Exploring Japanese Social Media Trends: Regional Differences in the UK and Japan!

Social networking has become a crucial tool for fostering communities and sharing information online. Businesses are increasingly utilising social media in their marketing strategies. The key to effective social media marketing lies in selecting a platform that aligns with the interests and daily habits of the intended audience.

Preferences for social networking platforms are heavily influenced by regional communication styles and social-cultural nuances. This variance is particularly noticeable when comparing regions such as the English-speaking United Kingdom and Japan.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the usage of social networking platforms in Japan and the UK, exploring the underlying factors that influence these regional preferences.

Social Media Users Reach Over 80% of the Population

The accompanying chart illustrates the prevalence of social media usage in Japan and the United Kingdom. It reveals that 82.0% of individuals in Japan and 84.4% in the UK engage with social networks, with both nations exceeding the 80% mark.

This high level of engagement indicates that social networking has been broadly embraced in both countries, becoming an essential aspect of both personal life and business.

Top 5 Social Medias Compared

Although both countries can be described as ‘social networking-loving countries’, the social networking platforms’ composition differs.

The social networking platforms with the highest market share in both countries are as follows:

Japan	United Kingdom
1st：LINE	1st：Facebook
2nd：YouTube	2nd：X (Twitter)
3rd：X (Twitter)	3rd：Reddit
4th：Instagram	4th：Instagram
5th：Facebook	5th：LinkedIn

LINE holds the top position in Japan, whereas Facebook leads in the UK.
Platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook are frequently ranked across both countries. However, LINE and YouTube’s popularity is unique to Japan, while Reddit and LinkedIn are more favoured in the UK.

These variations in platform preference can be attributed to the distinct cultural and national identities of each country. Let’s take a look into the social networking landscape of each nation, considering their unique cultural contexts.

Social Media in Japan

The graph below presents the top five domestic social networking platforms in Japan, ranked by their number of monthly active users as of October 2023, according to the data from Comnico.

LINE leads with a substantial margin, closely trailed by YouTube and Twitter. This prompts the question: What factors contribute to the popularity of these platforms in Japan?

LINE Over Traditional Phone Calls?

LINE commands a significant share of the Japanese market. It’s rare to find a smartphone owner in Japan who doesn’t use the LINE app. The key to its widespread adoption lies in two main factors: its status as a ‘de facto standard’ and its ‘cute’ appeal.

A ‘de facto standard’ refers to a product or service that becomes the norm simply because of its wide popularity. When smartphones began to proliferate in Japan, LINE emerged as a frontrunner. At that time, traditional phone calls were often expensive, so LINE’s feature of ‘free calls’ significantly impacted user preferences.

This feature was instrumental in LINE’s exponential growth. It evolved into “the social networking service everyone uses” and something “I use because everyone else does.”

Another aspect of LINE’s appeal in Japan is its emphasis on ‘cuteness.’ The Japanese affection for all things ‘kawaii’ (cute) is well-known globally. LINE capitalised on this by introducing ‘stamps’ (stickers) for messaging, which became immensely popular. Typing ‘LINE stamps’ in a search engine often suggests ‘kawaii’ as a related term. This fondness for cute stickers has played a significant role in LINE’s widespread popularity.

YouTube Catering to Every Interest!

An American online video-sharing and social media platform, YouTube began to gain recognition in Japan around 2008, and by 2014, it had skyrocketed in popularity, partly due to the impactful TV commercial with the slogan ‘make a living doing what you love.’

This period also saw the rise of YouTubers, transforming the platform into a hub where both ordinary people and celebrities shared content. This surge led to a content explosion, offering viewers an unprecedented choice in what they watch.

A key term to consider here is ‘oshi.’ While ‘oshi’ started gaining online traction in the early 2000s, it wasn’t until the era of ‘AKB48’ a Japanese girl idol group, that it became widely recognised, even featuring in manga titles.

‘Oshi’ carries the connotation of “my personal favourite.” This aligns with a unique aspect of Japanese culture, where there is a stronger inclination to support personal favourites, even in the absence of broader popularity. YouTube, with its vast array of content catering to niche interests, perfectly fit this cultural preference, allowing users to discover and support videos that resonate with them on a personal level.

X (Twitter): Aligning with Japan’s Love for Wordplay

To understand why Twitter resonates so strongly in Japan, two key elements stand out: ‘140 characters’ and ‘community’.

The Japanese culture has a long-standing tradition of enjoying wordplay within specific patterns, as seen in haiku, tanka, kawayu, and tsuyoshi. These forms all require adherence to structural rules in Japanese literature. Twitter’s 140-character limit aligns perfectly with this national penchant for concise, pattern-based expression, offering a modern platform for this traditional linguistic enjoyment.

Twitter also allows users to form many communal gatherings. The Japanese enjoy coming together, often around shared interests or moments. This cultural trait is mirrored in the spontaneous trends on Twitter, on Friday movie nights (called Friday Roadshow aired on Japanese local television), hashtags regarding certain movie scenes many times go viral.

As a text-based social network, Twitter’s use of hashtags facilitates discussions on common topics, making it easy for users to engage in these collective experiences. This feature has significantly contributed to the growth of Twitter’s user base in Japan.

Social Media in the UK

Moving on, we delve into the realm of social networking in the UK. In September 2023, SimilarWeb released a list of the top five most popular social networking sites in the country.

1. Facebook
2. X (Twitter)
3. Reddit
4. Instagram
5. LinkedIn

This section will specifically examine Reddit and LinkedIn. We will explore the reasons behind their widespread usage and their unique appeal to UK audiences.

Reddit, a Perfect Blend of Humour and Storytelling

Reddit, a social networking platform originated in the USA, has also found a significant following in the UK.

Reddit can be simply described as “the English version of 2channel (a textboard discussion platform popular in the 2000s”. On Reddit, users initiate discussion threads, which are then contributed to by others, fostering active community engagement. These discussion threads are organized into various ‘subreddits,’ each serving as a specific noticeboard or topic area.

The platform’s popularity in the UK can be attributed to the British penchant for interaction and humour. Data from Metrics For Reddit shows that the three most subscribed subreddits are ‘Announcements’, ‘Funny’, and ‘AskReddit’. The prominence of ‘Funny’ and ‘AskReddit’ aligns well with the British character, underscoring a national affinity for humour and inquisitiveness.

LinkedIn, the Professional of All

LinkedIn, a platform focused on professional networking, stands distinct from other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Its popularity in the UK may be closely linked to the nation’s job search practices.

Unlike Japan, where recruitment portals such as ‘Rikunabi’ and ‘BizReach’ play a major role, the UK job market operates differently. Many job openings in the UK are directly advertised by the companies themselves, often through LinkedIn. Consequently, job seekers increasingly rely on the connections and networks they build on LinkedIn to find employment opportunities.

The social dynamics within the UK are believed to contribute significantly to LinkedIn’s high usage, as the platform aligns well with the professional networking and job-seeking habits prevalent in the country.

Conclusion

I hope this discussion sheds some light on the state of social networking in Japan and the UK. The adoption and use of social media are deeply rooted in national traits, as well as social and cultural contexts. By exploring why each of these platforms is popular, one can gain a more profound understanding of the country and its people.

Understanding users is also crucial for leveraging social networking in marketing. It is important to tailor your strategies based on the types of users prevalent on each platform. We hope this article has provided valuable insights into Japanese social media and its market.