Once I shared my earlier piece on why Japan’s birthrate has been declining, some readers left comparable feedback as follows:
It’s not possible to pressure folks to fall in love and have youngsters. Japanese males are into anime, whereas ladies are loopy about Okay-POP and J-POP idols.
I questioned if this argument was correct. Japanese folks’s love for anime and idols isn’t a brand new growth. For the reason that time period oshikatsu turned widespread, speaking about these matters has been thought to be much less and fewer nerdy. Individuals not name you otaku solely since you like anime, at the least in Japan.
In accordance with a current survey, amongst single Japanese males of their 20s, 40 % of them have by no means had girlfriends, whereas the feminine counterpart is 22 %. Consultants declare that youthful generations suppose that being single is extra stress-free and that it may be scary to be concerned in a relationship.
Is it doable that anime and idols have changed love pursuits for Japanese folks?
What Is oshikatsu?
推し活 (oshikatsu) is outlined as “the act of enthusiastically supporting somebody like an idol singer or actor that one feels specific devotion to.”
The portmanteau oshikatsu was nominated for the Phrase of the 12 months in 2021, however the starting of the phrase, 推し (oshi), is claimed to return to the Nineteen Eighties when younger feminine singers had been booming.
So when you’re a Swiftie, Taylor Swift is your oshi. Oshikatsu goes to your favourite singer’s live shows and meet-and-greet, interacting with fellow followers, and recommending them to your family and friends.
Which will sound utterly regular, however it may be excessive in Japan. If one’s oshi is a digital anime character, scrounging round all of the obtainable items and visiting the real-life areas in that anime can turn into the main target of their life.
Think about you’re into lady idol teams. When you’ve got a number of disposable revenue, spending over ¥20 million ($153K) on the idols over 14 years, then feeling betrayed if you study of your oshi’s romantic relationship can occur. Imagine it or not, that’s the true story of 1 zealous AKB48 fan.
Why oshikatsu in Japan is so distinctive
Why achieve this many Japanese folks dedicate important money and time to their oshi? One factor that’s completely completely different from many years in the past is the psychological distance between idols and followers, partly because of social media, and partly due to well-developed advertising and marketing methods.
As an example, the unique idea of the aforementioned lady group AKB48 was “idols who you may go and meet.”
Even throughout the pandemic, these cleverly marketed idols usually maintain handshaking occasions. Followers purchase a number of copies of CDs to get the enclosed ticket, every of which permits them to fulfill their idol for 5 seconds. Should you splurge on 5 copies of the CD, your allotted time might be prolonged to 25 seconds.
Does it sound poisonous? Nonetheless, it isn’t so laborious to know followers’ pleasure. Your favourite singer on TV jumps out of the display and shakes your hand cheerfully. She could keep in mind your identify when you turn into a loyal patron. Even when she doesn’t keep in mind you, it’s a chunk of cake for her to pretend it and nod to your five-second pitch.
Why oshikatsu beats actual relationships in Japan
That mentioned, spending tens of millions of yen on idols is a bit uncommon even in Japan. Most idol supporters are extra modest, fangirling on Twitter with the tags shared by fellow followers and commenting on Instagram stay movies, hoping their feedback catch the idol’s consideration.
The place oshikatsu outperforms actual relationships is the liberty from the social norms deeply ingrained in Japan.
With lowering revenue and the rising proportions of irregular employment, each women and men discover outdated gender stereotypes stifling: Males ought to pay for dates, and ladies needs to be pleased with no matter males give them (yikes!). But, many discover it strenuous to have heart-to-heart conversations with their dates to turn into free from gender norms and peer strain.
One litmus take a look at that usually blows up on social media is the inexpensive Italian restaurant chain, Saizeriya. Some males say that taking their dates to Saizeriya is an efficient trial to see if the girl is on the lookout for a wealthy man relatively than a soulmate. The founding father of Saizeriya would by no means have imagined that it might be the final resort for some males to guage their dates.
Apart from the truth that Saizeriya is such an underpriced nice restaurant chain, this form of dialogue is disheartening for most girls. Nobody needs a date to be a loyalty take a look at, proper?
It’s fairly reasonable to imagine that many ladies really feel like saying simply shut up and binge-watch your favourite anime to these guys. Ladies have their very own plans to push their favourite J-POP boy bands and Okay-POP idols to stardom. Not less than their heroes don’t throw such a misogynistic take a look at. Take the fandom of the Japanese idol King & Prince. They name their followers ‘Tiara,’ reminding them of a basic Disney princess.
I’m no stranger to a cacophony of various tastes between Japanese women and men. My husband listens to outdated J-POP male singers, which I can’t stand for a second, and I hearken to the rest from hip-hop and rock to jazz. He likes Makoto Shinkai films, which I discover a bit disturbing, and I learn shōjo manga and watch Christopher Nolan movies, which he can’t respect in any respect.
The explanation we nonetheless get alongside so nicely is our wanderlust and comparable views on enterprise and the economic system. Now we have an infinite record of locations on our bucket record. But when he had examined me at Saizeriya on our first date, I may not have fallen for him. That’s not as a result of it’s low-cost however as a result of it lacks … creativity.
I might advocate that Japanese {couples} deal with the take a look at of Saizeriya collectively simply earlier than they get married. Should you can preserve laughing at a series diner after the honeymoon part, your marriage is prone to succeed.
However please don’t kneel down and open the field of an engagement ring at Saizeriya except you’re a YouTuber. Your girlfriend could have a greater thought to suggest to you. Or relatively, she could wish to go on a world tour with you to fulfill her oshi as an alternative of carrying a gemstone.
Yuko Tamura is a author, cultural translator, and editor-in-chief of Japonica based mostly in Tokyo. Her articles have been featured in The Japan Occasions, Unseen Japan, The Good Males Venture, BBC Radio, and extra.
This text was initially revealed at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the writer.
