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Plush toys are part of everyday style and fan activity for many young women surveyed in Japan—but the available data do not show that Hello Kitty or Snoopy specifically provides comfort to Gen Z women. A 2025 Tokyo-region survey found that more than 80% of its respondents had tried at least one form of plush activity, from attaching a toy to a bag to taking it along on an outing. The figures describe that survey group, not all Gen Z women.
How plush toys become everyday companions
In Japan, the practice called “ぬい活” (plush activity) can mean more than collecting toys. It includes fan activity centered on a favorite person or character, as well as styling a plush as part of an outfit. A plush clipped to a bag can be a visible expression of taste; taking one on an outing or photographing it in a setting can make it part of the experience.
SHIBUYA109 lab.’s January 2025 web survey covered 507 women aged 15–24 in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama, with a small group-interview component. More than 80% reported experience with at least one form of plush activity. Within that respondent sample, 59.4% had attached a plush to a bag, 39.4% had carried one routinely or on an outing, and 37.9% had photographed one with objects or scenery. These are rates for the study’s participants and its definitions, not estimates for all young women in Japan or elsewhere. SHIBUYA109 lab., “Z世代のぬい活に関する実態調査” (February 25, 2025)
Why a familiar character can feel comforting
A familiar character can carry associations that outlast childhood. A 2013 qualitative case study of Hello Kitty describes the brand in terms of nostalgia, youthful innocence, familiarity, intimacy, and friendship. Those ideas help explain how a character might become meaningful as a companion or personal symbol, but the study did not measure whether carrying a plush improves wellbeing or survey Gen Z women.
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The case study also examines Sanrio’s licensing and product extensions: a character’s identity can appear across many kinds of merchandise, making it available in ordinary routines as well as in fandom. Its authors stress the limits of a qualitative single-case study and call for quantitative research on consumer attitudes and attachment. It is an interpretation of Hello Kitty’s brand meaning, not evidence that everyone experiences the character in the same way. Hosany, Prayag, Martin, and Lee, “Theory and strategies of anthropomorphic brand characters” (2013)
Hello Kitty and Snoopy: familiar in Japan, but not measured as comfort objects
Nippon Research Center’s 2024 nationwide, in-home survey interviewed 1,200 people in Japan aged 15–79. Respondents saw character names without images and could select names they recognized and liked. Recognition was at least 90% for Hello Kitty and 89% for Snoopy; favorability was 19% for Hello Kitty and 23% for Snoopy. Because the results cover a broad age range, they are context about familiarity and favorability in Japan overall—not a comparison of Gen Z women, plush ownership, or emotional comfort. Nippon Research Center, “第11回 NRC全国キャラクター調査 Part4” (November 1, 2024)
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NRC’s 2025 time-series report puts Snoopy favorability at 21%, compared with 13% in 2014. The organization cautions that the way the character was presented changed over time, including whether “Snoopy” or “Peanuts” appeared first in the label. The figures suggest a higher measured result in 2025 than in 2014, but they are not a perfectly controlled like-for-like trend and do not establish why favorability changed or whether Gen Z interest drove it. Nippon Research Center, “第12回 NRC全国キャラクター調査 Part7-2: 時系列変化” (November 14, 2025)
| What the evidence compares | Hello Kitty | Snoopy |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition in Japan, 2024 NRC survey of ages 15–79 | At least 90% | 89% |
| Favorability in Japan, 2024 NRC survey of ages 15–79 | 19% | 23% |
| Character-specific plush carrying among Gen Z women | Not stated in the SHIBUYA109 lab. survey | Not stated in the SHIBUYA109 lab. survey |
| Character-specific brand-meaning analysis in the cited 2013 study | Discussed in a qualitative case study | Not covered by that study |
What the findings do—and do not—tell us
- They show a visible practice: in the surveyed Tokyo-region group, bag charms, carrying plush toys, and photographing them were common reported activities.
- They provide broad cultural context: Hello Kitty and Snoopy were widely recognized in Japan in NRC’s 2024 survey, with favorability results that differed modestly.
- They do not establish a universal motive: the plush survey did not ask whether participants carried a toy for comfort, and its reported figures are not character-specific.
- They do not prove a therapeutic effect: the brand case study discusses cultural associations, not clinical outcomes or measured emotional benefits.
So the most careful reading is also the most useful one: a plush may serve as a fashion detail, a fandom marker, a keepsake, or a companion for an outing. Familiar characters can make those objects especially recognizable, but the available surveys do not tell us which role any individual toy plays for its owner.
Quick Recap
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