18;write_to_target_document7;default0;13ce;18;write_to_target_document1a;_kqTsaYfbB46UwbkPwOyrqA4_20;a5;
The industry currently faces a crossroads. A shrinking, aging population means the domestic market is tightening, forcing companies to look outward. This has led to a surge in collaborations with platforms like Netflix and the global "simulcasting" of anime.
This is distinctly Japanese: the embrace of the "character" over the real person. It solves the idol industry’s biggest problem (privacy invasion). The performer stays anonymous; the character becomes the star. In 2024, a VTuber concert sold out the Tokyo Dome—while the actual human singing was in her apartment three miles away.