Entering Japan from Overseas?
Vertical Video Ads Are Unavoidable |
Japan's 2026 Market in Data
Japan's ad spend reached ¥8.0623 trillion in 2025. The internet's share exceeded half for the first time, and growth has shifted to vertical video ads on social media. At the same time, Japan is a market where English is barely understood and advertising is subject to its own regulations. For overseas marketers considering entering Japan, this article lays out ad spend, the size of the vertical video ad market, social media usage by age group, the impact on purchasing, and ad regulations, drawing on government statistics and official company announcements.
Key takeaways
- Japan's ad spend was ¥8.0623 trillion in 2025. Internet ad spend exceeded half of the total for the first time (50.2%), and video ads exceeded ¥1 trillion for the first time
- Vertical video ads reached ¥204.9 billion in 2025 (155.9% of the previous year). It is the fastest-growing category in Japan's ad market and is projected to expand to ¥564.8 billion by 2029
- TikTok has about 49.5 million monthly users in Japan (end of May 2026). YouTube is used by 81.5% of people aged 13–79, and Instagram by 54.8%
- Japan ranks 96th of 123 countries in English proficiency. 90% of Japanese consumers say they choose products with information in their own language, so you need creative made in Japanese, not just translated
Japan is still one of the world's leading markets, but English won't get you through
Japan's population continues to shrink, but in terms of spending it still ranks near the top globally.
| Metric | Figure | Period / source |
|---|---|---|
| Total ad spend | ¥8.0623 trillion | 2025 actual, 105.1% of the previous year. Dentsu, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan" |
| Global ranking of ad market | 4th worldwide ($50.5 billion) | 2025 forecast. WPP Media, "This Year Next Year" |
| Consumer spending on apps | 3rd worldwide | Sensor Tower × Adjust, "Mobile App Trends Report 2026: Japan Edition" |
| Mobile game in-app purchase revenue | Over $10 billion (¥1.56 trillion) | 12 months through July 2026. 2nd in Asia. Sensor Tower, "State of Japan Gaming 2026" |
| B2C e-commerce market size | ¥26.1 trillion | 2024, +5.1% year on year. METI, "Market Research on Electronic Commerce" |
| Social media usage rate | 82.3% | Share of internet users (2025). MIC, "Communications Usage Trend Survey" |
Internet usage exceeds 96% in every age group from 13 to 59, and more than 80% of those users are on social media (MIC, "Communications Usage Trend Survey," 2025). In mobile games, downloads were only about 585 million (down 5.4% year on year), yet in-app purchase revenue topped $10 billion, 2nd in Asia (Sensor Tower). In other words, it is a market with high spending per person.
English alone won't reach people
Being an overseas brand is not an advantage in Japan on its own. You need to speak to Japanese consumers, in Japanese.
The internet is over half of Japan's ad spend, and video drives the growth
Sources: Dentsu, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan"; CARTA HOLDINGS et al., "Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures." Video ads are a subset of internet advertising media expenditures.
According to Dentsu's "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan," total ad spend in 2025 was ¥8.0623 trillion (105.1% of the previous year). Of that, internet ad spend was ¥4.0459 trillion (110.8% of the previous year), topping ¥4 trillion for the first time since estimates began in 1996 and exceeding half of total ad spend for the first time (50.2%). The four traditional media (TV, newspapers, magazines and radio) came to ¥2.298 trillion (98.4% of the previous year), a year-on-year decline.
| Breakdown of internet advertising media expenditures | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total internet advertising media expenditures | ¥2.9611 trillion | ¥3.3093 trillion | 111.8% |
| Video ads | ¥843.9 billion | ¥1.0275 trillion | 121.8% |
| Social ads | ¥1.1008 trillion | ¥1.3067 trillion | 118.7% |
| Of which video-sharing platforms | ¥405.4 billion | ¥512.6 billion | About 126% |
Source: CARTA HOLDINGS, Dentsu, Dentsu Digital and Septeni, "Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures," 2025 and 2024 editions. The YoY figure for video-sharing platforms is calculated from the two years' figures.
Video ads exceeded ¥1 trillion for the first time, accounting for just over 30% of internet advertising media expenditures. Dentsu cites "vertical video ads on social media" as a factor that boosted demand.
Japan paid advertising spend statistics: search (PPC), video, social and display
If you need the numbers behind paid media in Japan, here is the short answer. In 2025, internet advertising media expenditures (the media cost, excluding production) were ¥3.3093 trillion. Auction-based ("programmatic") buying made up 88.7% of that. Search ads (PPC) remained the single largest type at about ¥1.28 trillion, and video ads passed ¥1 trillion for the first time.
| Item (2025) | Spend | YoY | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet ad spend (incl. production) | ¥4.0459 trillion | 110.8% | 50.2% of Japan's total ad spend. Dentsu |
| Internet advertising media expenditures | ¥3.3093 trillion | 111.8% | Media cost only. Basis for the rows below |
| Auction-based (programmatic) ads | ¥2.9352 trillion | 112.5% | 88.7% of media expenditures |
| Search ads (PPC, auction-based) | About ¥1.28 trillion | — | 38.7% share, the largest ad type × buying method. Yen figure is ZVA's calculation (38.7% × ¥3.3093T). 2024: ¥1.1931 trillion |
| Video ads | ¥1.0275 trillion | 121.8% | In-stream ¥524.6B / out-stream ¥502.9B. Auction-based video alone: 26.3% share |
| Social ads | ¥1.3067 trillion | 118.7% | Cuts across ad types (overlaps with video and display) |
| Reserved (guaranteed) ads | ¥304.2 billion | 109.1% | Reserved display: 98.8% YoY |
| Performance-based (affiliate) ads | ¥69.9 billion | 96.1% | The only buying method that shrank |
| 2026 forecast: media expenditures / video ads | ¥3.584T / ¥1.1783T | 108.3% / 114.7% | Forecast in the same report |
Sources: Dentsu, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan"; CARTA HOLDINGS, Dentsu, Dentsu Digital and Septeni, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan: Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures" (March 2026). The 2024 search figure is from the 2024 edition. Ad types overlap, so rows do not add up to the total.
What this means if you are planning a budget for Japan: search still captures existing demand, but new money is flowing into video, and specifically into vertical video on social platforms. Reserved display is flat. Most growth goes to auction-based video, where results depend on how many good Japanese creatives you can test, not on the placement you book.
Japan's paid media is about 90% auction-based. Search is the biggest single line, but video is growing about twice as fast as the internet total.
Vertical video ads are the fastest-growing part of Japan's ad market
According to research by CyberAgent and Digital InFact, the vertical video ad market reached ¥204.9 billion in 2025, 155.9% of the previous year. Lining up growth rates across the main categories of Japan's ad market makes that momentum clear.
Sources: Dentsu, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan"; CARTA HOLDINGS et al., "Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures"; CyberAgent, "2025 Domestic Video Advertising Market Survey." Because each source uses a different methodology, only growth rates, not amounts, are shown side by side.
Source: MIC Institute for Information and Communications Policy, media-use surveys for FY2020 and FY2025 (Japanese). Over five years Instagram grew about 1.5x and TikTok about 2.5x, while Facebook stayed roughly flat.
Source: CyberAgent / Digital InFact (March 2026). Hatched bars are forecasts. Vertical video is projected to account for 42.5% of smartphone video ads in 2029.
- Japan's video ad market was ¥885.5 billion in 2025 (122.2% of the previous year). It is projected to exceed ¥1 trillion in 2026 at ¥1.0437 trillion, and to reach ¥1.6336 trillion by 2029
- About 80% of that (¥705.3 billion) is for smartphones, and vertical video ads account for 29.1% of it
- Vertical video ads are projected to expand to ¥564.8 billion by 2029 (about 2.8 times the 2025 level), or 42.5% of smartphone video ads
Reading the numbers: Dentsu's "video ads: ¥1.0275 trillion" and CyberAgent's "video ad market: ¥885.5 billion" use different scopes and methods, so they cannot be compared directly. The growth-rate chart above likewise lines up growth rates only, across different sources.
No category in Japan's ad market is growing as fast as vertical video ads. This is where the battle will be fought from here on.
Japanese people's time is moving to vertical video
TikTok's user base in Japan grew significantly in just over six months
Source: TikTok announcements (monthly active users, excluding overlap between TikTok and TikTok Lite). More than 480,000 companies advertise on TikTok in Japan (as of November 2025).
Usage rates of major services by age group
| Platform | Teens | 20s | 30s | 40s | 50s | 60s | 70s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 95.0 | 96.3 | 94.0 | 91.6 | 84.9 | 72.6 | 48.5 |
| 69.3 | 82.6 | 76.6 | 67.1 | 54.4 | 36.1 | 15.8 | |
| 14.3 | 23.4 | 37.4 | 38.9 | 33.1 | 22.6 | 12.5 | |
| TikTok | 67.9 | 61.5 | 44.7 | 42.6 | 32.2 | 21.2 | 11.1 |
Source: MIC Institute for Information and Communications Policy, "FY2025 Survey on Usage Time of Information and Communications Media and Information Behavior" (surveyed December 2025, ages 13–79). YouTube includes usage other than Shorts.
YouTube exceeds 70% in every age group except people in their 70s, while Instagram is especially popular among people in their 20s and 30s, and TikTok among teens and people in their 20s. By gender, usage is higher among women for both: TikTok at 41.7% of women vs. 31.8% of men, and Instagram at 63.4% of women vs. 46.2% of men.
Source: MIC Institute for Information and Communications Policy, "Survey on Usage Time of Information and Communications Media and Information Behavior," annual editions. About 2.5x in five years.
Internet time exceeds TV for everyone up to their 50s
Source: MIC Institute for Information and Communications Policy, FY2025 survey. Average across all ages: internet 183.9 min, TV 156.1 min.
The online activity people spend the most time on is "watching video posting and sharing services," averaging 54.5 minutes on weekdays across all ages and reaching 127.2 minutes among teens (MIC, FY2025 survey).
YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are growing too
Older audiences are coming on board too
Japan's population aged 65 and over is 36.24 million, or 29.6% of the total population, the highest share among 39 comparable countries (Statistics Bureau of Japan, September 2026). Among internet users, the share using social media reached 78.3% for people in their 60s, 67.9% for those in their 70s, and even 54.3% for those 80 and over (MIC, "Communications Usage Trend Survey," 2025).
Vertical video isn't just for young people. From teens to people in their 60s and beyond, Japanese people's free time is shifting to video on social media.
ZVA production services
Vertical video for Japan, with a global team
We handle everything in-house, from planning and Japanese scripts to Japanese talent, shooting and telop editing. We work in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese. From ¥50,000 per video (overseas projects are quoted individually), with delivery in as few as 5 business days.
See pricing and process →Vertical video connects "watching" to "buying"
Sources: TikTok, "Socio-Economic Impact Report in Japan," third edition (June 2026) and second edition (June 2025, Macromill survey). The contribution to nominal GDP is estimated at ¥680 billion.
TikTok Shop launched in Japan on June 30, 2025, and a path to purchase directly from videos is taking shape. For YouTube, too, 61% said in Google research that "YouTube helps me decide what to buy" (announced October 2024).
Vertical video in Japan follows Japanese rules
To get results with vertical video, you first need to account for Japan's ad regulations. The one overseas companies most often overlook is the stealth marketing regulation, which took effect on October 1, 2023.
| Regulation | Main provisions | Expressions in vertical video most likely to be affected |
|---|---|---|
| Stealth marketing regulation | A designation under the Premiums and Representations Act. Prohibits representations that make it difficult for consumers to recognize them as advertising. The advertiser bears responsibility | Influencer posts or review-style videos that don't disclose they are ads |
| Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (Premiums and Representations Act) | Prohibits representations that mislead consumers into thinking a product is significantly better or a better deal than it actually is | Unsubstantiated "No. 1" or "lowest price" claims, "free" with hidden conditions |
| Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act (PMD Act) | Prohibits efficacy claims beyond the approved scope for cosmetics, health foods and similar products | Efficacy claims such as "erases dark spots" or "lose weight just by drinking it" |
According to the Consumer Affairs Agency, there were 11 cases handled under the stealth marketing regulation in fiscal 2025 (April 2025–March 2026): 4 approvals of commitment plans and 7 instances of guidance. Across the Premiums and Representations Act as a whole, there were 13 cease-and-desist orders and 10 surcharge payment orders (totaling ¥339.4 million).
UGC-style vertical video is a highly effective approach in Japan too, but videos that don't disclose they are ads violate the regulations. Scripts for Japan need to be designed in Japanese from the start, with the regulations in mind.
Five moves for overseas marketers
1. Start your budget allocation from vertical video
Growth in Japan's ad spend is concentrated in video within the internet category, and in vertical video within that. Rather than planning around TV or horizontal video and adding vertical video later, building your plan around vertical video from the outset better matches the reality in Japan.
Vertical video can take off when it hits. Shares by viewers and placement in each platform's recommendation feeds can carry it beyond paid delivery, generating organic views and even branded search. In our own campaign management in Japan, the advertisers who have significantly lowered their effective CPI and CPA, including organic, are those who have mastered vertical video.
2. Choose platforms by target age group
| Primary target | Platforms to prioritize (guideline based on usage rates) |
|---|---|
| Teens | YouTube (95.0%), Instagram (69.3%) and TikTok (67.9%) roughly equally |
| 20s–30s | Anchor on YouTube and Instagram (82.6% of people in their 20s), supplemented by TikTok (61.5% of people in their 20s) |
| 40s–50s | YouTube (around 90%) as the anchor. Instagram and TikTok rise in priority for products aimed at women |
| 60s and over | YouTube (72.6% of people in their 60s) at the core. TikTok, at 21.2% among people in their 60s, is also hard to ignore |
Usage rates from MIC's FY2025 survey. Platform choice will vary with your product and target metrics.
3. Create in Japanese, don't translate
This is a market where English is barely understood and information in the local language is valued. Rather than just adding subtitles to your home-market ads, rebuilding the planning, script, talent and telop for Japanese viewers makes people less likely to drop off in the first few seconds. We explain the specific process in A Practical Guide to Localizing Vertical Video Ads for Japan.
4. Produce in volume and let data pick the winners
You can't know which message or opening will work in Japan until you run it. What determines results is a setup that prepares multiple patterns from the start, narrows down the winners using performance data, and keeps producing variations.
5. Write scripts with regulations and platform review in mind
On top of the stealth marketing regulation, the Premiums and Representations Act and the PMD Act, each platform's ad review is strictly enforced. Expressions that violate regulations won't pass review, and you lose the chance to run at all. Checking expressions and disclaimers at the script stage ends up being the fastest route.
Summary
Japan is a large market, with total ad spend of ¥8.0623 trillion and the world's 3rd-largest consumer spending on apps. More than half of that ad spend now goes to the internet, and growth has shifted to video, and further to vertical video on social media. TikTok has reached about 49.5 million users in Japan, and vertical video, including YouTube and Instagram, is watched daily by everyone from teens to people in their 60s and beyond.
At the same time, Japan is a market where English is barely understood, local-language information is valued, and advertising is subject to its own regulations. For overseas marketers looking to acquire customers in Japan, building vertical video ads specifically for Japan is not just one option; it is the starting point.
ZVA is a global team that has produced and run vertical video in Japan and abroad (the US, China, South Korea and Turkey). Team members well versed in Japanese advertising and marketing work in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese; we invoice in Japanese yen and accept international wire transfers from overseas. Start with your first test campaign in the Japanese market and get in touch.
References and sources
- Dentsu, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan" (March 5, 2026) (Japanese)
- CARTA HOLDINGS, Dentsu, Dentsu Digital and Septeni, "2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan: Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures" (March 5, 2026) (Japanese)
- Same, 2024 edition (March 12, 2025) (Japanese)
- CyberAgent, "2025 Domestic Video Advertising Market Survey" (March 9, 2026) (Japanese)
- Web Tantousha Forum, article on CyberAgent's survey: video ads to top ¥1 trillion in 2026, with vertical video making up 30% of smartphone ads (March 13, 2026) (Japanese)
- WPP Media, "This Year Next Year" 2025 Midyear Forecast (June 10, 2025)
- TikTok Newsroom (June 2026), third Socio-Economic Impact Report for Japan (Japanese)
- TikTok Newsroom (June 2025), second edition of the same report (Japanese)
- TikTok Newsroom (November 27, 2025), announcement of over 42 million MAU in Japan (Japanese)
- TikTok Newsroom (June 30, 2025), announcement of the TikTok Shop launch in Japan (Japanese)
- MIC Institute for Information and Communications Policy, "FY2025 Survey on Usage Time of Information and Communications Media and Information Behavior" (June 26, 2026) (Japanese)
- MIC, "2025 Communications Usage Trend Survey" (May 29, 2026) (Japanese)
- Statistics Bureau of Japan, Statistical Topics No. 149 (September 2026) (Japanese)
- METI, "FY2024 Market Research on Electronic Commerce" (August 26, 2025) (Japanese)
- Sensor Tower × Adjust, "Mobile App Trends Report 2026: Japan Edition" (Japanese)
- Sensor Tower, "State of Japan Gaming 2026" (September 2026)
- EF English Proficiency Index 2025, Japan Fact Sheet
- CSA Research, "Can't Read, Won't Buy – B2C" (July 7, 2020)
- YouTube Official Blog (June 18, 2025), Neal Mohan's Cannes Lions keynote
- Web Tantousha Forum (October 30, 2024), article on YouTube Brandcast Japan 2024 (Japanese)
- DIME (October 2025), article on a Meta Japan roundtable (Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, stealth marketing regulation page (Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, enforcement of the Premiums and Representations Act in FY2025 (published May 28, 2026) (Japanese)
Figures are as of each source's publication (checked October 2026). User numbers are as announced by each company, and counting methods differ from company to company. Dentsu's and CyberAgent's video ad figures use different scopes and cannot be compared directly. Unsourced statements about campaign management are based on ZVA Inc.'s own operating experience.