How large will Japan’s influencer marketing market grow by 2026? Growth forecasts explained through global comparisons

Influencer marketing has become a mainstream marketing tactic in Japan.

However, in recent years, the focus has shifted toward more mid- to long-term questions—such as whether the market will continue to grow and how large it is expected to become by 2026.

In this article, we examine Japan’s influencer marketing market by comparing it with global market data. We break down the current state of the Japanese market, its growth forecasts, and the structural factors driving its development. Using objective data, we analyze how far Japan’s influencer marketing market could expand by 2026.

This analysis is designed to support investment decisions and strategic planning for brands and marketers considering the Japanese market.

How far will influencer marketing grow globally by 2026?

When evaluating Japan’s influencer marketing market, the first step is to understand global market trends.

Whether the global market is still in an expansion phase—or entering a stage of maturity or slowdown—has a significant impact on investment decisions and strategic planning for the Japanese market.

In this section, we outline the global market size, growth rates, and the expansion of influencer marketing platforms. By doing so, we establish the necessary context for assessing Japan’s market position from a relative, global perspective.

Global Influencer Marketing Market Size and Growth Rate: Key Figures

The global influencer marketing market has experienced rapid growth in recent years.

According to multiple market research reports, the market has expanded steadily since the early 2020s and is projected to maintain a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 31.42% through around 2030.

source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/influencer-marketing-market

source : https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ja/reports/influencer-marketing-market-8408

A particularly noteworthy point is that this growth is not a short-term spike, but one that remains consistently high across multi-year, mid- to long-term forecasts.

This indicates that influencer marketing is no longer a temporary trend, but is becoming firmly established as one of the core methods within the advertising and marketing ecosystem.

The continued expansion of the global market as a whole serves as a critical baseline when evaluating the potential and positioning of Japan’s influencer marketing market.

From a “Tactic” to an Industry: Platform Market Growth as Proof of Long-Term Expansion

Supporting the growth of the global influencer marketing market is the rapid expansion of the platform ecosystem that underpins it.

The market for dedicated tools and SaaS solutions—covering influencer discovery, performance measurement, and data management—is also projected to grow at a strong global CAGR of 33.71%.

source：https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/influencer-marketing-platform-market

source : https://heyprospekt.com/insights/influencer-marketing-in-2026/

This shift indicates that influencer marketing is moving away from a personality-driven, ad-hoc approach toward a more systematic operational phase that emphasizes scalability, reproducibility, and measurable ROI.

The expansion of the platform market is being driven by advertisers’ growing demand to visualize performance and clearly justify return on investment.

The advancement of this supporting infrastructure is a key indicator that influencer marketing is not a transient phenomenon, but a market with strong potential for sustainable, long-term growth as an industry.

Where Does Japan Stand Compared to North America, Europe, and Asia?

From a regional perspective, the global influencer marketing market is led by North America, followed by Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

While North America and Europe are gradually entering a maturity phase, the Asia-Pacific market is still expected to maintain a high growth rate—estimated at around 35%, indicating continued expansion potential.

source : https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/influencer-marketing-market

source : https://www.thereportcubes.com/report-store/influencer-marketing-market-report

Japan belongs to the Asia-Pacific region and, while moderate in scale compared to the global market, is expected to achieve a growth rate of approximately 31%.

As such, Japan is positioned as a market with steady and sustainable growth potential within the global influencer marketing landscape.

source : https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/influencer-marketing-platform-market/japan

Unlike emerging markets that are experiencing rapid and aggressive expansion, Japan’s market is characterized by a strong emphasis on consumer trust and brand alignment.

This positioning indicates that Japan is less suited to simple, volume-driven growth and more conducive to high-quality execution and long-term brand building—an important perspective when assessing the market’s potential toward 2026.

How Large Will Japan’s Influencer Marketing Market Be by 2026?

As the global influencer marketing market continues to expand, the next focus is the reality of the Japanese market.

While Japan’s influencer marketing industry is often described as having reached a certain level of maturity, the question of how large the market will become by 2026 remains a critical issue—one that directly influences investment decisions and strategic planning.

In this section, we examine Japan’s current market size, historical growth trends, and mid-term forecasts to provide a clearer picture of what the market could look like in 2026.

Japan’s Current Influencer Marketing Market Size: Insights from the Latest Data

Japan’s influencer marketing market has expanded steadily over the past several years.

Based on a synthesis of multiple domestic research reports, the market is currently estimated to be worth approximately JPY 80–90 billion.

source : https://www.shopify.com/jp/blog/influencer-marketing-statistics

Looking back, Japan’s influencer marketing market was valued at around JPY 30 billion in 2020, grew to approximately JPY 40 billion in 2021, and expanded further to about JPY 60 billion in 2022.

This trajectory confirms a consistent growth trend over multiple years.

These figures indicate that Japan’s influencer marketing market is not driven by a short-lived boom, but has steadily evolved into a channel that attracts ongoing and sustained advertising investment.

source : https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/influencer-marketing-market

The fact that the market has already reached a meaningful scale serves as an important starting point when assessing its growth potential toward 2026.

How Much Will Japan’s Influencer Marketing Market Grow by 2026?

Mid-term forecasts suggest that Japan’s influencer marketing market will continue its expansion through 2026.

According to market research, the industry is projected to grow to approximately JPY 130–160 billion between 2027 and 2029, positioning 2026 as a transitional phase leading into this next stage of growth.

source : https://www.shopify.com/jp/blog/influencer-marketing-statistics

When translated into compound annual growth rate (CAGR) terms, many forecasts indicate that Japan’s influencer marketing market is expected to sustain double-digit growth. This suggests that, while the market is gradually maturing, it still retains meaningful room for expansion.

What is particularly important is that this growth is expected to be stable rather than explosive.

This stability reflects the emergence of a market structure that is less susceptible to short-term trends and more resilient over the long term.

Japan’s Growth Potential and Limitations in a Global Context

Compared with the global market, Japan’s influencer marketing industry remains smaller in scale than North America and some fast-growing emerging markets in Asia.

However, in terms of growth quality and market structure, Japan has established a distinctive position.

While explosive expansion similar to that of emerging markets is unlikely, Japan places a strong emphasis on brand alignment and consumer trust. This has led to a market structure characterized by higher deal values and longer-term partnerships—factors that represent a key strength of the Japanese market when viewed against global averages.

At the same time, as the market approaches a mature stage, it is no longer an environment where results can be achieved simply by entering the market.

Looking toward 2026, Japan’s influencer marketing market is expected to enter a phase where quality-based selection advances alongside quantitative growth.

source : https://www.digitalmarketingforasia.com/advertising-in-japan-everything-you-need-to-know/

Why Does Influencer Marketing Continue to Grow in Japan?

As market size and growth forecasts indicate, influencer marketing in Japan continues to expand.

The more important question, however, is why this growth is sustained.

Without understanding the underlying drivers, marketing initiatives risk delivering only short-term results.

In this section, we examine the structural factors supporting this growth from three perspectives: consumer behavior unique to Japan, advertising budget allocation, and platform ecosystem dynamics.

How Japanese Consumer Behavior and Social Media Usage Are Driving Market Growth

In Japan, social media has become firmly established not only as a tool for information discovery, but also as a media channel that directly influences purchasing decisions.

The number of social media users in Japan exceeds 80 million, with widespread adoption not only among younger audiences but also across people in their 30s and 40s.

source : https://www.ulpa.jp/post/social-media-in-japan-a-complete-guide

In this environment, consumers tend to place greater value on third-party experiences and evaluations than on direct brand advertising. As a result, influencers’ authentic usage insights and narrative-driven content play a meaningful role in shaping purchase decisions.

At the same time, Japanese consumers are highly sensitive to excessive staging and exaggerated claims, yet are more receptive to information shared by individuals they trust.

This behavioral characteristic is a key reason why influencer marketing aligns so strongly with the Japanese market.

What Advertising Budget Shifts Reveal About the Current Role of Influencer Marketing

Across Japan’s advertising market, budget allocation toward digital advertising—particularly social media advertising—has continued to increase year over year.

Within this shift, influencer marketing is no longer viewed merely as a subset of social media advertising, but is increasingly recognized as an independent marketing discipline.

source : https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000119.000013256.html

Compared with traditional mass advertising and display ads, influencer marketing makes it easier to design who the message reaches and in what context, which has led to strong recognition of its targeting precision.

These characteristics align well with advertisers’ growing emphasis on cost efficiency and performance accountability, resulting in continued and recurring budget allocation.

In this sense, the shift in advertising budgets itself has become a key driver accelerating the growth of the influencer marketing market.

Key Growth Drivers of Japan’s Influencer Marketing Market by Platform: Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok

To understand Japan’s influencer marketing market, it is essential to examine the distinct roles played by each major platform. Instagram is particularly well suited to visually driven products and lifestyle-oriented content, making it a strong channel for brand image building.

YouTube, on the other hand, enables long-form content such as in-depth reviews and detailed explanations, allowing it to strongly influence consumers in the consideration and comparison phase of the purchase journey.

Meanwhile, TikTok offers high virality through short-form video content and plays a critical role in awareness generation and trend creation.

By each platform fulfilling a different function, Japan’s market has developed a multi-layered influencer marketing structure that does not rely on a single channel. This diversified platform ecosystem supports the market’s overall stability and contributes to its sustained growth.

source : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/japan-online-influencer-marketing-system-2akjc/

Can You Still Fail in a Growing Market? Overlooked Risks and Challenges in Japan

While Japan’s influencer marketing market continues to grow, this does not mean that success is guaranteed for every brand or entrant.

As the market expands, competition intensifies, and the level of difficulty required to achieve meaningful results increases accordingly.

In this section, we highlight the risks and challenges that are often overlooked in the Japanese market and provide key perspectives to help avoid strategic missteps as the market moves toward 2026.

As Competition Intensifies, the Era of “Guaranteed Results” Is Coming to an End

As Japan’s influencer marketing market expands, the number of participating brands and campaigns has increased rapidly.

As a result, influencers themselves are now handling a growing volume of brand partnerships, and consumer responses to one-off promotional posts have begun to weaken.

In particular, campaigns that focus solely on follower counts or exposure volume are becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate.

As the market approaches a more mature stage, simply “using influencers” is no longer a differentiating strategy; instead, outcomes are increasingly determined by campaign design and alignment with brand values.

In this environment, relying on the same approaches that worked in the past makes it harder to achieve the expected impact.

Why ROI Is Hard to Measure: Structural Challenges in Influencer Marketing

One of the major challenges in influencer marketing is measuring ROI (return on investment). Short-term metrics such as clicks or immediate sales often fail to capture the true value of these initiatives.

This is particularly true in the Japanese market, where the path to purchase tends to be longer and decision-making occurs across multiple touchpoints. As a result, influencer content may contribute more to awareness and trust-building than to immediate conversions—making its impact harder to quantify through standard performance metrics.

Without understanding this structural context, evaluating campaigns solely on short-term ROI risks undervaluing strategies that are, in fact, effective over the long term.

The Barrier of Japanese Consumer Psychology: “Being Introduced Doesn’t Mean Buying”

While Japanese consumers are relatively receptive to influencer content, they do not necessarily make immediate purchases simply because a product has been recommended.

Some surveys indicate that a certain segment of consumers explicitly state that they do not purchase products introduced by influencers, highlighting a clear gap between exposure and conversion.

source : https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000078.000072766.html

This behavior is rooted in a strong skepticism toward advertising and a backlash against overly promotional content seen in the past.

As a result, success in the Japanese market requires not only expanding awareness, but also designing communications that consistently build trust over time.

Looking toward 2026, influencer marketing in Japan is entering a phase where it is being redefined—from a tool focused on driving immediate sales to one centered on cultivating long-term brand relationships.

Conclusion | Japan’s Influencer Marketing Market in 2026: An Attractive Investment—But Not an Easy One

As outlined in this article, Japan’s influencer marketing market is expected to continue its steady growth toward 2026.

Amid the ongoing expansion of the global market, Japan maintains a stable scale and solid growth potential, making it an attractive investment destination.

At the same time, as the market matures, the era in which brands could expect results simply by hiring influencers is coming to an end.

Intensifying competition, the complexity of ROI measurement, and consumer psychology unique to Japan mean that influencer marketing heading into 2026 will require far more sophisticated decision-making—spanning strategy design, execution frameworks, and evaluation systems.

This is why having a partner who deeply understands the structural dynamics of the Japanese market and can design initiatives grounded in both data and real-world execution becomes increasingly critical.

hotice supports the development of influencer marketing strategies that function as true investments by combining hands-on expertise in the Japanese market with a global strategic perspective.

For brands considering deeper investment or strategic realignment in Japan toward 2026, success will depend not on isolated tactics, but on designing influencer programs that deliver sustainable results over the mid to long term.