Internet advertising now accounts for more than half of Japan's total ad spend, and the fastest-growing channels — social, video, and connected TV — are reshaping how brands should plan for 2026.
Based on Dentsu’s 2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan report (released March 5, 2026), Japan’s ad market reached ¥8,062.3 billion (~USD 54 billion) in 2025, up 5.1% year-over-year. This marks the fifth consecutive year of growth and the fourth consecutive record high, driven by strong corporate digital investment and a series of large-scale events: the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, and Japan Mobility Show 2025.
For the first time since estimates began in 1996, internet advertising surpassed half of total ad spend, reaching 50.2% at ¥4,045.9 billion (+10.8% YoY). For context, Japan still trails more mature digital markets — the US sits at roughly 77% digital share and Europe at around 67% as of 2024 — but the gap is closing fast, with digital growing more than twice as quickly as the overall market in 2025.
After returning to growth in 2024, mass media advertising declined to ¥2,298 billion (-1.6%). Inflation, a weak yen, and the absence of a 2024-style Olympic bounce weighed on the category.
Notably, TV-media-related digital video advertising grew to ¥80.5 billion (+23.3%), as free ad-supported streaming, sports live-viewing, and connected TV services drove record viewership.
Japan’s internet advertising expenditures reached ¥4,045.9 billion (+10.8%), exceeding ¥4 trillion for the first time and crossing the 50% mark of total ad spend. Within this, internet advertising media expenditures alone grew 11.8% to ¥3,309.3 billion.
By transaction method, performance-based advertising reached ¥2,935.2 billion (+12.5%), accounting for 88.7% of internet media expenditures. Reserved advertising grew 9.1% to ¥304.2 billion, while affiliate declined 3.9% to ¥69.9 billion.
Promotional media reached ¥1,718.4 billion (+2.0%), with significant variation across formats.
Events, Exhibitions & Video: ¥474.8 billion (+11.2%) — Double-digit growth driven by the Osaka-Kansai Expo, Japan Mobility Show 2025, and World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, plus new commercial facility openings and urban redevelopment.
Transit Ads: ¥173.6 billion (+8.6%) — Strong growth from inbound tourism, with the Kansai region especially boosted by Expo-related digital signage installations. Taxi advertising grew sharply on B2B AI service campaigns.
Outdoor Ads (OOH): ¥304.2 billion (+5.3%) — Programmatic DOOH entered mainstream adoption, with retail media integration accelerating.
POP: ¥154.0 billion (+3.8%) — In-store messaging strengthened as price revisions from inflation increased the need for shelf-level communication.
Direct Mail: ¥270.8 billion (-5.4%) — Continued postal rate hikes pushed advertisers toward more targeted, premium DM or web-driven low-cost formats.
Free Papers: ¥105.6 billion (-19.1%) — Sharp decline as titles continued to close or move digital-only.
Flyers (Inserts): ¥235.4 billion (-3.6%) — Falling newspaper subscription rates and rising delivery costs pressured the category.
Video advertising reached ¥1,027.5 billion (+21.8%) in 2025, becoming the second-largest internet ad category after search and accounting for more than 30% of internet media spending. Three points stand out:
Social advertising in Japan reached ¥1,306.7 billion (+18.7%), maintaining double-digit growth and rising to 39.5% of internet advertising media expenditures.
Breakdown by social media category:
The continued share gain by video-sharing platforms reflects the broader convergence of social and video: short-form vertical video on SNS, paired with YouTube and TikTok ad investment, are the primary engines behind both the video and social growth stories.
The four research partners — Dentsu, CARTA HOLDINGS, Dentsu Digital, and Septeni — forecast continued growth in 2026:
Internet advertising media expenditures are projected to grow 8.3% YoY to ¥3,584.0 billion.
Video advertising is expected to maintain double-digit growth of 14.7%, reaching ¥1,178.3 billion, with instream (+15.8%) and outstream (+13.5%) expanding at similar rates.
Social advertising is expected to push past the 40% share mark of internet media spend.
Retail media and connected TV/OTT will remain among the fastest-growing investment areas.
For brands planning 2026 budgets, three takeaways stand out. Social is now the largest digital channel in Japan and overtook search in 2025 — and the platform mix here (LINE, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) behaves differently from Western markets, requiring locally adapted creative and targeting. Video is no longer a single format but an allocation decision across social vertical, CTV/OTT, and YouTube. And search, while still the largest individual line item at ¥1,281.4 billion, now sits as one channel within a broader portfolio rather than the default starting point.
