Japan’s Oshikatsu Culture:
When Fandom Becomes Faith
The three-part ARTE documentary series A World of Faith explores the role of faith and spirituality in different cultures around the world. From established religions to contemporary forms of devotion, the series examines how people seek meaning, identity and belonging – and what they choose to believe in. The series premiered on ARTE in October 2026 and is also available to stream on ARTE’s online platform (in certain countries).
For the second episode, Gods, Spirits, Gurus, we explored Japan’s fascinating oshikatsu (推し活) phenomenon. Literally meaning activities dedicated to supporting one’s favourite, oshikatsu involves passionate devotion to idols, musicians, actors, anime characters or other beloved figures. Fans spend considerable time and money attending events, collecting merchandise and celebrating their favourites, making oshikatsu a multibillion-yen industry.
Working as the local producer in Japan, I organised and facilitated filming with young Japanese women who practise oshikatsu in September 2025, as well as an interview with a scholar of religious studies who helped put the phenomenon into perspective, exploring the connections between fandom, devotion and religion.
Despite the large number of people active in oshikatsu, it was quite difficult for me to find people who agreed to be interviewed about their fandom. Another challenge was identifying a quiet enough spot in Shibuya to interview the women. On the day we were scheduled to interview a religious studies scholar, a typhoon nearly derailed our plans by disrupting train services between Osaka and Tokyo…
The project was kindly supported with filming permissions from Tower Records Shibuya and concert footage from STPR. The latter is a Japanese entertainment production and talent management company specializing in 2.5-dimensional idols (2.5次元アイドル) – performers who combine virtual or illustrated identities with real-life music, livestreaming and concerts.
Production credits
– Series directors: Cristina Trebbi, Susanne Utzt and Jobst Knigge
– Japan line producer: Sonja Blaschke
– Cinematography (Japan): Francisco Lopez
– Production: Spiegel TV
– Broadcaster: ARTE / ZDF
– Format: Three-part documentary series, approx. 53 minutes per episode
– First broadcast: 3 October 2026
Watch A World of Faith (2/3): Gods, Spirits, Gurus on ARTE (available only in certain countries):