Daniel Slotta
Research expert covering Greater China
Metaverse in Japan - statistics and facts
The term "metaverse," originally coined by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel 鈥淪now Crash鈥 (1992), is frequently used today to denote an immersive virtual world in which internet users can interact with each other in the form of avatars. The idea has gained increasing attention in recent years, partly because Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly expressed his support for the concept and Facebook changed its company name to Meta Platforms in October 2021 to indicate its future direction. The metaverse concept, which promises new business opportunities that make use of advanced consumer technologies, has been met with some interest in Japan as well: One survey found that 10 percent of companies in the secondary and tertiary sector were interested in using the metaverse for their business.
