3.5 Million Japanese Attendees Joined K-Pop Concerts in 2023
The presence of K-pop in Japan has been increasingly recognized. The number of attendees at concerts by Korean artists in Japan has reportedly exceeded the levels of 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly within Japan, idol groups such as BLACKPINK and SEVENTEEN have been leading in popularity.
On the 5th, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported, citing a survey by the Japan Concert Promoters Association, that the number of attendees at K-pop concerts in the first half of last year was counted at 2.75 million. The association added that when calculated on an annual basis, there is a high possibility of surpassing the 3.56 million in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average ticket price for Korean K-pop artist concerts in Japan was 12,800 yen (approximately 114,912 won), 1.5 times higher than other genres, but despite this, the popularity continues. Nikkei mentioned that looking at the number of concert attendees in Japan, one in ten people in the first half of last year attended a K-pop concert, stating that popular artists like BLACKPINK and SEVENTEEN are driving this trend.
In a survey called ‘Annual Live Mobilization Power Survey,’ which calculated the drawing power of artists based on the scale of concert venues by Nikkei Entertainment’s affiliate company, Nikkei, the Korean 13-member idol group SEVENTEEN gained recognition. Nikkei Entertainment explained, “They held fan club performances at Osaka and Tokyo Domes, completing a total of 12 dome tours in Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka from September to December last year.”
The success seems to be influenced by the rising effects due to the relaxation of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing people to go out more freely. Additionally, with the significant easing of visa issuance requirements for foreign artists by the Japanese government, the activation of K-pop concerts is expected to accelerate.
In August of the previous year, the Japanese government amended some parts of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, expanding the stay conditions for singers for performances from within 15 days to within 30 days. Moreover, conditions such as ‘venue capacity of 100 seats or more’ and ‘prohibition of providing paid food’ were also removed. The visa issuance period, which used to take several months, was also shortened to two weeks, depending on the operating performance of the concert attracting organization. Nikkei emphasized that through these relaxed conditions, it will be possible for new artists to hold concerts or long-term tours, and the actual connection of the amendment to the concert market activation will be seen from now on, as the amendment has been in effect since December of the previous year.
In Japan, it is expected that the concert market boom will continue. Kitaguchi Masato, the president of International Promoters Alliance Japan, which attracts overseas artists’ concerts, stated, “There is an increasing trend of seeking opportunities for concert hits in Japan,” and he particularly highlighted, “In the case of K-pop, the Japanese market is considered a gateway to global expansion. Positive movements are expected to continue in the future.”
Source: daum
