In 2026, Universal Music Japan’s president and CEO, Naoshi Fujikura, was chosen for inclusion in Billboard‘s Global Power Players list for a sixth consecutive time, making this his seventh appearance. In this year’s interview, he talked to Billboard JAPAN about Japan’s unique superfan culture and the challenges Japan faces in its overseas expansion.
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In 2025, Mrs. GREEN APPLE did extremely well in the charts. They took first place on both the Hot 100 and the Artist 100 Billboard Japan annual charts, and 13th place in IFPI’s Global Artist Chart.
Naoshi Fujikura: I think in 2025, Mrs. GREEN APPLE was really trying to share their music with all their fans in Japan, across generations . Thanks to those efforts, they took 13th place in a chart with global artists such as Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga, which I think is amazing. Japan has the world’s second largest music market, and I think this chart placement has helped share the strength and appeal of our market. Right now, Mrs. GREEN APPLE is mainly focused on their activities in Japan, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how their scope widens in the future.
IFPI announced that in 2025 the global market grew 6.4% year on year, but Japan grew even more, at 8.9%. The number of people who pay for streaming is rising worldwide, which is one factor affecting global growth, but the recovery of the physical media market in Japan is also having a big global impact.
Fujikura: When I became president, the world was shifting en masse to streaming. Despite that, I felt there was still a lot of potential in physical media, so my goal was to maintain a healthy balance between streaming and physical media. You can stream music anywhere, whether at home or in the car, and always discover new music. It’s an extremely convenient service. But CDs and records aren’t just about the music. The artist’s vision runs through the whole package, like the liner notes. It’s like a little slice of the artists themselves. Fans get to see that vision through their CD or record, and purchasing it helps support the artist. I think there are a lot of differences between Japan and other countries when it comes to this culture of connection between artists and fans, often referred to as “superfan” culture or, in Japanese, “oshikatsu” culture.
How are they different?
Fujikura: My impression of overseas superfans is that they listen to the same music on repeat and are passionate consumers, buying their favorite artists’ merchandise. Japanese “oshikatsu,” on the other hand, are more focused on the growth of their favorite artists. Together with other fans, they try to boost their favorite artists even further into the spotlight. Simply translating “superfan” as “oshikatsu” doesn’t quite ring true for me.
The expression “oshikatsu” is a new one, but the culture of patronage has a long history in Japan. In the worlds of kabuki and sumo, you had patrons who supported their favorite actors or wrestlers. In the Edo era, townsfolk had a culture of buying ukiyo-e prints of actors or tables of sumo rankings. I think of that culture of fan engagement as a form of entertainment, and of communication between fans and artists, or between fans and other fans, has simply changed with the times, becoming today’s “oshikatsu.”
Do you think it would be possible to raise the level of enthusiasm of overseas superfans to the point that they’re contributing on the same level as Japan’s “oshikatsu”?
Fujikura: There are aspects of the fan club business model that have developed in unique ways in Japan. Overseas artists tend to be fairly open, sharing aspects of their private lives on social media, for example. Japan and Korea, however, have created systems where fans keep in constant touch with artists through exclusive content, advance ticket sales, events, merchandise, and the like. This gives them a sense that they’re supporting the artists’ activities. There have been a few attempts to start up fan club business overseas, but establishing the Japanese fan club format isn’t easy. I think that’s because Japanese fan clubs aren’t just spaces for sharing information, but also spaces where fans connect with each other and feel a special connection as they support the artists together.
If I can, I’d also like to ask about Japanese music exports. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has set a target of increasing exports of Japanese content to 20 trillion yen by 2033. What challenges do you think this will involve?
Fujikura: First off, I’m overjoyed that the government has positioned content as a core export industry alongside traditional export industries such as automobiles and steel. Content covers a wide range, including music, anime, movies, and games, but I think it’s important that they all work together on this.
Japanese people tend to underestimate their creativity, but I feel like there’s a lot of interest from overseas. At UMJ, we have received inquiries from different countries about our artists such as Fujii Kaze, Joe Hisaishi, and Masayoshi Takanaka. But, at the same time, I don’t feel like right now Japan is strong enough when it comes to continuously communicating their appeal overseas. We need to further reinforce the framework involved in strategically expanding, clearly deciding what countries to focus on, developing partners and marketing capabilities for those markets, and developing teams that can do the work. I’m so glad that Japanese music, especially music from anime tie-ups, has gained so much global recognition. But I think there’s still a big challenge involved in increasing global awareness and appreciation for artists on their own, unconnected to anime content. A lot of people focus on “getting music to listeners,” but what we really need to do is bring the artists themselves to audiences. Overseas, as well, it’s important to nurture artists, and that includes songs, live shows, and fan communities. K-pop has achieved worldwide success through its communities. In the same way, I think the key to the future will be how to build passionate communities, without necessarily being limited to the traditional fan club model.
Korea established K-pop with the global audience by producing one hit dance and vocal group after another. How do you think J-pop should be presented to establish it worldwide?
Fujikura: We may not need to group everything under the single label of “J-pop” genre. We might need to take a different approach than Korean artists used, breaking through with the “K-pop” genre. If you look at sports, when you don’t just have a single strong player, but instead great new players keep showing up, people overseas realize “Japan has a lot of great players.” In the same way, I think we need to build up a track record of success with multiple artists.
People are turning their attention to how music from the back catalog is becoming popular again, like the overseas popularity Masayoshi Takanaka is seeing.
Fujikura: Right. Outside Japan, the situation has changed a lot from how it used to be. In some regions, old songs are seeing higher streaming numbers than new songs. In Japan, though, new songs still get a lot of listens, and even newcomers can make it into the song charts. New talent and new music is vital to invigorating the market. That’s why we plan to keep focusing on discovering new artists and promoting new music. That said, when we release new music, we also always think about promoting the artist as a whole, not just the specific new song, to get people to listen to the artist’s back catalog. We also work to get songs to become seasonal fixtures. If people come to love a song as a summer song, or a song for when the cherry blossoms are blooming, that song will keep being listened to through the years.
—This interview by Naoko Takashima first appeared on Billboard Japan