Influencer marketing in Japan is highly effective, with the market valued at ¥74.1 billion in 2023 and projected to exceed ¥130 billion by 2027. Consumer trust in influencer content has grown from 58% in 2021 to 70% in 2025, making it a critical component of digital marketing strategy in Japan.
Straight from Tokyo
Influencer Marketing is Highly Effective in Japan
The annual expenditure on influencer marketing was estimated to amount to 74.1 billion Japanese yen in 2023, with forecasts expecting strong growth in the coming years. This represents a significant shift in Japanese marketing landscape, driven by several key factors.
Cultural Alignment with Japanese Consumer Behavior
Japanese influencer marketing is defined by subtlety, trust, and cultural alignment. While Western campaigns chase virality and bold personalities, Japan favors calm, curated storytelling. Influencers here are seen less as entertainers and more as trusted lifestyle guides—tasteful, minimal, and ethically consistent.
Measurable ROI and Performance
Businesses reported an average return on investment (ROI) of $5.78 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing, demonstrating clear financial benefits. By strategically partnering with influencers, businesses can engage targeted demographics effectively and efficiently—often at a lower cost than traditional advertising methods, such as television commercials.
Growing Consumer Trust
Around 80% of Japanese with a favorite influencer answered that they have considered a product or brand based on a post because of an influencer. This trust-based relationship is fundamental to the Japanese market, where recommendations from influencers are taken seriously only if they feel unbiased, thoughtful, and experience-based.
SNS Platforms for Influencer Marketing in Japan and Their Characteristics
Japan’s social media landscape differs significantly from Western markets, with unique platforms dominating user engagement and advertising spend.
YouTube: The Dominant Platform
YouTube is popular in Japan, with over 70 million users, and has become a popular SNS for a wide range of ages, from teens to 50s, characterized by a high percentage of males (over 60% for all ages). YouTube accounts for the largest share of influencer marketing in Japan, followed by Instagram and Twitter.
The platform excels in long-form video content, tutorials, and detailed product reviews, making it ideal for cross-generational marketing with a notable male audience skew. Brands leverage YouTube for in-depth product demonstrations and educational content that builds trust through comprehensive explanations.
Instagram: Visual Storytelling Leader
Instagram is Japan’s most popular photo and video-sharing app, with 66 million monthly active users. Japan creates nearly 7 million Instagram stories daily, making it the second-highest engagement worldwide.
The platform dominates visual content creation through posts, Stories, and Reels, with most users in their 20s and around 60% female users across all ages. Instagram serves as the primary platform for fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and food content, where brands can showcase products through authentic visual storytelling.
TikTok: Rapid Growth Among Gen Z
TikTok, the entertainment-focused platform, quickly gained popularity in Japan, with 27 million monthly active users, especially popular among teenagers. TikTok usage among 13 to 19-year-olds skyrocketed by 1.2 times compared to last year, reaching an impressive 70%.
The platform specializes in short-form vertical videos lasting 15-60 seconds, primarily targeting Gen Z and younger millennials. TikTok excels at trend-based content, entertainment, and viral marketing campaigns that feel organic to the platform’s culture.
LINE: Japan’s Super App
LINE is Japan’s most popular social media app, with 97 million monthly active users. LINE is a super-app offering payment, games, and social features. Its dominance in daily life makes it a prime platform for customer engagement and retention.
The platform encompasses messaging, Official Accounts, and sticker communications across all age groups with the highest market penetration. LINE serves as the optimal channel for customer service, retention strategies, and direct brand communication.
Twitter/X: Real-Time Engagement
The number of monthly active X(Twitter) accounts in Japan is over 45 million. X is actively linked to TV and events and has established a position among the many social networking services by taking advantage of its real-time nature.
Twitter specializes in short text content, real-time updates, and threaded conversations across a broad age range with significant professional usage. The platform excels for news distribution, real-time marketing campaigns, and responsive customer service.
Facebook: B2B and Mature Demographics
Facebook boasts 26 million users, and thanks to its high age user base, it is a great platform to target professionals, families, and users with high disposable incomes, as well as B2B marketing strategies.
The platform focuses on long-form posts and professional content targeting older demographics and business professionals. Facebook remains the preferred choice for B2B marketing and campaigns targeting mature consumer segments.
Recommended SNS by Product Categories
Understanding which platforms align with specific product types is crucial for maximizing influencer marketing effectiveness in Japan.
Visual and Lifestyle Products
Best Platforms: Instagram, TikTok
Fashion, beauty, cosmetics, food, home goods, and travel products perform exceptionally well on visual-first platforms. Instagram dominates this category due to its visual nature, with Marketing Research Camp finding that overall Instagram was the most popular service in Japan to follow fashion trends. One of the attractive points of doing influencer marketing with cosmetic products in Japan is that the viewers can have a better understanding about the products, as they can see how the products look when they were actually applied.
TikTok excels for products that can be demonstrated quickly or integrated into entertainment content. The Japanese genderless cosmetics brand SUORUM collaborated with a famous TikToker when launching their new product, demonstrating effective use of the platform for beauty products. Success on these platforms requires focusing on authentic product demonstrations through visual storytelling capabilities, partnering with lifestyle influencers who align with brand values, and utilizing Stories and Reels for time-sensitive promotional content.
Technology and Educational Products
Best Platforms: YouTube, Twitter/X
Software, gadgets, financial services, educational tools, and B2B solutions benefit from platforms that support detailed explanations and technical discussions. YouTube’s long-form content format allows for detailed product explanations and tutorials, making it great for in-depth product reviews and reaching prospective customers further down the funnel.
Twitter/X serves as an ideal platform for tech discussions and real-time updates about product launches or industry news. Successful campaigns in this category focus on creating detailed tutorial and review content, partnering with tech-focused YouTubers and thought leaders, using Twitter for real-time engagement and product announcements, while emphasizing educational value over pure promotional messaging.
Professional and Business Services
Best Platforms: Facebook, LINE, LinkedIn
Professional services, B2B software, financial products, and healthcare services perform best on platforms with mature, professional user bases. Facebook is great to target professionals, families, and users with high disposable incomes, as well as B2B marketing strategies. LINE’s Official Account feature enables direct communication with business customers, providing a unique channel for ongoing professional relationships.
Effective strategies for this category involve leveraging professional credibility of business influencers, focusing on case studies and ROI demonstrations, using LINE for customer retention and service communications, and targeting decision-makers through Facebook’s professional user base.
When Japanese Businesses Should Use Influencer Marketing
Understanding the optimal scenarios for implementing influencer marketing ensures maximum effectiveness and ROI.
Brand Awareness and Market Entry
Launching new brands or entering the Japanese market represents a key opportunity for influencer marketing. Increasing brand awareness is the top influencer marketing goal for most B2B brands (67%). For foreign brands, influencer marketing provides cultural authenticity that traditional advertising cannot match.
Successful market entry strategies involve partnering with established influencers who align with brand values, focusing on storytelling that resonates with Japanese cultural preferences, and prioritizing trust-building over immediate sales conversion.
Targeting Younger Demographics
Products primarily targeting Gen Z and millennials benefit significantly from influencer marketing. While 15% of Gen Z users engage with influencers on social media overall, over a quarter (27%) engage with influencers on TikTok.
Younger Japanese consumers are significantly more influenced by social media content. Effective approaches include leveraging TikTok and Instagram for maximum Gen Z reach, partnering with age-appropriate micro and nano influencers, and creating trend-based content that feels organic to platform culture.
Product Launch and Innovation
Introducing new products or features requires strategic influencer partnerships to build credibility and generate excitement. Other primary goals include raising credibility and trust (54%), boosting audience engagement and customer loyalty (37%), informing product development and co-creation (29%).
Successful product launches utilize YouTube for detailed product demonstrations, leverage Instagram for visual product reveals, create exclusive content for LINE Official Account followers, and utilize influencer feedback for product development insights.
Crisis Management and Trust Rebuilding
Addressing brand reputation issues or market skepticism requires careful influencer selection and messaging. Japanese audiences prize sincerity over sparkle. There’s a cultural expectation that creators act responsibly—not just in how they present brands, but in how they live their daily lives.
Effective crisis management involves partnering with highly trusted, long-term brand ambassadors, focusing on authentic, subtle messaging rather than aggressive promotion, utilizing Twitter for real-time communication and transparency, and leveraging LINE for direct customer communication and support.
Seasonal and Event-Based Marketing
Capitalizing on Japanese cultural events and seasonal trends provides natural opportunities for influencer collaborations. Japan’s strong seasonal culture and numerous festivals provide natural influencer marketing opportunities throughout the year.
Successful seasonal campaigns require planning around major Japanese holidays and seasons, partnering with influencers who have strong seasonal content strategies, creating culturally relevant content that connects products to Japanese traditions, and using multiple platforms for comprehensive seasonal campaigns.
Partner with EPICs Inc. for Japanese Market Entry and MVP Development
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For companies aiming to succeed in the Japanese market, consult with EPICs—we understand the culture and enable speedy validation for your business growth.
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