VTubers

Hello, and welcome to Japanology Plus.
I'm Peter Barakan.

Recently in Japan,

online video creators have started
using avatars to publish content.

They're known as VTubers;
short for Virtual YouTubers.

With a lot of people spending
much more time at home,

owing to COVID restrictions, and
all kinds of entertainment going virtual,

these VTubers have experienced
a wave of popularity.

There are said to be
some 10,000 of them active,

and their creations
have been viewed some 700 million times.

On Japanology Plus today
we'll take a closer look at VTubers.

Tanabe Kosuke runs
a soba restaurant in Tokyo.

But he's known around for the world
for something very different.

For this activity,
Tanabe needs his VR goggles.

When he puts them on,
he enters a realm of virtual reality.

He uses motion capture technology to
track the movement of his head and arms.

These gestures are recreated on screen
by a computer-generated avatar.

The character Tanabe
uses is his original creation.

This is my avatar, my puppet.

When you use one,

factors such as your age, gender
and location become totally irrelevant.

Tanabe is a VTuber.

Since 2018, he has streamed content
on various topics

that he presents as a computer-
generated avatar in a virtual world.

Let me tell you about
some old soba restaurants.

In this video,

he performs rakugo, a traditional
form of comedic storytelling.

He also creates original comedy.

Welcome on board flight SOBANA.

Please fasten your seatbelts at all times,

even when you need to visit the toilet.

If you have any questions
about our flight today,

please do not ask our flight attendants.

And please take care of yourself.

Tanabe used to work in computing.

In those days,

he struggled to communicate
with the people around him.

I'm not much of a talker!

And I'm not good at fitting in.

I find it impossible to perform
the same task as people around me.

But when Tanabe got hold of
a set of VR goggles,

his life changed dramatically.

He created a virtual space
where people can chat.

There, he got to know a lot of VTubers.

One of his new friends was
VTuber Okyutan bot.

She holds all sorts of
events in the digital world.

Shinonome Megu, meanwhile,
performs original songs and dances.

Tanabe's activities had
an unexpected effect.

People he met online

began traveling from across Japan
to eat at his soba restaurant.

I really do have friends
all over the world.

Around 2,000 people!

I still can't believe
it ended up like this.

It's quite shocking to speak
at an international gathering,

but to feel as if everyone
is right in front of you.

If people can see my face, I get nervous.

I wonder what they think of me.

But when I use VR,

that kind of
self-consciousness disappears.

Tanabe recently got married,

to a woman from Singapore
he first met in the virtual world.

And that's also where he proposed.

We met in VR.

But apart from that, it works
just the same as it would in person.

I'm the person you see
in the real world—Tanabe Kosuke.

But maybe I've created something
closer to who I actually am.

This puppet.

So I thought that proposing
with my puppet would be better.

First when we…
I was still being very careful.

Yeah. He's still a new friend.

And I'm not sure who are
these people that I'm seeing online.

So I'm not sure if they're
safe people or dangerous people.

When he sent me his photo I was like,

"Ah, he's totally different
from how I imagined."

Yeah. But, yeah,
of course he's better looking.

Because I like him for his personality.

Some people say
that virtual reality isn't reality.

But I think it's adjacent.

People are out there with their
own lives, and you can get to know them.

It's not virtual reality,
it's augmented reality.

To me, it's simply an addition.

In a virtual, online world,

VTubers can try new things, and present
a different version of themselves.

In Japan, this new lifestyle
is becoming ever more popular.

-Good morning. Nice to meet you.
-Good morning.

Nice to meet you too.

Thank you for letting us
come in here today.

You're very welcome.

Our guest this time is Professor Inami
Masahiko, from The University of Tokyo.

His research involves virtual reality,

and the ways in which we may
be able to augment how our bodies work.

I only became aware
of VTubers very recently.

I'm wondering how long
they've been around for now.

Well, VTubers as we know them today

started appearing
in the second half of the 2010s.

What kind of people
are typically involved in this?

Well,

the people who are professional Vtubers
are thought to be in the minority.

There aren't too many of them.

It's mostly people in education,
or who have other jobs.

They do it as a hobby.

That's the more common scenario.

Also, VTubers are more likely to use
a particular type of avatar or puppet.

The evidence is very clear.

They tend to use a female avatar.

Really?

Why do you think that is?

The majority of those creating
and consuming this content are men.

Perhaps some of them just want to try
broadcasting using a different gender.

Also, Japan has a relatively strong
preference for online anonymity.

In our online communities and culture,

rather than participate
with a real face, under a real name,

people prefer to use an anonymous avatar.

It's a more reassuring position from which

people can create
and publish various content.

Do you think it's a
very Japanese phenomenon?

Japan has a particularly strong tradition
of 2D entertainment, such as anime.

And—myself included—

there have long been many fans
of that sort of geeky culture.

But that world exists
on the other side of the screen.

Nowadays, people can
transform themselves into a character.

And they can broadcast in that role.

It incorporates Japanese anime culture,
internet culture and VR culture.

I think that's an important point.

I wonder what people find
interesting or appealing about it.

Firstly, I think it's easier to engage
with a computer-generated character

than with someone
who is being filmed live.

When viewing a character,

the operator's professional identity,
their social standing,

and even their gender
are left by the wayside.

All that remains is their personality.

I think another
appealing aspect is longevity.

These characters are all virtual, and so,
compared to real actors and actresses,

they're much less likely to suffer
from a scandal, or have an accident.

The characters are somewhat
removed from the real world.

So people know they can
continue to be a fan for a long time.

And the characters don't age.

That's another positive feature.

The roots of VTubing
can be found in the 1990s.

A Japanese talent agency,
at great expense,

funded the development
of a virtual singer: Date Kyoko.

Her movements were created using
cutting-edge motion capture technology,

which at the time was very expensive.

In 2016, Kizuna AI released
her first video, an original song.

It was a smash hit,
reaching number one in the charts.

Before long, she was appearing
in a government tourism campaign,

and a wide range of other initiatives.

Her video channel has
close to 3 million subscribers,

including fans around the world,

and her videos have
been watched 400 million times.

At about that time,

relatively cheap VR devices
started to become widely available,

prompting many people to take up VTubing.

In 2018 there was a rapid increase, with
around 4,000 VTubers making their debut.

Today, there are over 10,000.

VTubing is quickly establishing
its own niche in Japanese culture.

Many new courses offer
training to budding VTubers.

They teach people
how to move a CG character,

and introduce presentation techniques.

The activities of VTubers
are beginning to make a major impact.

You said earlier
on that the popularity of VTubers

really only goes back, what, four years,
or five years; something like that.

Why do you think it's become
so popular so rapidly in Japan?

Well, the way I see it, various
developments a little over a decade ago

laid the foundation
for the VTubing culture of today.

In around 2007 or 2008,
Hatsune Miku appeared.

Her synthesized vocals
could be matched to music.

That software inspired many people
to create songs, and share them online.

And at the same time, from around 2007,

we saw the sudden proliferation
of smartphones.

That meant that more and more
people were watching online videos.

Those factors laid the groundwork,

both for the people who create content,
and for the people who consume it.

I suspect there's a strong connection

between these developments
and the VTubing phenomenon that emerged.

I remember when Hatsune Miku came along.

You had this computer-generated
character that sings and dances.

And then they actually did concerts, in
vast venues, and large numbers of people

parted with fairly large sums
of money to go and see this.

And that was totally surreal to me.
But there are always people

who will make a business
out of any new fashion like this.

Is the same thing now going
to happen with VTubing, do you think?

I think we'll see a huge increase

in the number of live concerts
and events that use CG characters.

Character-based businesses will grow too.

Another major trend is
for VTubers themselves

to take a more businesslike
approach to their work.

They're something like
showbiz entertainers.

They partner up with companies.

They organize collaborations
with lots of new VTubers.

And this may be forming
a new financial ecosystem.

When today's primary school kids are asked

what job they want to do
in the future, a lot will say "Youtuber."

But recently, they may say
they want to be a VTuber.

The fact that children are citing
VTubing as a dream job may mean

that it's beginning to
put down roots in Japanese culture.

VTubers aren't just
doing tie-ups with companies.

Many are providing educational content.

They report on all sorts of
research findings.

At the university where I work,
one lecturer tried it himself—

he presented a class online as a VTuber.

With an avatar?

Yes. And what's more, this was
a male lecturer, using a female avatar.

The students loved it.

I myself have led a class
as an anime-style character.

And I actually think that
the students paid more attention

than they do when
it's the real me teaching.

So I think this sort of thing
is taking root.

When you do a lecture as a VTuber,

how are you able to gauge
the reactions of the students?

The students all use cameras,

so I can see their faces on screen.

There's a real-time chat function, too,

so they can give feedback.

And since it's anonymous,

the students who would
normally never speak up in class

end up making all sorts of comments.

It's easier for them to ask questions.

Wow.

It's a whole new world, it really is.

Today, of course, you and I
are speaking to each other in person.

But at the moment,
a different frontier is opening up;

one where people meet virtually,
as characters.

It's referred to as the "metaverse."

And I think it's possible

that some portion of people's lives
will end up taking place in that setting.

Right now, in the place where
you're standing, I see Kumamon.

Can you see me?

Peter's going to try interacting
with a virtual character.

Researchers here are working on a system

where people can meet AI-controlled
characters in a virtual space.

This is Kumamon,
the mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture.

First, strap this over your eyes.

Then try looking around.

Can you see?

Oh, yes.

Look behind you.

Oh! Kumamon.

The dancing is nice.

Kumamon.

Oh, there we go.

He's quite cute!

Thank you very much.

Recently, some local governments

have been using Vtubing
to promote regional revitalization.

For example, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Figuring out how to prevent
population decline

and attract new business opportunities
is very challenging.

For several years in a row,

Ibaraki came dead last

in an independent survey ranking
the popularity of Japan's prefectures.

They desperately needed
to improve their image.

And so, in 2018, they developed an
original character, and started VTubing.

The Ibaraki government was the first
local authority in Japan to do so.

Ibara's back story is
that she was born in Ibaraki,

and works for the local government.

The decoration on her head
is based on a local delicacy—anglerfish.

At first,

she presented promotional videos on
government-run TV channels and websites.

Here, she's on a bridge, introducing
the tallest bungee jump in Japan.

A CG character doing things
in the real world drew a lot of attention.

In this video,
Ibara promotes locally produced pork.

Videos like this have made an economic
impact worth several million US dollars.

Ibara has also started singing.

Here, she's performing
with the band from an Ibaraki school.

A live event attracted around a hundred
fans—this character is clearly popular.

But what effect did all this have
on Ibaraki's ranking

in the 2020 edition of the survey?

Ibaraki came 42nd out of 47,

avoiding their eighth
last-place finish in a row.

Inspired by Ibaraki's success, other local
authorities have started VTubing too.

The character Iwate Prefecture
came up with is a young martial artist.

She promotes tourist
spots and local products.

The character also made a video

reflecting on memories of the
Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Okayama Prefecture uses a VTuber duo.

In Momoko and Kibito's videos,
they listen to various experts.

The goal is to educate
young people about local issues.

As concerns grew
in connection with COVID-19,

Okayama created original rapper characters
to promote contact tracing apps.

VTubing may offer ways
to address challenges

beyond regional revitalization.

Local authorities are
continuing to experiment.

As we all know from recent
news about social media,

there are a lot of problems with it.

People thought that it was all going
to be for the benefit of mankind,

and it turns out to be that that's
not the only side of it that there is.

Obviously there are going
to be problems with VTubing,

and anything that involves social media.

Are there any particular problems
with VTubers that you are aware of?

Anonymity. Facelessness.

You don't need to show your face.

It's not a significant problem
at the moment.

But people can say
extreme or problematic things

that they wouldn't ever voice
when speaking face-to-face.

So that could be an issue in the future.

It's clear that a faceless online
society comes with complications,

and VTubing is no exception.

You may be able to do more harm
to others at less risk to yourself.

And here's another potential concern.

Some VTubers seem to identify more closely
with their virtual avatar than

they do with their own physical self.

That does come with some positive aspects.

But on the negative side,

if a VTuber's character
is attacked or criticized,

they might feel even worse than they
would if they were criticized personally.

We might start to see that happen.

With all of these technology-based
fashions and fads,

the technology changes so quickly
that it's very difficult to predict

what anything is going to look
like six months or a year from now.

So I don't know whether I should
even be asking you this question,

but how do you see this whole
VTubing thing panning out

in the next few years for example?

What you and I are doing—
a face-to-face conversation—is something

that many people struggle with.

They may find eye contact
quite difficult.

By using an avatar, they're able
to communicate more comfortably.

People with impaired speech or hearing

may find it easier to communicate by
typing messages rather than by speaking.

For many different reasons,

people may have difficulties
in the so-called "physical" world.

By inhabiting a virtual body
in a virtual world,

they may find it easier
to connect with society.

In that respect,

I think that this new technology
could prove to be very important.

As you've said, there are
several very positive aspects there,

and I hope that those are
the ones that take precedence.

Either way there's definitely
a lot to think about.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.