I joined Rakuten as a new graduate hire in 2019 in the Corporate Planning Department of Rakuten Mobile. When I first joined that company, I was involved in tasks like building strategies for developing new services and formulating longer-term cost simulations, which helped me gain experience in project management. After that, I was in charge of a company-wide cost-cutting project for the Rakuten Group, and in May 2024, I moved to COVER.

I am part of the Business Development Team in the Corporate Planning Office. As a cross-departmental project facilitator, I manage the work of a project manager for live events with an audience (hereafter, Live Events PM). The Concert Operations Division handles the operations of live events, and I am the supporting role.

The job scope in specifics include deciding on the various elements that make up a live event, compiling information for dissemination, managing budgets, and preparing for and executing venue management. The mission of a Live Events PM is directing the production of live shows that excite many fans while managing the budget to ensure the production succeeds as a business endeavor.

The first live event I managed was “Sakura Miko 1st Live: flower fantasista!” in October 2024, followed by “Hoshimachi Suisei Live Tour 2024: Spectra of Nova” held between November and December, and “Houshou Marine 1st Live: Ahoy!! You’re All Pirates♡” in December.

For my first project, I was in charge of ticket sales and event-day venue management tasks. I started out having no knowledge: I didn’t know how to read venue maps, so I struggled to prepare for the event, from seating arrangements to ensuring fans could enjoy the live performance and managing the flow of people entering the venue.

Despite my thorough preparations, the tension and the chaos during the event were beyond my expectations! Many things left an impression on me from the waiting lines of fans to the production team’s ever-changing preparation statuses, but what left the biggest impression was giving the green light to open the venue and starting the performance. But, I did have an issue getting around such a big venue (lol).

Also, before the show, a member of the partnering event production company said to me, “I’ve never heard of anyone being in charge of an arena-class live event as their first project,” and I felt the weight of those words. After overcoming all sorts of chaos, I was relieved when the curtain came down on the live show without any major hiccups.

Well, I am in a position where I can lead arena-scale live events and projects worth hundreds of millions of yen. I don’t think there are many opportunities to be so deeply involved in projects of this scale in your 20s. Because COVER and this business are still in a growing phase, everyone’s responsibilities are not fixed, allowing those with ambition to gain experience in a wide range of fields.

It’s a bit of a cliche, but the sense of accomplishment is also one of its appeals. Live event productions span long periods and involve many challenges. Still, when the event day arrives, and I see the fans’ enthusiasm, I sincerely appreciate the hard work I have put in when I see their smiles. When I spy fans who are happy to be holding merch from a live event that I was involved in, I want to tell them, “I made those!” (lol)

In addition to making proposals for live productions, another key role of a Live Events PM is to make decisions on the details to move the event forward, so I also find it rewarding to be able to manage projects with a certain degree of decision-making authority.

It is indeed attractive to collaborate with people from a variety of backgrounds. Concerts are created through collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds, from our talents, of course, to illustrators, music creators, video production companies, and venue managers. This is something I could never have imagined doing in my previous job.

I would say one is that within COVER, which primarily operates online through platforms like YouTube, this role stands out for its uniquely close physical proximity to fans. At venues, you can feel the fans’ passion and actions right before you and I think that conveying this genuine enthusiasm internally within the company is an essential role for a Live Events PM.

I think that my lack of experience turned out to be an advantage. I was not the type who frequented concerts by VTubers or other artists, so I was able to keep a neutral perspective on live event production. This lack of preconceived ideas may have given me an objective perspective where I can set aside personal likes or dislikes and decide what is best for the business. Making decisions with a level head is a unique advantage of those without experience.

I emphasize the spirit of genchi genbutsu in our work, a concept I learned from an executive who was a Toyota veteran at my previous job at Rakuten.
This phrase refers to going down to the actual venue to see what is actually going on with your own eyes.

By this principle, I observe merchandise and fan waiting areas and make sure I am across how they are buying items and what is being worn on the day of an event, etc.
Even if it’s not directly related to my work, I visit the pop-up shop* in Tokyo Character Street when I have time to see how the fans are there as well.

Because the VTuber industry is still immature, there are opportunities for even those with no experience to get involved in large-scale projects. If you have basic business skills, such as the ability to communicate and think logically, there are ways where you can immediately contribute at COVER.

In my opinion, being genuine and open is especially important. All your colleagues know you’re inexperienced, so use that to your advantage and be willing to ask about anything you don’t understand. Letting go of your pride without a fear of misunderstanding something is the key (lol).

Since I often have to ask people from various backgrounds, both within and outside COVER, to teach me things and do jobs for me, it is vital to be genuine, open, and be flexible when communicating.

Live Events PM work is more suited to people who are curious about various fields and can proactively make proposals rather than those who draw a line and say, “My work stops here.” To support the smooth production of performances as a Live Events PM, one needs to keep an eye on many areas, including a myriad of creative aspects such as set lists, tickets, merch, performance visuals – the list goes on.
I think that successful people are those who think, “How can I make this happen? How can I do it better?” rather than, “I don’t know about this,” or “I have never done it before, so I can’t do it.”  

I also think this role is suited to those who want to build a portfolio of successful large-scale projects or those who want to be involved with projects that have a significant global impact.
It is also possible to also get involved in overseas live events, such as the “hololive English 2nd Concert -Breaking Dimensions-” held in August 2024 and the “Mori Calliope 2nd Concert ‘Grimoire'” held in February 2025, so I recommend this job to anyone who wants to use English in their job or be involved in an international business!

Only in the virtual space is such a wide range of expression possible. I am constantly finding new ways by trial-and-error to keep evolving performances. I hope to use this strength of mine to deliver even more wonderful experiences to our fans.

Also, the sense of unity at venues is incredible! As VTubers are usually active on video streams or other virtual stages, live performances with an audience are a rare opportunity for performers and their fans to spend time together in the same place. The solidarity among fans who gather to support their “oshi” (favorite) is incredible, and I am always overwhelmed by their intensity of their passion, so I hope to continue to produce such live events that fuel this devotion and brings performers and fans closer together.

I feel that the VTuber culture is still a work in progress with respect to breaking through into the mainstream. While we can share the appeal of VTubers as a matter of course within the company, the general public are still not familiar with many aspects of what the industry is all about. In the future, we want to create opportunities for more people to learn about the appeal of VTuber live shows and VTubers themselves by holding live shows at even larger venues and generating even more impact.

Also, as a production company representing many English and Indonesian-speaking VTubers, we want to expand our live shows and audiences globally and create shows that meet and possibly even exceed the expectations of our fans worldwide.

My goal is to be more involved in the production side as a Live Events PM and I aspire to become a rare asset who can make constructive proposals from art direction, creative and production fronts, and business perspectives.

Singularity. The VTuber culture is about to reach a major turning point, and the industry will soon be getting a lot more mainstream attention. Every day, I get the sense that we are at the forefront of this change and witnessing a special phase when creating new forms of entertainment.

With COVER successfully hosting arena-level live events, expanding globally, and constantly taking on the challenge of delving into untapped potential, it provides an opportunity for those with no experience to pursue their big dreams. To accelerate the rollout of live performances in the future, I hope that we can welcome more colleagues who would like to take on this challenge with COVER, regardless of whether they have industry experience!