Japan's Livestreaming Business: A Structural Analysis of Its Past, Present and Future
Updated: Aug 27
Livestreamer Agencies Warned by Japan's Fair Trade Commission
Taking the warning issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission on December 9 as a starting point, music producer and global marketer WELCOMEMAN maps the history, present problems and future outlook of Japan's livestreaming business. He identifies the structural conflict between agencies and creators, and proposes a strategy built around the strong IP and storytelling that the live commerce era demands.
The JFTC Warning and Its Background
On December 9, the Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to four major livestreamer agencies operating on the Pococha livestreaming platform, pointing to a possible violation of the Antimonopoly Act. At issue were clauses in the agencies' contracts with affiliated livestreamers that restricted their business activities. Those clauses prohibited livestreaming activity, signing with other agencies, and engaging in similar businesses for a set period after the contract ended, without reasonable justification. The Commission noted that restrictions on business activity lacking reasonable necessity, such as preventing the leakage of trade secrets, or lacking proportionality in the means used, risk reducing the trading opportunities of other agencies and affecting fair and free competition. Citing a potential violation of Article 19 of the Antimonopoly Act, it issued the warning as a preventive measure. During the review, the four agencies indicated that they intended to revise the terms in question, suggesting the situation is likely to move toward contractual adjustment and corrective action.
Three Phases in the Evolution of Japan's Livestreaming Industry
Japan's livestreaming industry began around 2014 and 2015 with the arrival of overseas models, and SHOWROOM established the domestic starting point. WELCOMEMAN's company entered the field in 2016, and the industry grew substantially through the first phase from 2016 to 2019. In that period, the support model resembled crowdfunding more than the tipping that is common today. Livestreamers openly shared their dreams and ambitions and showed their creative process, which let fans experience the story alongside them and turned support into tangible backing. Even with only a limited range of merchandise or CDs, fans could support a livestreamer directly through their phone during a broadcast. That created a visible relationship and a self-reinforcing cycle of enthusiasm.
Around 2019 the term livestreamer business spread widely and drove the market's expansion. During the pandemic, restrictions on going out brought people into streaming from fields not traditionally connected to it, including nightlife districts, clubs, hostess clubs and host clubs. This second wave popularized the words livestreamer and tip among the general public. WELCOMEMAN scaled back operations during the pandemic, concerned that the branding of the livestreaming business was deteriorating and that its image within the music field was worsening. The focus shifted away from entertainment specialization and toward supporting DIY artists in music, covering program production, planning, auditions and career consultation. Having passed through a first wave of enthusiasm and a second wave of expansion, the industry now stands at a turning point toward its next phase.
The Future of the Livestreaming Business: A Model Built on Strong IP
WELCOMEMAN expects a third wave, driven by live commerce centered on TikTok Shop. In China, live commerce hosts generating the equivalent of a billion yen in sales per day have emerged, and the focus of a purchase has shifted from what to buy to who to buy it from. In today's accelerating flow of information, linear yardsticks such as it will sell because it is music, or it will suddenly sell because it went viral on TikTok, are losing their effect. What becomes the core value instead is a story that resonates over the long term, and the strong IP that embodies it, whether a livestreamer, a YouTuber, an artist, a creator or a live commerce host. Whether virtual or real, the model that is needed presents an approachable narrative consistently and grows together with fans through multifaceted branding across works, merchandise and products. IP can be an individual or a team, and its strength is the core of business expansion.
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