Japanese influencers are having their moment on the global stage. On Sept. 25, Forbes Japan published a list of 50 YouTube, Twitter and Instagram accounts, organized into seven categories of "influence" rather than being solely based on follower numbers. Among the homegrown professional athletes, models, TV personalities and entrepreneurs, there were a few names that have been making waves in pop culture here and overseas.
Naomi Watanabe, affectionately dubbed the "Beyonce of Japan," comes in third in the "number of followers" category. She became the most followed person on Instagram in Japan after making her mark on variety shows lip-syncing and dancing to singer Beyonce's "Dreamgirls" and "Crazy in Love." Over the past 10 years, Watanabe has become the unofficial face of body positivity in Japan as an advocate of pocchari (chubby) fashion, but has also steadily made inroads abroad. She was one of the faces, alongside names like SZA and Awkwafina, for clothing retailer Gap's Logo Remix campaign and was named one of Time magzine's "25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2018." She has collaborated with cosmetics brands and has her own size-inclusive fashion line, Punyus. And if her appearance on the upcoming season of Netflix hit "Queer Eye" — which is all about celebrating diverse forms of beauty — is any indication, Watanabe is on the brink of becoming a more recognizable figure for body positivity everywhere.
Marie Kondo, the organizing guru who became one of 2019's biggest pop culture exports with her "KonMari" method of decluttering, unsurprisingly appears on the list, too. Although Kondo has been a well-known figure among those with a hankering for tidying with her book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," published in more than 30 countries, she was launched to international stardom this year thanks to the debut of her Netflix show, "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo." Telling people to toss away anything that doesn't "spark joy" has since evolved from a lifestyle philosophy to an inescapably popular meme.
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