While K-pop draws concert tourists, J-pop freezes out foreign fans

THIS spring, two giants of East Asia’s entertainment scene are holding very different tours.

Following a free public comeback concert on Mar 21, K-pop phenomenon BTS will set off on a world tour in April, starting with three stops at home before heading to more than 20 other countries across four continents.

Despite the international reach of future stops, many foreigners are expected to fly into South Korea for the start of the tour. Hotels have jumped at the chance to push ticket-and-stay packages, and Seoul has ramped up foreigner-friendly support in preparation.

In contrast, J-pop legends Arashi launched their farewell tour earlier this month – with all 15 performances within Japan.

The first stops in Sapporo went viral on social media for a less-than-positive reason: the first-hand account of a foreign fan who had flown there for the concert, only to be turned away at the door because they did not have a Japanese address.

Technically speaking, fans residing outside Japan were not meant to be able to acquire tickets in the first place. Tickets for the farewell tour were available only through strict lotteries for fan club members – and fan club membership requires a Japanese address.

On social media, however, international fans argued that many of them have been long-time fee-paying fan club members via the use of proxy addresses. They felt it was unfair that Arashi’s management company Starto Entertainment would gladly take their money through membership dues and foreign merchandise sales, but refuse to give them access to concerts in Japan.

Keeping scalpers at bay

Arashi is far from the only J-pop artiste to have strict rules around concert tickets. Major ticketing services in Japan often require a Japanese mobile number for registration, thus cutting off foreign attendees from the outset.

An anti-scalping law took effect in 2019, and there has been a move towards digital tickets tied to a specific mobile device, to prevent reselling.

To those who bemoan the plague of scalpers elsewhere, Japan’s rules may seem welcome. But they do mean that genuine foreign fans are frozen out.

One easy response might be that Japan simply does not need the extra concert-tourist dollars.

Despite a fall in visitors from China – after bilateral ties were strained by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan in November 2025 – Japan saw a new record for February arrivals this year, with more than 3.46 million visitors.

Overtourism continues to make headlines. Most recently, the city of Fujiyoshida near Mount Fuji announced the cancellation of an annual cherry blossom festival due to a rise in disruptive tourist behaviour.

As for entertainment, J-pop giants such as Arashi clearly do not lack for fans, at home or otherwise. Domestic demand has been enough to cause a surge in hotel prices and transport bookings around tour stops.

On the purely financial front, there may seem to be little lost by denying access to foreign concert attendees.

But there may be less immediately measurable losses. Will smaller artistes find it harder to build overseas fanbases if their fans never get a chance to see them? Will J-pop gain an image of insularity?

If fans feel unwanted, their enthusiasm may ebb. As K-pop continues to court the world, J-pop may fall behind.