Is Japan your next market?

Why you should enter the Japanese market

• $16.5Bapp spending, 2024 · #3 worldwide

  Japanese users pay. Japan is the world's third-largest market for app spending, at $16.5 billion in 2024.

• 67–68%of app spending in Japan is on iOS

  iPhone users spend the most. iOS users account for about two-thirds of app spending in Japan.

• $134spent on apps per person, per year

  Japanese users spend more per person. Spending is high relative to the population: about $134 per person a year, averaged over every resident.

• $13.8BSaaS market, 2026 est.+13.5% / yr

  Business software is growing fast. Japan's SaaS market is estimated at $13.8 billion in 2026, growing about 13.5% a year.

• ¥28 trillion(about $178B) spent on IT in 2026

  Japanese companies spend big on IT. Japan's IT market is about ¥28 trillion in 2026, growing about 6% a year. Labor shortages are pushing mid-sized companies to digitize.

• 11Mprojected worker shortfall by 2040 (Recruit Works Institute)

  Companies need software to replace missing workers. Japan faces a shortfall of about 11 million workers by 2040. Software and AI tools that save time sell.

• Your real competition is smaller than you think. Very few foreign products are actually available in Japanese. So you aren't competing with the global field, only with the much smaller group of products that made the effort.

• 50,000+IT subsidy applications approved in 2024

  Companies get help going digital. In 2024, more than 50,000 applications to buy IT tools with government support were approved. For B2B SaaS, being on the approved list can make the sale much easier.

• 70%+of consumers buy only from Japanese sites

  Most of your competitors aren't there. More than 70% of consumers in Japan buy only from sites in Japanese, and Japan is in the lowest of five English proficiency bands. Most English-only products are invisible to Japanese buyers, so a product in Japanese stands out.

Sources: Adjust & Sensor Tower; Sensor Tower; Research Nester; Recruit Works Institute; IDC Japan; ITmedia; CSA Research (2014); EF English Proficiency Index (2025). Converted at ¥158 per US dollar.