The man who married a hologram in Japan can no longer communicate with his virtual wife

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Fictosexuality is the term used to describe those people who are sexually attracted to fictional characters and in Japan little by little it becomes a trend, to the extent that there are companies that develop technology to offer users holographic couples. Akihiko Kondo took his love for a fictional character one step further by holding a “getting married” ceremony with Hatsune Miku , a virtual singer who has starred in several video games and has even accompanied Lady Gaga on her world tours. The ceremony took place in 2019, after the man was able to communicate with the hologram via Gatebox , a company that develops devices to holographically show characters that do not exist.

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At the time Akihiko and Hatsune monopolized the headlines of the newspapers and the media and now they do it again because the support for the Gatebox software that allowed the interaction of the man with his virtual wife, is no longer available and for the same reason, can no longer communicate with her. According to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi , Kondo says that his relationship with the hologram helped him overcome a deep depression caused by work and fear of social rejection. Faced with the inability to continue communicating with her, the man has said: “My love for Miku has not changed. I held the wedding ceremony because I thought that I could be with her forever.” Wherever he wants her to go, he is accompanied by a life-size model of Hatsune Miku, and he hopes to be able to communicate with her in some way in the near future.

Fictional sexual relationships, ideal for the metaverse?

Although the relationship between Akihiko and Hatsune Miko seems strange, we could see them more frequently thanks to the fast-paced development of the metaverse and digital environments. In some countries, fictional sexuality becomes common, since an entire content generation industry revolves around it. But as long as those relationships depend on hardware and software that can become obsolete or depend on upgrades, they will remain short-lived.