Media industry in Japan - statistics and facts

Development of the modern media industry

Media environments tend to undergo changes in tandem with new technological developments. One of the major changes of the twentieth century was the advent of broadcasting. Terrestrial broadcasting started in Japan during the 1920s with radio broadcasts. Television became important from the 1950s on, as both the public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) as well as commercial broadcasters began their operations in 1953. As a breakdown of the media content market by medium shows, terrestrial television broadcasting continues to be the largest medium today. As any household and business which possesses a device that can receive broadcasting signals is obliged to pay a fee to NHK, the number of NHK broadcasting subscribers can serve as an indicator for the audience size of the broadcasting market. Next to broadcasting, Japan spawned a number of highly creative media industries whose products were not only consumed domestically, but also became increasingly demanded by consumers in other countries. This includes the Japanese music industry, the film industry, the anime industry, the manga industry, and the video game industry. All sectors of the media industry currently face the challenge of adapting to a relatively new media environment which is increasingly influenced by the internet.

The spread of online media

Internet usage became widespread in Japan during the early 2000s. By 2020, the online media content market made up more than 40 percent of the total media content market size. While many traditional media forms are stagnating or declining, internet-related media, such as video and music streaming services, continues to grow. Social media platforms and apps enable new ways of communicating with friends and customers. Digitalization forces media companies to employ different strategies to cope with this situation, such as introducing paywalls for digital content or using synergies between an already existing physical infrastructure and online purchase or advertising channels. The growing importance of the internet can also be observed when looking at current developments within the Japanese advertising industry. While television broadcasting remains one of the most important venues for the advertising industry in Japan, it was surpassed in terms of advertising expenditures by the internet for the first time in 2019.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.