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The story
In its “Oshi Katsu” (fan-support culture) feature in the October 2026 issue, Nikkei Entertainment presented fan data for Juice=Juice: roughly 46,000 fans, an average age of 37, and a gender split of 39% male to 61% female. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, these numbers touched off comparisons with other groups like Nogizaka46 (average age 40.2) and AKB48 (average age 42), along with threads questioning the survey methodology and expressing surprise at how the once male-dominated fanbase has shifted toward women in recent years.
What people said
Excerpted female-idol data from Nikkei Entertainment! October 2026 issue's "Oshi Katsu" feature (some figures are visual estimates from the Oshi Katsu Map)
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Not sure what metric they used, but Juice=Juice definitely draws bigger crowds than CANDY TUNE, the group ranked one spot above them.
Heard that show's having a rough time editing after a timelesz member got arrested.
A "visual estimate"? Did they hire the Wild Bird Society to headcount or something? (a bird-watching group famous for eyeballing flock sizes)
Too unpopular — no way Juice=Juice is making Kohaku. (NHK's New Year's Eve music special)
Hinatazaka, ranked #2, isn't making it either.
Proof that iLiFE! >>> Juice=Juice.
Sounds like iLiFE! didn't really click with the LuckyFes crowd.
If AKB really had this many otaku, they'd easily fill K Arena all the way up to level 7.
If they're really gaining fans, their arena concerts would be selling out, wouldn't they?
https://t
alk.jp/boards/nogizaka/1790134494
Even =LOVE, the top group among female idol fans, isn't on it.
Seriously packed with young women
Back when Chono pointed it out, the age range really was high.
Starting around 2016-2017, both the release events and the big venues
skewed younger, and female fans increased too.
Nogizaka fans averaging 40.2 years old
AKB48 fans averaging 42
that's pretty wild lol
I thought Nogizaka's fanbase was younger…
Young otaku find groups where you feel like you need to "study up" on the history intimidating — too high a barrier to get into.
Sony
Nogizaka46
=LOVE
iLiFE!
Kawaii Lab
FRUITS ZIPPER
CUTIE STREET
K-pop
ILLIT
Up-Front
Juice=Juice
Unless you're an idiot, it's obvious which one of these gets cut lol
Also no Stardust idols in the mix — my guess is they're focusing on male acts this year.
Quantifying fan numbers with any real precision is tough.
youtu.be/_7ev4WYlpKs
The live footage is nothing but stinky-looking dudes.
Unthinkable a year ago.
Hello! Project used to be completely off the radar for every media outlet's stats.
High schoolers and college kids have been flocking to Kawaii Lab instead of the Sakamichi groups for about three years now.
Meanwhile fans in their late 20s/early 30s drop out over marriage or just losing interest, so the Sakamichi fanbase keeps getting older.
Female fans were just a handful here and there.
If the group keeps going long enough, today's young fans will just get older too.
Sounds like the acts announced in the second wave barely showed up anyway, so if there's a next time, they should book them in the first wave instead.
Maybe that's why fans are so forgiving of member scandals.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Nikkei Entertainment’s annual “Oshi Katsu” feature compiles fan data for various idol groups — numbers, average age, gender ratio — with some figures reportedly drawn from event organizers’ reports or visual estimates via the “Oshi Katsu Map.” That drew the usual skepticism about methodology again this time. Juice=Juice was, through around 2016-2017, known for a fanbase that skewed over 80% male and for being singled out by pro wrestler Masahiro Chono for its older-skewing audience; in recent years, though, there’s been a narrative of rising numbers of female and younger fans, and this data seems to bear that out. At the same time, the average ages of other groups like Nogizaka46 and AKB48 were brought up, spinning off into a separate discussion about the aging fanbases of Sakamichi-affiliated and Akimoto-produced groups. It’s worth noting that none of these are officially audited statistics — they’re all estimates from the magazine itself.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Nikkei Entertainment: ‘Juice=Juice’s Fanbase Is 46,000 Strong, Average Age 37, 39% Male / 61% Female’.”
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