The Japanese advertising market is one of the largest advertising markets worldwide. Total advertisement spending saw stable growth until the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, which led to a decrease of the market size by about 780 billion Japanese yen compared to 2019. The market recovered considerably from 2021 onward and reached a value of 7.32 trillion yen in 2023, which was well above pre-pandemic levels. Given its size, the advertising market is one of the most important markets for Japan. It regularly accounts for
Rising expenditures for online advertising
Similar to the situation in many other countries, the advertisement market in Japan currently sees a strong division in terms of growth potential between traditional media, such as magazines, newspapers, television, and radio, and the new possibilities that online advertising brings. Today, the internet is the
most important advertising medium worldwide. In Japan, internet overtook television as the
leading medium in terms of advertising expenditure in 2019. Internet ad spending in Japan more than doubled between 2017 and 2023, while ad spending for television decreased during the same period. Thus, online ad spending contributed significantly to the robustness of the market as a whole.
Largest advertising agencies
The Japanese advertisement market is dominated by the two most prominent advertising agencies
Dentsu and
Hakuhodo. Other major competitors include companies such as CyberAgent, Daiko, and ADK Holdings. Dentsu, in particular, holds a dominant position in Japan. Founded by war correspondent Hoshiro Mitsunaga as a news and advertising agency in the early 20th century, it developed strong relationships with media outlets and ad spenders. Today, its operations are spread over hundreds of subsidiaries. It is common for Dentsu not only to offer solutions for several steps of the marketing process, but also to service competing clients of the same industry. The company also played an important role in organizing sponsorship for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were held in 2021 after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Establishing a memorable connection with audiences
The advertising industry plays a vital role in the Japanese economy as product cycles in Japan tend be very short in many cases and there is a severe competition for the attention of consumers.
Domestic companies dominate the advertising market in Japan, which is considered one of the world's most creative ad markets. Japanese advertisements are said to concentrate less on selling the benefits of a new product, and instead focus more on establishing an emotional and memorable connection with the audience. Important factors in this regard include the use of celebrities and mascots as well as novel aesthetics and catchy music.
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