In Japan, policymakers and economists are paying close attention to the oshikatsu phenomenon as a growing driver of consumer spending – and 24-year-old Momoka Matsui is one of many doing her part to shore up the economy.
“If my salary goes up, I’d like to go to concerts out of town, even overseas, more frequently,” said Matsui as she, like many workers in Japan, waits eagerly for another year of bumper wage increases.
Matsui, who does oshikatsu-related marketing and research as part of her overall work at advertising giant Hakuhodo, declined to identify her bands of choice because of conflict-of-interest concerns in her job.
The explosion of oshikatsu, which entered the mainstream lexicon during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a social phenomenon has economists and even the Bank of Japan taking note for its potential to prop up Japan’s tepid consumption.
