kaiwai), representing a majority in both categories (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: What matters here is the empirical confirmation that oshikatsu is not merely a youth subculture, but has spread to people in their 50s and 60s as well. When companies discuss “oshikatsu marketing,” they need to reconsider the very assumption that their target audience is limited to young people. A figure exceeding 50% provides concrete ammunition during internal planning meetings to dismantle the outdated premise that “oshikatsu is only about a small group of hardcore fans.”

Deloitte Tohmatsu Survey — Gen Z’s “Self-Reward Consumption”

On November 28, Deloitte Tohmatsu released the results of its “Domestic Gen Z Awareness and Purchasing Behavior Survey,” covering Japanese consumers aged 15 to 79. When asked what they want to spend more money on in the future, “oshikatsu” did not rank near the top among Millennials and older generations. By contrast, within Gen Z—and especially among the 15 to 19 age bracket—the number of respondents selecting oshikatsu surpassed the figures from the 2024 survey. Gen Z also exceeded the all-age average in e-commerce usage across every product category, with more than 40% using e-commerce for apparel and luxury goods (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: It is telling that while oshikatsu does not rank at the top for Millennials and older cohorts, it is growing among the younger 15-to-19 segment within Gen Z. Oshikatsu spending tends to intensify the younger the demographic gets, suggesting that as today’s teenagers reach adulthood, fan-driven spending could remain a central pillar of their consumption habits. Combined with their high e-commerce adoption rates, digitally native oshikatsu marketing will carry even greater weight going forward.

Shohei Ohtani, the WBC, and Sports Teams Move Closer to Fans

Ito En x Shohei Ohtani — Accelerating Global Strategy Toward WBC 2026

Beverage maker Ito En signed a global ambassador contract with baseball star Shohei Ohtani in 2024. Now, the company has been named an Official Global Partner for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), scheduled for March 2026. Its flagship brand “Oi Ocha” has been selected as the tournament’s official green tea, and the company announced it will run a promotional campaign offering fans a chance to win game tickets. Ito En established its New York subsidiary in 2001 and began full-scale overseas expansion in 2003. Starting in 2025, it had also entered green tea category partnership agreements with Major League Baseball (MLB) in both Japan and the United States, as well as with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Los Angeles area (Ito En Press Release (in Japanese), AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: To the overseas expansion that Ito En has steadily built over more than 20 years since establishing its overseas subsidiary in 2001, the company added the genuine fact that Ohtani himself regularly drinks Oi Ocha. Backed by the reality that he was already drinking the product before any contract was signed, the initiative has expanded far beyond a one-off commercial appearance into a tournament-wide partnership agreement. This case demonstrates how a major partnership materializes when long-term brand investment aligns with an endorser’s authentic everyday habits.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks — Producing Their Own Film to Deliver an Immersive Experience

Professional baseball team the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced the nationwide theatrical release of HAWKS SP!RIT —Memories of 273 Days— (Eiga HAWKS SP!RIT -273-nichi no Kioku-), a feature-length documentary closely following the team across a full season, opening on December 26. This marks the third film produced directly by the ballclub. Distribution is handled by Lawson United Cinema, while the club itself handles production. Production costs were covered entirely within the scope of box-office revenues. Six companies, including MT Net and Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu), served as sponsors. According to production manager Toshinobu Minamide, the team’s official YouTube channel is responsible for broad-reach content aimed at general awareness, while the monthly subscription service “Hawks TV” delivers specialized content for core fans. The theatrical film, he noted, serves the role of conveying “a sense of realism close to being inside the stadium” (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: The clear division of roles across media—free YouTube videos, monthly subscription Hawks TV, and a theatrical film release—offers a valuable blueprint. Even when addressing the same fanbase, the ballclub adapts its delivery to match the intensity of each fan’s engagement, preparing the most immersive experience for its most devoted tier. For any company operating a fan club or membership service, this tiered content architecture itself provides a practical model.

Sanrio Expands Cheering Goods Through Samurai Japan and Grand Sumo

Sanrio x Samurai Japan, Sanrio x Grand Sumo — Building Touchpoints with Traditional Organizations

Collaboration merchandise pairing Sanrio characters with Japan’s national baseball team, “Samurai Japan,” has gone on sale under the banner “Samurai Japan x Sanrio Characters.” Advance reservations opened on the online shopping mall “HIGHGO MALL.” The lineup features 19 items in total, including plush mascots and tin badges showing Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and Pompompurin dressed in Samurai Japan uniforms. Reservations ran through January 5, 2026, with pop-up shops also scheduled to roll out between February and March 2026 (Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).

The Japan Sumo Association also announced that it would launch collaboration items with Sanrio Characters starting January 7, 2026. The items were scheduled to be sold on the official online store “SuMALL” and at venue shops during the January Grand Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho). Hello Kitty, Kuromi, Pompompurin, and Cinnamoroll appear dressed as gyoji (sumo referees), yobidashi (ring announcers and attendants), and sumo wrestlers wearing kesho-mawashi (ceremonial aprons). The collection spans 7 items in total, including towels and aprons decorated with sumo-ji, the traditional brushstroke lettering used on tournament rankings (banzuke). The January tournament was scheduled to run from January 11 to January 25, 2026 (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: It caught our eye that both the Japanese national baseball team and Grand Sumo—traditional organizations with broad, relatively older fanbases—teamed up with Sanrio in the very same week. By layering familiar characters onto the existing demand for cheering merchandise, these organizations make it much easier for customer segments who do not normally buy team goods to pick something up. The more traditional an organization is, the greater its room to create new customer touchpoints by partnering with established characters.

Major Food and Beverage Brands Turn Characters into Collaboration Menus

Kura Sushi x Cinnamoroll, McDonald’s x Dragon Quest — Rolling Out Limited-Time Menus

Conveyor-belt sushi chain Kura Sushi announced that it will hold a nationwide collaboration campaign with Sanrio’s Cinnamoroll starting January 9, 2026. In the in-store “Bikkura Pon!” capsule game—which diners can play once for every five sushi plates returned—prizes will include a lineup of six figure straps. In addition, the chain announced it will distribute original merchandise such as clear file folders for every 2,500 yen (tax included) spent at the register, with a limit of 300,000 in each of two phases, while supplies last. Reservations for collaboration-exclusive ehomaki (lucky direction sushi rolls eaten during the Setsubun festival) were also set to open on January 4 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

McDonald’s Japan announced that it will launch the second wave of its collaboration with the Dragon Quest video game franchise starting January 7, 2026. The campaign features five items in total: three “Dragon Quest Burgers” and two limited-edition drinks. Cumulative global shipments and digital download sales for the Dragon Quest series have surpassed 95 million copies worldwide. McDonald’s also announced that a new television commercial starring Miku Ichinose of idol group Nogizaka46 would begin airing on December 27 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Both campaigns layer gacha-style (capsule-toy lottery) excitement and repeat-visit incentives onto a dining-out experience that would otherwise end the moment the meal is finished. Both Kura Sushi’s giveaway scale of 300,000 per phase and the 95-million-unit cumulative track record of the Dragon Quest franchise partnered with McDonald’s are numbers that only work because of fanbases built up over many years. For restaurant chains, collaborations function as a mechanism to increase not only average customer spend, but also visit frequency.

Suntory x Dragon Quest VII, Meiji x Two Patissiers — Beverage and Confectionery Collaborations

Suntory Beverage & Food International announced a collaboration with Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. Across four of its mainstay beverage brands—C.C. Lemon, Dekavita C, Natchan, and POP Melon Soda—the company announced it will release a limited-quantity run of 10 original-package “Monster Bottles” starting in mid-February 2026 (Inside (in Japanese)).

Confectionery maker Meiji unveiled Valentine’s Day collaboration products pairing its classic chocolate snacks “Kinoko no Yama” (literally “Mountain of Mushrooms”) with Chef Takao Yamamoto of Club Harie, and “Takenoko no Sato” (literally “Village of Bamboo Shoots”) with Chef Takeshi Shibata of Chez Shibata. The project grew out of the coincidence that the two chefs’ names contain “yama” (the character for “mountain” in Yamamoto) and “take” (in Takeshi, matching the “take” in Takenoko no Sato). The products were scheduled to go on sale starting January 16, 2026, at the Valentine’s Day exhibition at JR Nagoya Takashimaya department store. The sets even included acrylic stands so fans could enjoy “oshikatsu” for the pastry chefs themselves (AdverTimes. (in Japanese), Meiji Co., Ltd. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Suntory layered video game packaging onto its existing flagship soft drinks, while Meiji turned the coincidental match between its snack brand names and two master pastry chefs’ names into a campaign concept. Both approaches share a common starting point: leveraging assets they already possess (staple beverages and established brand names). Rather than trying to manufacture buzz from scratch, finding unexpected combinations among existing assets creates surprise without requiring massive costs.

Convenience Stores and Specialty Shops Turn Retail Locations into Fan Hubs

FamilyMart — Turning Stores into Amusement Spaces as a “Playable Convenience Store”

On December 17, FamilyMart announced a new theme, the “Asoberu Konbini” (Playable Convenience Store), adding “play” (yu) to the traditional daily essentials of clothing, food, and housing. Inside its stores, the chain has been rolling out “shopping attractions” equipped with crane games and amusement machines, priced at 100 yen per play. Cabinets for the arcade game Pokémon Frienda were also being tested at two locations in Tokyo. Meanwhile, its “Famima Print” multi-copy machines were expanded as an “oshikatsu platform” capable of producing custom fan-service uchiwa fans and bromide prints. At the presentation venue, collaboration items with Jujutsu Kaisen and Genshin Impact were also previewed (PR TIMES (in Japanese), family.co.jp (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Bringing both an arcade center and DIY oshikatsu goods production directly into the convenience store—the most everyday retail space in Japan—is a bold move. If an infrastructure of roughly 16,400 stores nationwide can be repurposed directly into local oshikatsu hubs, even companies without dedicated entertainment venues can create widespread fan touchpoints. The mindset of repurposing an existing store network can be applied by companies outside the retail sector as well.

Komeda’s Coffee, CAPCOM STORE, New Era x PlayStation — Expanding the Sales Floor

BANDAI SPIRITS unveiled the complete prize lineup for its “Ichiban Kuji Komeda’s Coffee A Cozy Moment” character lottery. The top A Prize is a desktop humidifier designed to look like a cup of “Komeda Blend” coffee, while the Last One Prize (awarded to the person who buys the final ticket in a set) is an approximately 56-centimeter “Cream Soda” cushion. The lottery was scheduled to roll out sequentially starting January 9, 2026, at FamilyMart locations, bookstores, and other retailers for 700 yen per draw (Inside (in Japanese)).

Video game publisher Capcom announced that it will open a new location of its official antenna shop, “CAPCOM STORE,” inside Ikebukuro PARCO on February 13, 2026. Following the Shibuya PARCO store that opened in November 2019, this will be the second location in Tokyo and the sixth in Japan overall (Inside (in Japanese)).

Apparel brand New Era announced that it will release its first-ever collaboration collection with “PlayStation,” which celebrated its 30th anniversary, on January 8, 2026. A wide range of items—including headwear and apparel featuring the PlayStation logo and the iconic controller button symbols (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)—will be sold at New Era stores nationwide (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Komeda’s Coffee turned its own brand into the subject of an Ichiban Kuji lottery, Capcom expanded its direct-to-consumer specialty store footprint, and New Era teamed up with PlayStation for the first time. While the three companies used different methods, they share the same underlying philosophy: figuring out how to serve and monetize the fans they already have. Rather than trying to cultivate brand-new fans from zero, creating more purchasing opportunities for people who already know the brand makes return on investment much easier to project.

Corporate XR and Metaverse Initiatives Expand Live Concerts and Fan Interaction

The Idolmaster’s Chihaya Kisaragi Budokan Concert — Introducing Sony’s “groovots” Robot Technology

“OathONE,” a solo concert at the Nippon Budokan by Chihaya Kisaragi from The Idolmaster franchise, was scheduled to be held over two days on January 24 and 25, 2026. It was announced that “groovots,” a robotic stage system developed by Sony, would be deployed for the concert’s production. The groovots system uses robots equipped with LED panels that move in synchronization with video and audio to stage spatial performances. Alongside multiple robots measuring roughly 0.3 meters wide and 1.3 meters tall, a large-scale model measuring roughly 2 meters square was scheduled to be deployed for the first time. The initiative is part of a business alliance between Bandai Namco and Sony, with Bandai Namco Entertainment handling production planning and creation, and Sony PCL overseeing technical direction (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: What is new here is that core hardware technology from Sony itself is planned to be brought directly into a solo concert for an anime character—a field that has long seen continuous technical investment. The system uses robots for entertainment, and its large-scale model was developed for this concert. Partnerships between entertainment companies and hardware manufacturers are beginning to serve not just as single-event production collaborations, but as real-world proving grounds for emerging technology.

HIKKY’s “Virtual Market 2026,” MIXI’s “ALTERNIGHT ZONE,” and hololive 2025 on ABEMA — Expanding the Metaverse

HIKKY announced that it would hold “Virtual Market 2026 Summer” over a 16-day run from July 11 to July 26, 2026. A companion real-world experiential event, “VketReal 2026 Summer,” was also scheduled to be held concurrently on July 25 and 26 at Bellesalle Akihabara in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. The themes for the virtual venues are Akihabara and New York’s Broadway, and applications for corporate exhibitors and sponsors had already opened (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

On December 22, MIXI launched “ALTERNIGHT ZONE,” a new metaverse service linked with its keirin (track cycling) wagering platform “TIPSTAR.” Users can use avatars to watch keirin races and enjoy amusement content together. The company also announced the debut of the “Metaverse Hiratsuka Keirin Velodrome,” modeled after the actual stadium. The service is restricted to users aged 20 and older and is available within Japan (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Streaming platform ABEMA announced that on December 28, it would broadcast a special 12-hour program, “hololive 2025 on ABEMA” (ABEMA de hololive 2025), completely free of charge from 12:00 noon until midnight. The broadcast lineup included five past concert performances, such as a solo live concert by hololive’s 5th Generation talents. For two of those concerts, the broadcast marked the first time they were made available in full for free in Japan (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Whether as a venue for merchandise sales (HIKKY), a venue for watching and wagering on races (MIXI), or a venue for watching live concerts (ABEMA), each company is using the metaverse and online broadcasting for a completely different purpose. What they have in common is that they first define why fans will gather before building the space. Defining the purpose of gathering people upfront is the essential condition that keeps metaverse initiatives from ending as mere publicity stunts.

Research & Strategy

• Hakuhodo's "Hen'ai Kaigi" co-researches passions alongside consumers across age groups
• Deloitte Tohmatsu tracks Gen Z (ages 15–19) oshikatsu spending and e-commerce growth
• Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks structures media tiers across YouTube, Hawks TV, and cinema

Physical Retail & Goods

• FamilyMart adds crane games and Famima Print oshikatsu tools to everyday convenience stores
• Sanrio pairs characters with traditional organizations like Samurai Japan and Grand Sumo
• Food and retail brands (Kura Sushi, McDonald's, Suntory, Meiji, Komeda, Capcom, New Era) activate existing fanbases

XR, Robotics & Online Spaces

• Bandai Namco and Sony announce plans to deploy "groovots" robotics at a Nippon Budokan character concert
• HIKKY bridges virtual and physical exhibitions with Virtual Market 2026 Summer and VketReal
• MIXI and ABEMA build purpose-driven online spaces for keirin viewing and free VTuber concerts

Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article

Editorial Takeaways for the Week

This was a week in which oshikatsu visibly began shifting its position from “one marketing tactic among many” to “part of corporate management infrastructure.” Hakuhodo launched a dedicated research project, Deloitte Tohmatsu quantified fan spending as purchasing-behavior data, and FamilyMart reconfigured its physical store equipment specifically for oshikatsu. Rather than stopping at one-off collaboration products, a growing number of companies are investing in continuous, permanent systems.

Alongside the announced introduction of Sony’s robotics technology into an idol’s solo concert production, HIKKY announced “Virtual Market 2026 Summer” and MIXI launched “ALTERNIGHT ZONE” complete with social interaction areas. Efforts to expand fan touchpoints are advancing in parallel across both physical retail stores and virtual spaces. At the same time, partnerships pairing long-established institutions with characters popular among younger generations—such as Sanrio’s collaborations with Samurai Japan and Grand Sumo—also stood out.

The way companies approach oshikatsu is transitioning from single campaigns to permanent operational frameworks. Alongside our guides to Oshikatsu Marketing Design Principles and Fan Marketing Fundamentals, take a moment to review where your own organization currently stands.

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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 x News category.