If you don’t want to travel if you can’t see your oshi, JCB understands.
Before we get to our main topic, let’s start with a quick linguistics refresher. In Japanese, oshi literally means “support,” but in modern pop culture circles it’s taken on the meaning of a fan’s favorite character or performer, especially in the idol and anime spheres. The idea is that a fan is earnestly devoted to the continued success of their oshi, making them especially active about attending meet-and-greets, concerts, and other fan events at which their oshi is going to be appearing, and actively attending such events is called oshikatsu (“oshi activities”9.
Particularly passionate fans don’t limit their oshikatsu to just local gatherings, either. Rather than wait for their oshi to come to their neck of the woods, many fans will instead follow where their oshi goes. Sometimes that means trips to other parts of Japan, and in cases where the oshi isn’t Japanese, like for fans of Korean boy bands, fans may even plan overseas travel specifically for the purpose of seeing their favorite on stage.
But there’s a risk involved with this. Say, for example, your entire reason for buying a Shinkansen ticket to Osaka is because your favorite voice actress is doing a handhake event there. Or maybe you’re flying to Seoul to spend the night in a hotel, catch a K-pop concert the next day, and then fly back home after the final encore. What if those events get cancelled? Now you’re stuck with the cost of any transportation or hotel rooms you booked, but for a place you no longer really want to go to.
▼ A yonkoma/four-panel manga showing the crushing emotional and financial pain of a woman finding out that a sudden concert cancellation means that now only will she not be able to see her oshi, but getting out of the trip she no longer wishes to take is going to cost her 30,000 yen (US$185) in hotel and flight cancellation fees.
This is where Japanese credit card company JCB comes in. JCB offers various insurance packages, and they can now supply you with Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance.
In some ways, Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance functions like regular travel insurance, covering cancellation fees should your flight, train, or other transportation get cancelled or delayed and you then want to skip the trip entirely. It also provides coverage should you suddenly have health or hospitalization issues that prevent you from traveling, and extends that to if you have a child, relative, or pet that needs your attention during a medical crisis. What sets Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance apart, though, is that it will also cover cancellation fees even if there are no health or transportation problems that have popped up, but if you’ve decided you’d like to cancel your trip because the oshikatsu event you were going for has been cancelled.
So if that voice actress came down with a cold and the handshake event in Osaka is being postponed until a month later? Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance will cover your cancellation fees if you’ve decided that you’d now rather stay home. Stormy weather forecast made the outdoor venue cancel that K-pop concert? Also covered.
JCB is offering Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance through its MyJCB online service via a new partnership with Japanese insurance company Mysurance, which has been providing such coverage since 2025. Rates vary by specific circumstances (such as whether you want domestic or overseas coverage), but for a domestic travel booking with a total price of 30,000 yen, a coverage plan can be purchased for 900 yen.
Do note, though, that there are limits to what the policy covers. If the purpose of your travel was to attend an event where your oshi was supposed to appear and they’ve had to cancel, but the event itself is still going on (say, with the other members of the band performing without them), then Oshikatsu Cancel Insurance won’t cover your cancellation fees, so the coverage is at its absolute most effective for fans whose oshikatsu is focused on solo events.
Source: PR Times, Oricon News via Hachima Kiko, Mysurance
Images: Mysurance
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