Weary of Likes, Japan's Teens and 20-Somethings Turn to Small Private Rooms for Friends [Japan Inside]

[Financial News Tokyo = Correspondent Seo Hye-jin] On the 22nd, at a cafe in Tokyo's Omotesando. A college student identified as Minami, 21, picked up her smartphone with an iced latte and a peach tart in front of her. The shoot was over in seconds. There were no filters and no captions. The video was immediately uploaded to a private sharing room she had created with close friends.
"If it were Instagram, I would have cared about the composition from the start. This is fine because only my friends can see it."
The app Minami used was Setlog. When invited users upload short videos, the app automatically bundles them into a daily vlog. Moments that people would not normally send in a message, such as the commute to school, lunch choices or a few minutes spent at a cafe, are lined up in chronological order on one screen.
Setlog, launched in December last year by U.S. startup Newchat, began offering a Japanese-language service at the end of April this year. About a month later, it rose to No. 1 among free apps on Japan's App Store. From January to May this year, Japan accounted for 23% of all downloads, ranking second after South Korea.
The Setlog craze in Japan is not staying inside the app. Broadcasters and companies have adopted its familiar layout and editing style for drama promotions, zoo content and recruitment ads. A private video format popular among global Gen Z users is now spreading into corporate marketing in Japan.

Setlog is spreading especially quickly among women in their late teens. In a recent survey of 1,000 men and women aged 18 to 29 by Japanese market research firm Macromill, the overall usage rate was 10.1%, but it reached 41.9% among women aged 18 to 19.
Behind this trend is fatigue with existing social media. In a June survey by Japanese market research firm Cross Marketing of 3,000 men and women aged 20 to 69 nationwide, 44.6% said they had felt the need to distance themselves from social media or take a break from it. Among people in their 20s, the figure was 47.9%, nearly half.
That does not mean they want to cut off relationships altogether. In the Macromill survey, 50.1% said their private lives and true feelings only need to be understood by people close to them. Another 44.4% said they value relationships with a few close friends more than a wide social network.
This shift is also reflected in how they use social media. They set meeting times and places on LINE, and post travel or anniversary photos on Instagram. Ordinary daily moments, such as lunch menus or what they look like after class, are shared on Setlog.
Setlog is spreading through friend networks. Among 479 users of a Japanese student discount app, 70.9% said a friend's recommendation was what led them to start using the app. One Japanese user said, "I'm connected to only three really close friends," adding, "It's comfortable because I don't have to worry about privacy or whether I look pretty."


K-pop stars have also joined the Setlog trend. Karina of the girl group aespa shared her daily life during the group's comeback period through Setlog in May. Seventeen also posted content on its official account showing activities for its 11th debut anniversary and scenes of members eating together.
Japanese idols followed suit. Cutie Street, the eight-member group that appeared on KBS 2TV's Music Bank in June, turned the members' day into a Setlog-style video and posted it on the group's official Instagram. Short clips of each member filmed at different locations were arranged in chronological order on one screen.
Japanese broadcasters and companies have brought the format into their own promotional materials. TBS drama "Your Like Is Invincible," which began airing last month, turned the day of lead actors Matsumoto Wakana and Sano Hayato as they moved from one TV program to another into a series of short clips.
Setlog-style content has also appeared at zoos and manufacturers. Adventure World, a zoo and theme park in Wakayama Prefecture, showed the daily routines of four dogs in the park, including walks, meals and health checkups, in chronological order. Dai Nippon Toryo, a Japanese paint maker, featured a sales employee and a public relations designer in a similar format.
These company videos were not uploaded to the Setlog app. They are self-produced promotional materials that recreate the Setlog screen by stitching together short scenes with timestamps. Instead of highlighting products or corporate strengths, they show the ordinary day of actors, animals and office workers. The aim is to lower the advertising tone and create a more approachable impression.
Still, it remains unclear whether Setlog's popularity will last. In a recent survey of Japanese students, 51.0% of users said they expected it to end as a passing fad. Private sharing rooms are not completely safe, either. Experts warn that privacy could be exposed if a participant moves a video outside the room.


[email protected] Seo Hye-jin Reporter