Insights >
2023 Online advertising in Japan – Everything you need to know
New: Yahoo! Japan comprehensive Service Guide – download for FREE >>
Are you running online advertising campaigns to promote your business in Japan or thinking about it for the first time? The once traditional-media-focused nation has been seeing a dramatic shift to digital over the past few years. In this article, we compiled the latest trends surrounding online advertising in Japan as well as how to begin online promotions.
Japan has one of the most mature advertising markets in the world. In fact, it comes in third place for total media ad spending ($51.75 billion USD), just behind the USA ($285.21 billion USD) and China ($90.94 billion USD)1. In a country that embraces consumerism, the Japanese audience are receptive to ads and are accustomed to being targeted by them daily . If you have ever been to Japan, you will know that billboards are everywhere in cities, and ads shout at you from every urban street corner or on public transportation. It is the norm, and the Japanese are used to it.
This also applies online. Celebrity endorsements and anthropomorphised animated characters are seen a lot in both traditional and digital media.
Source: Statista (Jan 2023)
However, for a nation known for its technology, it is surprisingly behind its Western counterparts when it comes to digital marketing. Many traditional companies still value TV and magazine ads over anything online. Yet in recent years, (and in the wake of COVID-19 and forced digital transformation at Japanese companies) Japan has finally started to catch up to the rest of the world. In fact, in 2021, total internet ad spend in Japan was 2,705 billion JPY (approx $23 billion USD), exceeding mass media ad spend (TV, newspapers, radio, magazines) for the first time2. Top digital trends in Japan include a continuous increase in digital ad spend, with many companies switching their focus to online marketing initiatives, influencer marketing and video content.
Here is a graph that breaks down Japan’s digital advertising spend. As you can see, the largest share goes to search advertising, followed by banner (display) ads, social media advertising, and video advertising.
Source: Statista (June 2022)
For the remainder of the article, we will elaborate on the top three online advertising categories, and how you can use each one to grow your business in Japan.
In Japan, Google is not the only major search engine. The other popular search engine platform is Yahoo! JAPAN claiming 17.4% of the market. In fact, if you are promoting to businesses, Yahoo! JAPAN has the no.1 share of PC users. We laid out all the features of both Google and Yahoo! JAPAN and their differences in our blog post here. For a holistic Japanese promotional strategy, we recommend advertising on both platforms to ensure maximum reach of Japanese internet users. If brand awareness is your goal, then why not try running display ads on Yahoo! JAPAN, which we’ll talk more about later under Display Advertising?
Make sure to go over our beginner’s guide to the Japanese PPC market for details on search and pay-per-click advertising.
Sponsored content and ads on social media are effective ways of promoting your brand, product or service to your audience. Unlike PPC search ads, promotions on social media will help to build an online community in Japan. As is the same in other markets, it is important to understand who your audience is and then choose which platforms to prioritise.
Here is a complete guide to social media in Japan to better understand in detail how the Japanese use each of the popular platforms. We will highlight the top platforms here for advertising:
LINE is the no.1 messaging app AND social media platform in Japan with 93 million monthly users3. It’s a super app similar to WeChat and WhatApp with multiple features and functions. In fact, of the SNS used on smartphones, 83.4% of respondents from a study said they used LINE⁴. Businesses can also open an official account and use the interface for community management. LINE Ads use targeting features similar to Facebook and can appear on other apps within the LINE Ads Network. For more information, you can read our article on how to use LINE to promote your business to Japanese mobile users.
Japan’s most popular social networking site is Twitter. If you are targeting Japanese consumers, this is the platform for you to use to build your community and hear what your customers are saying. We particularly recommend promoted content on Twitter if you are selling a B2C product.
If you are a B2C brand with a target audience aged 18+, your main platform should be Instagram. Selling on Instagram is also growing in popularity in Japan. Japanese users are three times more likely than other countries to view product details from shopping tags. Make sure to run sponsored ads here as well as partner with an influencer as influencer marketing is widely popular in Japan.
Unlike most Western markets, Facebook is used for business connections (like LinkedIn) in Japan. If you have a B2B product or service, this should definitely be considered as one of your social media platforms. Ensure to run promoted ads, accounts, and events in this space.
The best platform for display advertising in Japan is Yahoo! JAPAN. It has the no.1 reach for PC users (beating Google) and you can reach 80% of mobile phone users in Japan⁶. Accordingly, infeed ads on mobile apps have great CTRs and CVs. Brand panel ads on both PC and mobile get the most impressions which is great for cost-effective brand awareness campaigns.
Yahoo! JAPAN Homepage brand panel ad
No matter which type of advertising you choose, localisation is critical for a successful campaign in Japan. See our list of 5 common mistakes when localising online campaigns for the Japanese market. If you don’t have a native speaker on your team, our agency employs bilingual Japanese content writers and translators who can transcreate your website content. We are also online advertising experts that specialise in PPC in Japan. Contact us for your free initial consultation and quote.
1Source: Statista (February 2022)
2Source: IT Media article (February 2022)
3Source: https://www.linebiz.com/jp/service/line-ads/
⁴Source:https://www.linebiz.com/sites/default/files/media/jp/download/LINE%20Business%20Guide_202207-09.pdf
5Source: Digital 2022 – We Are Social Japan
⁶Source: Yahoo! JAPAN Media Sheet (March 2022)
