The number of social media users in Japan was estimated at approximately 105.8 million in 2023. This figure was projected to increase to almost 113.6 million users by 2028.

Leading social networking services

The most commonly used social media in Japan are the messaging app LINE, YouTube, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok. LINE was developed by a Japanese subsidiary of the South Korean internet search engine provider Naver as a response to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. While the traditional telecommunication infrastructure was damaged, people were able to connect with loved ones via social media and could stay informed about the most recent news. These possibilities generated a boost for social media in Japan, not only for LINE, but for Twitter and Facebook as well.

Usage today

Social media plays an important role today in how people in Japan communicate with each other. The average time people spend on using social media per weekday has increased significantly in recent years. According to one survey, communication with already existing acquaintances is the most common reason for using social media in Japan. Due to their nearly ubiquitous presence in the daily lives of people, social media services are also an important information tool for government institutions or companies that want to get their messages across to citizens and customers.

In 2023, the gross domestic product of Japan was estimated to be around 4.22 trillion U.S. dollars. This makes Japan third in the world GDP ranking. However, Japan's GDP is much closer to those countries below it in this ranking, as the two largest economies in the world, the U.S. and China, are both several times larger than that of Japan. After decades of rapid growth in the post-WWII era, Japan's economic growth has stagnated in recent decades, with figures fluctuating between four and 6.3 trillion U.S. dollars since the 1990s.

In 2023, trading losses amounted to around 10.7 trillion Japanese yen, marking the second-lowest number of the past decade. Within the observed period, trade had recovered up to gains of as high as approximately 5.2 trillion yen in 2016.

According to an annual survey, the share of people in Japan who use the internet stood at 86.2 percent in 2023. The internet penetration rate slightly increased compared to the previous year.

Spread of the internet in Japan

Commercial internet services became available in Japan in the early 1990s and were adopted by an increasing number of people in the years that followed. The use of modems was made possible by the Telecommunications Business Act, which came into effect in 1985 and liberalized the telecommunications business. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT), which had a monopoly on the telecommunications system until then, was privatized during that year. Compared to other parts of Asia, regulation of internet service providers (ISPs) in Japan was less strict, which made it easy for entrepreneurs to establish related startups. However, high-speed digital leased lines were comparatively expensive. A further hurdle that had to be overcome was the complexity of the Japanese writing system. As these problems became solved, the internet gained greater acceptance in Japan, so that by the early 2000s it was used by a majority of people in the country. Survey figures indicate, however, that there remain differences based on age group, household income, and the regions people live in.

Internet usage today

Survey data also show that the most common reasons for people to use the internet in Japan are social networking services, communicating with other people via e-mail, and the looking up of information. Among social networks, X and Instagram enjoy a particularly high popularity, while LINE reigns supreme among messaging apps. The main devices used to access the internet are smartphones and PCs. Leading internet service providers include Asahi Net, Biglobe, Nifty Corporation, NTT Plala, and So-net, while the three major mobile carriers in Japan are NTT Docomo, au by KDDI, and SoftBank. E-commerce giant Rakuten joined the competition by launching its own mobile carrier service in 2020.

Close to 85 percent of people in Japan used social media in 2023. The share was projected to increase to approximately 93 percent by 2028. A comparison of social media services shows that the messaging app LINE has by far the highest penetration rate among social media in Japan.

The statistic shows the total number of mobile phone users in Japan from 2013 to 2020. For 2017 the number of mobile phone users is expected to rise to 106.8 million.

In fiscal year 2023, Takashimaya showed the strongest performance among the national department store operators in Japan, generating revenue of about 466 billion Japanese yen. The company operates the department store chain under the same name. With sales reaching approximately 271 billion Japanese yen, Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd. followed in second place.

The data center market in Japan was valued at 3.66 trillion Japanese yen in 2023. A breakdown by segment shows that infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) constituted the largest segment. The market was projected to increase to 5.95 trillion yen by 2028.

Facebook had a penetration rate of 44.4 percent among people aged 30 to 39 years old in Japan in fiscal year 2023. While more than a quarter of respondents in their twenties used the social networking service, teenagers used it to a lower degree.

The short-video app TikTok was downloaded about 17.7 million times in Japan in 2023, which made it the leading app in terms of downloads during that year. It was followed by Mynaportal, Mynapoint, and TVer.

The marketing automation (MA) services market in Japan was estimated at close to 45 billion Japanese yen in fiscal year 2020. It was forecast to reach approximately 74 billion yen by 2025. The MA market is part of the digital marketing services market.

The number of internet users in Japan amounted to around 116.3 million in 2021. This figure was projected to increase to almost 116.4 million internet users by 2026.

Japan’s online population

Japan is among the countries with the highest number of internet users in the world. It is home to one of the most advanced IT industries and enjoys a very high internet penetration rate, which is expected to grow further in the coming years. When it comes to devices, most people use smartphones to access the internet, which indicates the importance of mobile internet connections. Partly as a countermeasure against the rapid aging of the population in Japan, the Japanese government introduced the concept of Society 5.0 in 2016, which aims to increase the digitalization and connectivity of the economy as well as various aspects of social life. This industry policy will further increase the importance of the internet in the future.

Current usage

A survey on the most common reasons why people in Japan use the internet showed that using social networking services, communicating via email, and searching for information were among the leading activities. The same survey also showed that a majority of people engaged in using video-sharing websites and purchasing goods and services online. While many people in Japan are avid users of the internet, surveys show that most have concerns regarding online safety. According to one survey, a clear majority of respondents feel insecure when using the internet, mainly because of privacy and security concerns. In a different survey, the vast majority Japanese respondents stated that they wanted to do more to protect their privacy.

The average time people in Japan spent on viewing video sharing websites per weekday stood at 54 minutes in fiscal year 2023. During that year, the total average time people in Japan spent on using the internet per weekday amounted to 194.2 minutes.

The microblogging service X, which was formerly known as Twitter, was used by 49 percent of people in Japan in fiscal year 2023. As a breakdown by age group shows, it was used by a majority of people aged 13 to 39 years old, while older age groups used it to a lower degree. The service was acquired by Elon Musk in October 2022 and rebranded from Twitter to X in July 2023.

According to a survey conducted among social media users in Japan in August 2023, more than 87 percent of the respondents used social networking services to communicate with already existing acquaintances. At the same time, almost two-thirds of the respondents used social media to search for information.

The mobile internet penetration rate in Japan amounted to approximately 93.1 percent in 2023. This figure was projected to increase to almost 95 percent by 2028. The total population of Japan was expected to decrease from about 124.6 million in 2023 to around 122.1 million by 2028.

A survey conducted in Japan during fiscal year 2023 showed that the messaging app LINE was used by almost 95 percent of the respondents. While globally leading networks such as Instagram, X, and Facebook do get their fair share of popularity within the Japanese social media market, the only platform able to compete with LINE in terms of penetration rates is YouTube, which was used by almost 88 percent of the respondents. What makes LINE so popular?The success story of the messaging service LINE started back in 2011 during the Great East Japan Earthquake. While conventional communication channels in affected areas had broken down to a large degree due to damages brought about by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, official sources as well as private individuals turned to online options for communicating news and confirming the safety of friends and family members. The LINE app, which was initially developed for communication between employees at NHN Japan, a Japanese subsidiary of the South Korean internet powerhouse Naver, was released for public use later that year. It appealed greatly to Japanese consumers due to its unique and customizable design, which allowed for both private and business usage. Today, the app is operated by LY Corporation, which is part of a joint venture between SoftBank Group and Naver.How do Japanese use social networks?As a comparison of social network penetration rates of different countries shows, a vast majority of people in Japan use social networks. People in Japan on average spend several dozen minutes per weekday on social media, making social media one of the most time-consuming online activities. According to a survey, the leading reasons for using social media are communicating with already existing acquaintances as well as searching for information.

In 2023, over 53 percent of households with two or more people in Japan purchased goods or services online, remaining at a similar level as the previous year. The number of households using e-commerce services increased steadily in recent years, with fashion and electronics representing a recurring category purchased online. B2C online retail Business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail is the main consumer-oriented e-commerce market, with marketplaces, direct-to-consumer (D2C) stores, and digital general merchandisers being common websites accessed in Japan. In particular, marketplaces, taking on the form of a virtual shopping mall, are considered popular one-stop solutions for consumers’ needs. Consequently, Amazon, Rakuten Ichiba, and Yahoo! Shopping are the most successful e-retailers in Japan, gathering millions of visitor numbers regularly. Apart from the business-to-many (B2M) platforms, the companies also offer consumer-to-consumer (C2C) services. Japanese C2C platforms C2C e-commerce in Japan is made up of the reuse market encompassing online auctions and flea markets, and the smaller sharing economy segment. The auction business is dominated by Yahoo’s C2C platform Yahoo! Auctions, whereas the successful mobile application operated by Mercari has been shaking up flea market platforms in the country. The main user base of second-hand platforms are adults between the age of 20 to 49, as it is considered a popular mean to save money or shop sustainable.

The expenditure on IT services in Japan amounted to 6.54 trillion Japanese yen in 2023. Based on the expectation that there would be further migration to cloud services and a demand for the modernization of systems, the market was forecast to grow to more than 8.8 trillion yen by 2028.

The majority of Japanese online shoppers used Amazon Japan as a shopping platform at least once a year, as revealed in a survey conducted in April 2024. The largest share of respondents, 20 percent, stated that they would shop on Amazon Japan once a month or more. However, almost a quarter of respondents stated that they have never used the spin-off of the American shopping platform. Amazon Japan and Rakuten Ichiba are the leading online shopping platforms in Japan's e-commerce market.