User:AKM0303/sandbox/editing Japanese popular culture

Internet
Internet in Japan took off in 1993 when the nation's government approved and installed its first commercial Internet service provider. Japan was the 14th country in the world to start using the internet; many reasons have been cited as the reason behind its slow movement such as bad timing, the government deeming internet access was more for academic use, fear of change and taking risks, an initial lack of competition in the telecommunications field, the difficulty of using a keyboard with a 2,000+ kanji-based language, and high rates causing hefty bills after just a few hours of internet usage. Until the mid-1990s, it was hard for Japanese society to access the internet and there wasn't much to do once they did. After it became widespread, mobile phones were preferred over PCs or laptop computers, which has shaped how Japan's internet culture is interfaced, having to adapt to smaller screens and having a more leisurely attitude towards it.

Virtual Idols
The term "virtual idol" refers to an idol who exists only in the digital realm. The first Virtual Idol, Kyoko Date, was released by talent agency Horipro. Virtual Idols exist in a wide variety from Vocaloids like Hatsune Miku and Virtual YouTubers like Kizuna Ai. Virtual YouTubers, colloquially known as VTubers, are streamers with origins in Japan who use motion capture face tracking technology with their avatar models to move and show change in emotions. Kizuna Ai is regarded as the first VTuber. After debuting in 2016 she’s gained over 4.3 million subscribers across two YouTube channels — A.I. channel, and A.I. games. VTubers are different from virtual idols like Hatsune Miku in that behind the model is a real person, whereas Hatsune Miku and other Vocaloid are voicebanks consisting of databases of vocal samples provided by actors and singers. VTubers are generally individually operated(indie) or a part of a VTuber agency such as Nijisanji and Hololive. VTubers who are part of an agency have less control over their work, but are provided a more professional level of support such as professionally commissioned avatars and motion rigging. Currently, some of the most watched Japanese VTubers in the world are Usada Pekora from Hololive. She has accumulated 7.19 million hours watched in the first quarter of 2023. Kuzuha from Nijisanji is just slightly behind with 6.94 million hours watched and is also the most watched and subscribed male VTuber worldwide. Collaborations with product companies are also commonplace, such as the Neox Graphite x Nijisanji collaboration featuring six talents from both Japanese and English branches each having their own themed mechanical pencil and lead.