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.
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.
