IDOL

The world of “Idols” in Japan's music industry

While anime is relatively better-known, the concept of “idols” needs some clarification before explaining its fanservice.

To understand how fanservice translates to the concept of Idols (アイドル) it is good to first understand the concept itself. There is a distinction between 2 kinds of idols, the mainstream idol and the underground or Chika idol (地下アイドル). Mainstream idols are the most common and first appeared around the 1970s. The Japanese Idol can be seen as a public personality or influencer; their primary job isn’t always their music career, but more often starring in TV dramas or variety shows, which makes their public appearance really important.^1^ Mainstream idols are always tied to big entertainment agencies, which makes it hard for them to move and act freely. On the contrary, there are the underground idols who perform outside of major entertainment agencies and stay out of the mainstream media.^2^ Underground idols perform in small venues with most of the time fewer than 100 people in the audience, which makes them more accessible for fans, creating a much more intimate relationship and forming a strong community. Ultimately, idols are nothing without their fans. So they find different ways of engaging with their fans, but there is a difference between the 2 kinds of idols in how they interact with the fans. For example, mainstream idols organize extravagant meet-and-greet events, such as akushukai, while Chika idols have much smaller-scale events called cheki (both of these events will be explained later on).

Fanservice mania

Fanservice in the idol industry consists of various fan-idol interactions and different kinds of fandom activities.

Oshi

Oshi is a term used to refer to one's favorite. It is a quite broad term and can be used across different industries. It originated from the word 推す (osu) meaning “to push”, “to support” or “to recommend”. It’s a one-sided relationship from fans towards their preferred member. No expectations, just admiration for the one(s) they support.

Oshikatsu (押し活)

Oshikatsu is another term used to refer to one's favorite within the idol industry. It’s also a term that is used to loosely explain fanservice in Japan. This can mean supporting them through listening to their music, going to concerts, buying merch or other activities. Which can be taken quite seriously by fans. Oshikatsu is starting to be seen as a part of Japanese culture, which is very popular but not talked about a lot among society.

Akushukai (握手会)

Akushukai is a meet-and-greet event. It was first organized by the idol group AKB48 on December 16, 2005. In this event, fans can meet and shake hands with their favorite idol. There were 2 types of akushukai: zenkoku (全国) and kobetsu (個別). In the first-mentioned, fans could meet every member of the idol group. The other was a more private one, where you could shake hands with one of the members. Due to COVID-19, the AKB48 had to change its format to hanashikai.^3^

Hanashikai (話し会)

There are 2 types: the online hanashikai (オンライン話し会) and the offline hanashikai (オフライン話し会). The difference in these is that one is a virtual meet & greet, whilst the other is an in-person meet & greet. With both of these events, it is possible to win special extras while purchasing tickets to add to the meet & greet. One of these extras is sign-kai (サイン会), where the fan is awarded with an autographed card of a member. 1-shot and 2-shot are other special extras you can win. The 1-shot is simply a photo of the idol, where the fan can request a specific pose. Whereas with the 2-shot, the fan can also include themself in the photo.^4^

Cheki (チェキ)

Cheki is another way of meeting your oshi, mostly used by underground idols. It is a kind of Polaroid picture you take together, which is then signed by them.

Idol fanservice

Idols also give a lot of “free fanservice” for their fans to thank them for their continued support, which comes in a lot of different forms. During the covid-19 years the most popular ways of offering fanservice was doing livestreams across different platforms such as instagram, youtube and then later during the pandemic also TikTok once it became an increasingly more used app. These livestreams could be any amount of time, ranging from a short 5 minute live to up to several hours sometimes. Another way of getting fans’ attention is having collaborations with other loved idols or groups. These collabs appear in many different forms, from vlogs, songs, TikToks all the way to a partnership with known clothing brands or electronics companies. This is a way of bringing fandoms together and gaining more fans for the individual idols as well. Fans then started forming pairs of two idols also called a “ship”. Ship is a slang term originating from the 1997 Titanic movie, meaning “to not die” wanting them to stay together. This is how fans express their love for past collaborations or collaborations they would like to see in the future. Another popular fanservice idols offer to their fans are free concerts. This can be organized quite differently depending on the type of idol. These events are used to form a more personal relationship between oshi and fans. More known Idols can perform these types of shows in café’s or at school festivals. Whereas for Chika idols it is usually done on the streets, in front of malls, in the hopes to attract new fans as well. Performances are then often followed by a Q&A moment or photo session. This way fans can have a one-on-one experience with their favorites to remember. This is then later released on youtube for more exposure and for others to enjoy,since they sometimes perform unreleased songs as a ‘gift’ to fans to thank them for their support.

Covid-19

Fanservice underwent drastic changes during COVID-19. Physical contact was no longer allowed, all the events were cancelled and everything had to be moved online, creating a distance between the fan and idol. This, of course, came as a shock to many devoted fans because they could no longer meet their oshi in person. Thus, idol groups adopted an autograph streaming session approach. Although this was not the first time they used this approach, it was first introduced in 2014 for fans who didn’t live near major cities or who couldn’t physically attend events. An issue that came with these autograph streaming sessions was the one-sidedness, so they opted for online one-on-one sessions, which were considerably more intimate.^5^ As mentioned earlier, the akushukai became hanashikai, which is still used to this day.

The drag path

How Oshikatsu can have a positive effect on mental health

In modern Japanese society oshikatsu has been proven to have a positive effect on one's mental health, although this is not commonly talked about. Almost 60% of Japanese have an oshi, ranging from younger people between ages 12 to 30, where it’s seen to be most popular, to older people as well in most recent years.^6^ Of all the people who have an oshi, only a small number actively participates in oshikatsu events, rounding up to around 21%. There is a slight difference of oshi’s that can be seen between men and women. For men it is more sports related although many also have a favorite idol. Whereas women participate far more in idol or fictional character oshikatsu activities. Through a survey performed by Asako^7^ it has been concluded that participating in oshi related activities on a regular basis can improve one’s motivation quite drastically. Having something to look forward to has given students and working class motivation to do their work better. This is not only because fans have a favorite to support, but also because idols put in the work of creating a mutual relationship between idol and fan. This is why fanservice exists. It’s an idol's way of saying thank you for the continued support that they receive.

The economic stimulus

In recent years one big way that Oshikatsu is being expressed is through spending on merch, concert tickets and much more. Though done by Japanese of all ages, this is mostly done by a lot of younger audience. The biggest group participating in oshikatsu activities are Japanese between the ages of 20 to 30 years old.^8^ This is also the age group who are the largest spenders. On average, according to research, people spend around 14000 yen (84$) per month on oshikatsu activities.^9^ This is because for many, oshikatsu isn’t just a hobby but it’s almost a lifestyle. Supporting their favorite is a way for young working class to recharge after a long day of work. It has also been proven to have a big impact on mental health, as well as to give motivation to work harder at their respective jobs. On average people who would receive a salary increase, would spend a percentage of that extra to support oshi activities. This has been noticed by the government and big companies resulting in different forms of fanservice coming on the market. Railway companies, for example, started releasing exclusive videos when purchasing a certain themed card for example. Or in recent years photocards have become a big part in album, magazine and merch purchases as a little “extra gift” for those spending their hard earned money on these items. This was then later developed into a raffle concept. Meaning that when you buy an album or a sweater, your name will be entered into a raffle with prizes ranging from a meet and greet with an idol or group; ‘fancalls’ where the fan gets around 30 seconds up to a minute or two to talk with their oshi. Oshikatsu activity, as of today, makes up around 2.1% of the total retail sales of the country. Specialists believe that it will increase significantly over the next few years with the rise in “stan culture”, meaning supporting their favorite idols and groups. Nowadays, 11% of all Japanese people are believed to participate in such activities according to a survey by Tokyo based marketing firms CDG and Oshicoco.^10^

Bibliography

  1. Aquason, “So What Are Idols, Anyway?”, 21 december 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Io1Fwk7Hs.
  2. Melomelotours, “The World Of Underground Idols in Japan”, MeloMeloTours, 29 augustus 2025, https://melomelotours.com/the-world-of-underground-idols/.
  3. “Akushukai”, Fandom, 19 februari 2025, https://akb48.fandom.com/wiki/Akushukai.
  4. “Hanashikai”, Fandom, 19 februari 2025, https://akb48.fandom.com/wiki/Hanashikai.
  5. Hiromu Yakura, “No More Handshaking: How Have COVID-19 Pushed the Expansion of Computer-mediated Communication in Japanese Idol Culture?”, CHI ’21: Proceedings Of The 2021 CHI Conference On Human Factors in Computing Systems, 6 mei 2021, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445252.
  6. Geriatrics & Gerontology International Volume 26, Issue 1 Identifying the Initiation of Oshikatsu and Health‐Promoting Activities Through Oshikatsu Among Older Adults: A Trajectory Equifinality Approach - Hosaka - 2026 - Geriatrics & Gerontology International - Wiley Online Library
  7. Asako - asahi advertising inc. 第5回ウェルビーイング調査レポート｜60指標で生活者の幸福度を可視化
  8. Japan times - can japan’s take on fandom help drive spending? Can Japan's take on fandom help drive spending? - The Japan Times
  9. Tokyo weekender, 2025 Nearly 50% of Young Japanese Workers Are Investing in Idol Fandom Activities
  10. Tokyo based marketing firms CDG and Oshicoco. 『正社員2万人に聞いた「推し活と仕事」に関する意識調査』を発表 | 株式会社マイナビ