Japan: VTuber market size 2025| ��ƽ��

Sales value of the virtual Youtuber (VTuber) market in Japan from fiscal year 2021 to 2024 with a forecast until 2025 (in billion Japanese yen)

Characteristic	Sales value in billion Japanese yen
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Release date

April 2025

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Region

Japan

Survey time period

fiscal years 2021 to 2024; the Japanese fiscal year starts on April 1 of the stated year and ends on March 31 of the following year

Special properties

based on sales for business in question at companies operating VTuber management offices or projects

Supplementary notes

*Projection.
**Forecast.

This research targets those VTubers to whom the following conditions apply:
1) The performer has the appearance of an anime-like avatar, playing the role as a new character that is neither the performer himself or herself nor a two-dimensional character with a setting.
2) The character has both the properties of an influencer and an intellectual property (IP).

The market has been categorized into the following four segments:
1) Livestreaming: profits from advertisement, super chat, and membership via video streaming.
2) Events: profits from selling tickets for live performances, concerts, and other events.
3) Product sales: profits from tangible products and data sales.
4) Business-to-business (B2B): profits from tie-up advertisement and from copyrights and merchandising rights business via IP licenses.

100 Japanese yen equal 0.7 U.S. dollars or 0.61 euros as of June 2025.

Citation formats

The market size of virtual YouTubers (VTubers) in Japan was estimated at ** billion Japanese yen in fiscal year 2023. It was forecast to reach *** billion yen by fiscal year 2025. The word "VTuber," a short form for "virtual YouTuber," refers to video content creators that use computer-generated avatars. The term was coined by the Japanese VTuber Kizuna AI and has since been used for similar content creators across various video platforms.

The Japanese VTuber market

A breakdown by segment shows that product sales constitute by far the largest part of the virtual Youtuber market. It was followed by livestreaming, which generates revenue through advertising, super chats, and memberships. The most popular VTuber agencies in Japan are Nijisanji and Hololive Production, which are operated by Anycolor Inc. and Cover Corporation. Other popular agencies include VSPO!, Aogiri High School, and Neo-Porte. The number of channel subscriptions of Cover Corporation increased particularly from fiscal year 2020 onward, indicating that the market profited immensely from the heightened demand for entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of the Japanese VTubing scene has also led to establishment of agencies and fan communities in other countries. Fans translate short videos of their favorite VTubers, often making them go viral on social media and fueling dedicated VTubing accounts.

The influencer market in Japan

Influencer marketing has become a significant segment of the marketing landscape in Japan. The proliferation of smartphones and the increasing amount of time people spend online have made online advertising more attractive to businesses. While the most-followed accounts are highly sought after by advertisers, they are not the only attractive ones, since influencers with smaller followings often have a closer connection with their audiences, resulting in higher engagement rates. As the VTuber phenomenon continues to expand, it is likely to assume a more pivotal role in Japan's broader influencer and online marketing ecosystems, underscoring its profound impact on digital entertainment trends.