As Heisei draws to a close, what remains.......

As Heisei draws to a close, what remains…….

If you have been following Japan political life, you should know that King Akhito is stepping down making his 59 year old son Naruhito become the new king drawing the Heisei era to a close. Admidst this transition, life (espcially entertainment life) is heading to an unknown future. I think it’s time for some PREDICTIONS by ME using sources that I have gather! Of course I might be flamed because yes I am not really Japanese but it’s just a outsider perspective.

1) The Youth won’t matter as much for the Early Reiwa Era
So you think Americans are not having much marriages and childbirth? Think again because low-key, Japan might be suffering more from this “graying population” problem. Childbirth has been stagnant so far and combine that with a high (probably THE HIGHEST) life expectancy anywhere in the world, this makes for a graying population with not enough people “replacing” the old ones. (Wikipedia Article: Read More)

2) Japan begins to adapt some western flavors in their music
Japan has been known to do its own stuff in music. I think that might/will probably change. KPop music is almost inherently WESTERN, and you can see there are many KPop groups (from Izone to the new group that’s about to be formed through Nixi Project by JYP) taking roots in Japan. Even most established KPop groups in Korea have Japanese members. Popular digital artists that are on the rise in Japan (Aimyon, Yonezu Kenshi etc) music are more “pop-ish”

3) Idol Culture dies?
Idol culture in Japan is literally only “performance” base, unlike in Korea where they make good songs too (BTS, TWICE, and Blackpink) in addition to “performance” like dancing. You might remember Kohaku Uta Gassen (Japan annual TV show that feature popular music of the year and such stuff) back in 2014 where there were many idol groups (these group are HUGE 48 members or above) in attendance and performing. Almost all those groups have disbanded or been basically “cancel” by people ever since then (except AKB48). They just don’t vibe with the Japanese population. Idol are geared towards more of a “young” audience anyways and we all know how that is going on the birthing front. Maybe there will a different form of idol culture that will form, I don’t know. Maybe?

4) Physical Charts won’t even matter as much as Digital Charts
Many popular music sites (Oricon) has been transistioning to more of a Digital format like the rest of the world. Streaming is now prefer more than CD or vinyl records of popular songs or groups around the world.

So those are my predictions, but maybe I’m dead wrong on all of them WHO KNOWS??!!

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