Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Video sharing services in Japan - statistics and facts
Japan has a very lively video sharing ecosystem that is marked by significant innovations and a strong diversification of platforms. Video sharing services have existed in Japan at least since the late 1990s and became more widely used with the spread of broadband internet connections in the early 2000s, which made it easier for internet users to contribute and consume user-generated content. The market rose to prominence particularly after the establishment of YouTube in 2005, which was quickly adopted by many Japanese users and today boasts an exceptionally high penetration rate. One of Japan鈥檚 most successful homegrown video sharing services, Niconico Douga, started in December 2006 and initially used YouTube as a video source. The service became known for its bullet chatting feature, which made it possible for user comments to appear at a specific time during the videos.
