Top Japanese Social Media Apps: Demographics of 7 Major Apps in 2020

In this article, we compared the monthly active users (MAU) and user demographics of top Japanese social media used in Japan based on published data and estimates of major SNS published as of December 2019.

The spread of social media in Japan is growing rapidly, and social media is a very powerful marketing tool.

If you are thinking of marketing to the Japanese market in the future, use this data to build an appropriate marketing strategy using social media.

*All data sources are listed at the end of this article

Top Japanese Social Media and its number of users in 2020

Below is the top 7 majors social media apps used in Japan which are subjected to publish advertisement as well.

It is a bit controversial that we should include YouTube as social media, however, as long as people have access and use it as one of the ways of communication and on their smartphone, it makes sense that YouTube is one of the touchpoints of online social media platform.

In terms of users, YouTube and LINE are dominant in Japan. Following by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

It should also be aware that the number of users (MAU) is defined as active users, thus platform like YouTube which you do not need to have accounts to watch, and also Twitter which people tends to have multiple accounts compared to Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, potential have big difference in terms of number of users of course.

Trends of Japanese Social Media over time

The time-series trends and directions of users in each Japanese social media are also important as the current number of users because we see what would be coming and how it looks in a few years from now.

Below is the Google search trends of major famous Japanese social media, LINE, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TiKTok. It is of course not exactly the same as the number of users, however, one can grasp the trends of each media.

For example, while the presence of LINE and Twitters are stable in Japan, Facebook is quickly losing its famousness in Japan as Instagram catching up.

Moreover the rapid increase in TikTok search in very interesting in recent years.

From here it is easy to be anticipated that, in a couple of years from now, LINE and Twitter still be the dominant social media while Facebook is falling, and Instagram and TikTok might be the new emerging social media in Japan.

Japanese Social Media by Genders

It is also interesting to see their users’ gender decomposition. Below is the gender ratio of each Japanese social media.

Youtube and Twitter are slightly sued more from males and LINE are by female but the difference is not significantly different.

However, what standing out is, Facebook is more used in the male in Japan, while Instagram is more used in females in Japan.

Interestingly, it is surprising that there are more male users in TikTok in Japan, but this reason is explained in later parts of the article. The fact that Linkedin has more male users in Japan is expected as the workforce participation rate is higher in the male in Japan.

Age and Genders of Japanese Population

Before going into details of the demographics of each social media in Japan. It is important to understand the demographic structure of the total population in Japan.

Below is called the population pyramid consists of each age and gender in the Japanese population. As you can see, the Japanese population is the aged population. The highest population brackets are in the 40s and the late 60s.

Source: CIA World Factbook

Thus it is often the case that the number of users tends to be higher those middle age groups, however, the “relative share” of the users in each age brackets might be higher at a younger age as their population is lower.

Gender and Age Range Demographics in Each Japanese Social Media

The following will cover more details of demographics in each top Japanese social media that are published by their official report and also estimated by various research and report.

It also incorporates the characteristics of each social media.

Demographic of YouTube users in Japan

Youtube has been widely used in Japanese users of all ages and gender types. As you can see in the below distribution it is used in from 10s to 60s, and the male ratio is slightly higher in the age group while there are more female users at a younger age.

Related article: Top Japanese YouTubers By Categories 2020: Gaming, Beauty, Cosmetic

The distribution of the number of users can be seen in proportion to the population of Japan.

The SNS platform has been used not only in a wide range of countries and regions but also in a wide range of ages.

In addition to PCs, smartphones, tablets, game machines, etc., you can easily watch uploaded videos, devices that allow you to watch YouTube on TV, and TVs with YouTube viewing functions are also sold.

Related article: Ranking of Japanese influencers and their collaboration on Youtube 2019

Demographics of LINE users in Japan

LINE is the biggest social media platform in Japan, and it is also used by almost anyone in Japan as the ways of daily communication. Thus is expected that the age and gender distribution of users almost matched with Japanese population distribution.

It is also one of the single most used social media by the 60s in Japan.

LINE is currently the largest SNS in Japan. LINE, a communication app released on June 23, 2011, is now an overwhelming replacement for email. We are also expanding the number of users mainly in the Asian region.

You can see that both men and women are used by a wide range of ages. Because many users use SNS on a daily basis, the number of companies that handle customers using LINE is increasing.

Related Article: LINE App Ads; Why U Should Advertise on Japanese Biggest Social Media

Demographics of Twitter users in Japan

Twitter is widely used in the especially younger aged population, the 20s, in Japan, and is also used in both males and females. However, it is also used in middle age, the 40s, and 50s, of male users too.

A characteristic of Twitter’s age distribution is the strong support of young people in their teens and twenties. (Because it is a general social media to have multiple accounts by one person, it is necessary to consider that the actual number of users is smaller than this number)

Suitable for companies with many users in their teens and twenties who are considering social media marketing targeting young people.

Demographics of Facebook users in Japan

Facebook now became social media for old Japanese male. There is significant users’ concentration in the male 40s to 50s, and surprisingly 50s male has the highest users distribution in all genders and age.

In addition to being a real-name system, because it is an old among the major social media and the message function is substantial, not only private use but also business people can connect with Facebook instead of exchanging business cards It is not unusual for businessmen to interact with each other.

On the other hand, it is said that young people are moving away from Facebook. If young people leave Facebook and the use of men and women in their 40s and 50s, which are the current main users, will remain, it is assumed that the middle and elderly people will become the main user’s SNS in a few years.

Demographics of Instagram users in Japan

Not surprisingly, Instagram is widely used by females and especially in their 20s and 30s in Japan. It is also worth noticing that it is also used in male 40s which are the highest population distribution in Japan.

A feature of Instagram’s age distribution is strong support from the twenties. The male-female ratio is 43% for men and 57% for women. In the past, social media had the impression that the proportion of women was very high, but it has become a popular social media used by both men and women.

Demographics of TikTok users in Japan

TicTok is a relatively new social media in Japan and strong support from the younger generation, especially in their 10s and 20s.

Because it is widely used in teenagers and women, there are some users that are using TicTok for different purposes, and that is males in the 30s and 40s.

A vertical short movie platform, originally a Chinese service, it boasts the largest number of users in China and has created many trends and celebrities in Japan.

The user segment is mainly female students in their teens and 20s.

Demographics of LinkedIn users in Japan

LinkedIn is not widely used in Japan as much as other non-Japanese counties. Although there are few numbers of users in Japan, they are heavily focused on younger to middle-aged male, working-class male.

Part of those reasons is that the changing jobs in Japan are not common as other counties and people do not need to show off their career histories online.

And for the business profile purpose, the business card (“Meishi”) culture is stronger in Japan. Users in LinkedIn in Japan tend to work at foreign companies and speak English.

However, because of their very specific concentration of users, you can reach the well-targeted population for marketing or recruiting purposes.

Conclusion About Japanese Social Media

The number of social users is updated every month, and the growth is changing rapidly, so it is necessary to check regularly.

And it is important to understand the difference of how social media are used and users’ characteristics and demographics in Japan as opposed to your counties in order to reach to your targeted audience.

The new social networks are being created one after another, and we will keep an eye on them in the future. Based on the latest statistics of each social, it is important to create content that takes into account the scale, target demographics, and functions.

If you have any problems with social media marketing, finding the best platform to reach your target audience, we can help with social marketing, such as market research, social media account operation, social media advertisement operation, promotion of products and services using popular Instagrammers and YouTubers influencers. Please contact us.

Sources and References

• https://biz-journal.jp/2019/01/post_26388.html
• https://markezine.jp/article/detail/30264
• https://webtan.impress.co.jp/n/2019/02/13/31841
• http://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/1709/15/news038.html
• https://twitter.com/TwitterJP/status/923671036758958080
• https://ja.newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/06/japan_maaupdate-2/
• https://linecorp.com/ja/ir/library/
• https://www.netratings.co.jp/news_release/2018/12/Newsrelease20181225.html
• https://markezine.jp/article/detail/30264
• https://news.linkedin.com/about-us#statistics