The use of social media networking services (SNS) continues to grow even in mature markets like Japan. Japan has been one of the leading markets adopting and nurturing social media platforms and users since the 90s.

Here are some of the latest stats on SNS usage in Japan.

For the first time, social networking service, LINE, became more popular than e-mails among seniors between 60 and 79 years old. (Mobile Society Research Institute: moba-ken.jp)

According to their survey, 90% of women in their 60s responded that they use LINE.

We know that the younger generation is always looking for new SNS platforms. Here are the survey results with the younger generation using social networking services in Japan.

According to Penmark’s (penmark.jp) survey among high school students in Japan, LINE, YouTube, and Instagram were the top 3 most popular SNSs they use. They also found that more younger high school students use TikTok compared to older students. As for new SNS platforms they use, 42% of respondents gave “Whoo” and 19& gave “NauNau”.

Social media is an important marketing and communication tool for businesses. Regardless of the size of the company, many businesses are using SNS in Japan, too.

According to Allgrow’s (allgrow.co.jp) research about Japanese businesses’ SNS use, the consumers picked X (twitter), LINE, and YouTube as their preferred platforms for businesses.

Female favors Instagram and Pinterest, while male favors Facebook and LinkedIn for business-related SNSs. The results show that posts about product information or sales/promotion information are likely to be clicked. Japanese consumers think that ad copy and descriptions, video and image quality need to be improved in order for them to engage more with posts by businesses.