Japan’s Hottest New Internet Stars Are Grandmothers (And They’re Hiring)

Most of us have a pretty clear picture of what a pop idol looks like. Young. Glamorous. Maybe wearing something sparkly. Definitely not someone who remembers what life was like before television.

So imagine the surprise when Japan’s newest internet sensation turned out to be an 87-year-old great-grandmother from Hiroshima named Hiroko.

And she’s not alone. She’s got backup dancers. Well, sort of.

“My Idiot Grandchild Told Me I Could Be an Idol”

To understand what Hiroko is doing, you need to know about something called VTubers. Don’t worry, it’s simpler than it sounds. A VTuber (short for “virtual YouTuber”) is someone who makes videos or livestreams online, but instead of showing their real face, they appear as an animated character. Think of it like a digital puppet that moves when you move and talks when you talk. The technology tracks your expressions and gestures, then shows them on a cartoon version of you in real time.

In Japan, VTubers are huge. Some have millions of followers. They sing, they play games, they chat with fans. Most of them are young people hiding behind cute anime characters.

Then along came Hiroko.

Her grandson, Ryuji Shimonishi, runs a small entertainment company called OTAGROUP. He looked at the VTuber world and had a thought that was either brilliant or completely bananas: What if the performers were grandmothers?

He pitched the idea to Hiroko. Her response, roughly translated: “My idiot grandchild told me I could become an idol, so here I am. Hope you don’t regret your advice, grandchild.”

She debuted in December 2022 as the first member of the Meta Grandma Project, a VTuber group where every member must be 75 years old or older. Her animated character looks like a cute young girl in a school uniform. Her voice is unmistakably that of an 87-year-old grandmother from Hiroshima.

That contrast is a big part of the charm.

Money Is the Number-One Thing

Within ten days of her first video, Hiroko had over 30,000 subscribers on YouTube. Today she has more than 200,000 followers on social media, has appeared on radio shows alongside some of Japan’s biggest VTuber stars, and regularly gives life advice to viewers young enough to be her great-grandchildren.

And her advice? It’s… honest.

When a young viewer wrote in asking whether love or money is more important, Hiroko didn’t hesitate. “Money is the number-one thing,” she said. “It’s the number-two thing. There isn’t any number-three or number-four thing, but the number-five thing is money. Love is something you’ll fall out of after a single day.”

Fans eat it up. Comments on her videos say things like “She’s a rookie on the internet, but our senior in life experience” and “There’s something so comforting about listening to her speak.”

After Hiroko’s success, OTAGROUP held auditions for more grandmothers. Over 60 women applied. The group has since added several more members, all 75 and older. Together they are the Meta Grandmas.

Now You Can Rent a Grandma

But OTAGROUP didn’t stop there. In 2025, they launched a new service called “Rental Granny.”

For about $20, anyone can book a one-hour video call with one of their grandmothers through ZoomZoom is a versatile video conferencing platform that enables users to connect and collaborate remote... More or Google Meet. You can vent about your day. Ask for life advice. Just chat. The grandmothers appear as their animated characters during the call, keeping things fun and low-pressure.

Need a grandmother as an extra in your movie? They can do that too.

It sounds quirky, and it is. But the thinking behind it is surprisingly thoughtful. OTAGROUP noticed something while managing the Meta Grandmas: the women weren’t just entertaining audiences. They were thriving. Being needed, being relied upon, being wanted by strangers on the internet was doing something meaningful for them.

“We have realized that the experience of having someone that can rely on you greatly contributes to the wellbeing of the elderly,” the company said. “By creating a service which every old lady can participate in, our goal is to boost the self-esteem of the elderly, while also helping resolve issues of young people in urban areas.”

In other words, it works both ways. Young people who feel lost get the comfort of a grandmother figure. The grandmothers get a sense of purpose and connection.

Why This Story Matters

There’s a loneliness crisis happening on both ends of the age spectrum. Young people in Japan (and everywhere else) are increasingly isolated. Seniors lose friends, lose spouses, lose the daily rhythms that used to keep them connected to the world.

The Meta Grandma Project doesn’t solve all of that. But it does something quietly brilliant. It says to women in their 80s and 90s: You still have something the world needs. Your stories, your humor, your blunt honesty about love and money… people are lining up for it.

Hiroko’s motto, loosely translated from her Hiroshima dialect, is “It’s not too late to take on challenges, no matter how old you are.”

She became an internet star at 85. She’s currently 87 and showing no signs of slowing down.

So here’s a question for you: If you could become an anonymous animated character online and just… talk to people, share your stories, give advice… would you do it? What would you say?