Credit Saison Invests ¥10B in New Oshikatsu Division as Fans Pass 40% [Weekly News: Aug 7, 2026]
Here is our roundup of the most notable stories in corporate oshikatsu (fan-driven support activities) marketing and fan business from the week of July 30 to August 6, 2026.
The complete edition covering every story from this week is available on note in “Weekly Oshikatsu News: August 7, 2026 Issue” (in Japanese). This article brings you the key highlights.
This Week’s Highlights
The biggest story of the week is that Credit Saison has established a new company-wide “Oshikatsu Division.” The announcement came backed by serious numbers showing the scale of its commitment: cumulative targets through the end of fiscal 2030 of co-creation projects with 100 intellectual properties (IPs), 1 million new cardholders, and an investment of more than 10 billion yen.
A Video Research survey (in Japanese) released in March also revealed that the share of people who have an oshi (a favorite idol, character, or creator they actively support) has passed 40% of Japan’s population aged 15–69 represented in the survey. At the same time, a large-scale survey by Hamaru Strategy brought an honest industry sentiment to light: 84.3% of respondents involved in manufacturing or selling merchandise dislike randomized blind-box sales; the study excludes in-game gacha (we also break down the structural challenges of random blind-box merchandise in our glossary).
Oshikatsu has transformed from a subculture belonging only to a subset of dedicated fans into a mainstream market that companies across every industry now engage with. This past week confirmed that shift in hard numbers.
- ¥10B+
- Credit Saison's cumulative targets through fiscal 2030: planned investment alongside 100 IP co-creations and 1M new cardholders
- 40%+
- Share of Japan's population aged 15–69 represented in the survey who have an oshi (Video Research survey released in March)
- 84.3%
- Share of respondents involved in manufacturing or selling merchandise who say they dislike random blind-box sales (Hamaru Strategy survey)
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article
Dining, Transit, and Apparel Make IP Collaborations Their Main Battleground
Tully’s Coffee x TXT — Accelerating Cross-Industry Collaborations in Food Service
Tully’s Coffee has been rolling out a nationwide collaboration with the South Korean boy group TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT). What stands out most is the story behind its creation: the product development lead spent more than six months visiting concert venues and collaboration cafes in person to deepen their understanding of the fans (Toyo Keizai article (in Japanese)).
The Oshi Lab Note: It is an ironclad rule of collaboration design that the depth of insight gained when the person in charge immerses themselves directly in the fandom makes the difference between success and failure. Fans can spot a campaign designed by people who “don’t get it” in an instant.
Colorful Peach x Three JR Rail Companies — Turning Transit Itself into an Oshikatsu Experience
The gaming commentary creator group Colorful Peach (which has 2.44 million YouTube subscribers) teamed up with three Japan Railways group companies: JR Central, JR East, and JR West. The companies announced a wide-ranging campaign featuring chartered train cars, a stamp rally, and even original voice dramas (PR TIMES (in Japanese), UUUM (in Japanese), JR Odekake Net (in Japanese)).
The Oshi Lab Note: This collaboration suggests that JR rail operators see this digital-native fandom as an audience with the potential to attract travelers. The concept of turning travel and transit itself into an oshikatsu experience looks set to become a new standard across the tourism and transportation industries.
Toyota x Sushiro — Turning In-House Products into an “Oshi”
Toyota GAZOO Racing and the conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushiro launched their first-ever collaboration. They rolled out special menu items paired with limited-edition miniature cars modeled after four GR vehicles, limited to 140,000 cars for the “Tsukuro Set” and 40,000 cars for the “7-Piece Wild Bluefin Tuna Platter” (Car Watch (in Japanese)).
The Oshi Lab Note: This serves as a fine example showing that even companies without entertainment IP of their own can cultivate a dedicated following if they treat their own products like characters and tap into the desire to collect them.
graniph — Building Your Own Object of Fandom from Scratch
The apparel brand graniph launched its first-ever original character audition. Users vote to choose a grand prize winner from a lineup of 14 characters, with the winning design slated for commercialization in March 2027.
The Oshi Lab Note: graniph has turned the very process of selecting a character into a participatory oshikatsu experience for fans. It follows the exact same structure as an idol audition show. The way the campaign links fan voting with in-store purchases is also thoughtfully designed. As an example of how to create meaningful room for fan participation, this is a case study worthy of a textbook on oshikatsu marketing.
Corporate Oshikatsu Design
- Tully's Coffee x TXTProduct developer spent 6+ months at concerts and collab cafes to understand fans
- Colorful Peach x 3 JR Rail FirmsChartered cars, stamp rallies, and voice dramas turn transit into a fan experience
- Toyota GAZOO Racing x SushiroLimited-edition GR mini-cars (140k and 40k menu runs) treat products like characters
- graniph Character AuditionUser voting across 14 characters turns selection into a participatory fan experience
- FamilyMart x Sanrio & MascotsJoint campaign featuring 26 characters revives existing corporate mascot assets
- Gakken x Strawberry Prince2.5D idol group appears in study reference books to motivate fans at their desks
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article
Retail and Publishing Bring Characters into New Sales Channels
FamilyMart x Sanrio — Reviving Dormant Corporate Mascot Assets
Convenience store chain FamilyMart held a joint campaign bringing together a total of 26 characters, pairing Sanrio characters with consumer brand “maker mascots.”
The Oshi Lab Note: A company does not have to create a brand-new character from scratch; if you create a stage for the mascots you already own, you can build a compelling campaign around them. This is a smart case of dusting off dormant corporate assets—which almost every company has sitting on the shelf—and drawing them back out through the lens of oshikatsu.
Gakken x Strawberry Prince — A 2.5D Idol Group Appears in Study Reference Books
Educational publisher Gakken released study reference books created in collaboration with the 2.5D idol group Strawberry Prince (Sutopuri, a group active across both online animated/illustrated content and live in-person performances).
The Oshi Lab Note: Gakken connected two areas of consumption: oshikatsu and academic study. The publisher built fans’ own self-driven motivation to sit down at their desks directly into the product design.
This Week’s Reflections
The speed at which the main players in IP collaborations are expanding from entertainment companies to businesses across every sector is clearly picking up. At the same time, as seen in the candid industry survey on random blind-box sales, a serious movement is underway to re-examine the balance between fans’ feelings and how products are sold.
For anyone on the side of planning and launching campaigns, we recommend looking at these developments alongside our guide to the seven design perspectives of companies that fans love to support.
Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of the intersection between oshikatsu and business. The full edition is published every week on note (in Japanese). You can browse past issues in our Oshikatsu x News category.
