Japan: most used smartphone apps by category| ��ƽ��

Most used apps among smartphone users in Japan as of March 2023, by category

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Release date

April 2023

More information

Region

Japan

Survey time period

March 1 to 5, 2023

Number of respondents

9,763**

Age group

10-79 years

Special properties

among smartphone users**

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

*SNS refers to social networking services.
**The survey sample size 9,763 respondents, of which 90.2 percent were smartphone users.

Survey question: "Which genres of apps did you use with your smartphone in the past year?"

Citation formats

According to a survey conducted in March 2023, the most used type of smartphone apps in Japan were weather apps, which were used by almost ** percent of respondents. Social networking, chat, and communication apps were used by more than half of the respondents.

Social media in Japan

LY Corporation holds a particularly dominant position when it comes to social apps in Japan. The company’s main product is the messenger app LINE, which is used by a large proportion of the Japanese population. Next to LINE, the most popular social networks in Japan are YouTube, Instagram, and X, which also represent important venues for influencer marketing. Social media are not only used for keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances, but are also employed by people who want to look up information.

Mobile gaming

While apps are used for a variety of purposes, a ranking of the leading apps based on revenues shows that gaming apps reign supreme in Japan when it comes to profitability. While Japan is home to two of the major gaming console manufacturers, Sony and Nintendo, the versatility and ubiquity of smartphones has made mobile gaming the most popular way to play video games in Japan. Mobile games offer a convenient form of entertainment that can be enjoyed even during short breaks or while commuting to work. According to survey data, puzzle games are the most commonly played smartphone game genre.