Character Business Seen at 2.9 Trillion Yen as IP Moves Into FashionA · FULL TRANSLATION
# character business# IP# fashion
Key Points
- The character business market is projected to expand to 2.9 trillion yen
- As apparel gets harder to sell, IP blends function and emotion into new buying reasons
- The organizer will hold its first expo dedicated to IP-and-fashion
Analysis
The character business market is projected to reach 2.9 trillion yen. The shift this piece highlights: in an era when clothes are hard to sell, IP bundles function (responding to extreme weather) with emotion (affection, empathy, nostalgia) to create new reasons to buy in Japan's mature apparel market. For readers, it's a lens on Japanese consumption—when basics won't move, what opens wallets is often emotional identification rather than function itself. IP moving into fashion sells 'I buy it because I love it.'