How Much Does Japanese Influencer Marketing Cost?

Standing out from the crowd of companies who are vying for consumers’ attention has become increasingly challenging now every company, large and small, has an online presence. This is especially true if you are trying to enter a new market in a different country. While having a strong SEO strategy helps, savvy marketeers know that nowadays influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to target the right audiences and be noticed by potential customers. This is no different in Japan, with expenditure on influencer marketing forecast to hit more than 70 billion yen in 2025. What should you consider when looking for a Japanese influencer, and how much should you expect to pay for influencers in Japan?

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Why Consider Influencer Marketing in Japan

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Let’s first go over some very good reasons to turn to influencer marketing in Japan:

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• Expense of traditional advertising: while you can cast a wide net with TV/radio/magazine ads and other promotional media activities like billboard and screen advertising, you are charged for the total number of people who potentially see it while it is harder to pinpoint your audience
• Wanting to reach younger audiences: Generation Z and Millenials are watching less TV and spending more time on the internet. Influencers are a very effective way to reach a subset of the younger generations that you may not capture at all through traditional media, as influencers are seen as trustworthy sources of information by a large proportion of younger audiences
• Products or services in gaming, lifestyle, art/creativity, travel, fashion industries: many people spend time to social media to relax and stay in touch with friends and family, but they also check in to stay in the loop on the latest news and trends. Companies in industries that are trend-sensitive and regularly release new products can especially benefit from influencer marketing as followers are interested in seeing what’s new
• Products or services that benefit from marketing by alluring videos or pictures: for many influencers, it is especially important to keep presenting visually attractive content to keep their followers’ attention. So, products and services that can be displayed in a beautiful manner through videos or pictures are especially fit for this type of marketing from the influencers’ as well as the advertisers’ perspective
• Gaining trust of Japanese audiences: as an unknown brand of foreign origin, it is extra challenging to be seen as a trustworthy product or service. Japanese audiences are much more likely to take their favorite Japanese influencers’ opinions to heart than to be interested in an unknown brand’s commercial

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How Much Do Japanese Influencers Charge?

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First of all, the region where influencers work and the local cost of living has a large effect on how much influencers charge in a certain location. Influencers who are located in, for example, Thailand or the Phillipines charge a lot less compared to influencers who live in Japan. While it is not possible to give a very exact estimate of how much an influencer with a certain number of followers charges as influencer fees vary widely per individual. The complexity of a project also has a large impact on the price. For example, a sponsored video plug will usually be cheaper compared to a full commissioned video like a product review.

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But to still give an idea of how much you can expect to pay for influencer marketing in Japan, you can expect to see ranges like $500 - $1,000 for someone with 5,000 subscribers on YouTube. For top tier influencers the bidding doesn’t start lower than $10,000 USD, which is not dissimilar to what influencers in Europe and the US charge.

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Influencer Agency in Japan: Yay or Nay?

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Once you have established that you want to use influencers as a part of your marketing plan, it is time to find influencers to work with. If you are looking for foreign influencers who live in Japan, it should not be too difficult fo find and contact them as most of them speak English. But foreign influencers in Japan are not always the right pick for your campaign. They are perfect if the expat community living in Japan or people living outside of Japan who are interested in Japanese culture are your target audience, but if you want to reach a Japanese-speaking audience it is much more effective to use Japanese influencers.

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You may find it hard to search for Japanese influencers if you can’t read or write the language, and if you manage to find someone you are interested in, it can be hard to get a reply. Because influencers in Japan strongly prefer to work with companies they can trust and preferably already know, it can be difficult to get a foot in the door. Moreover, many of the larger influencers have been snapped up on exclusive contracts by big agencies. Going through an influencer agency means that you can get access to influencers in their database without having to go through numerous rejections and ghostings. They can also help you conquer the language and cultural barrier and advice you on content strategy. 

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Cost of Japanese Influencer Agencies

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Of course, cost is a large part of the decision on whether to use an agency or not. All agencies are not alike, though, when it comes to costs and services they provide. In Japan, you can find large international agencies with branches spread over the whole world and famous homegrown agencies like Johnny and Associates. If you are looking to work with well-known names with large followings, the only way is to go through these big agencies with matching high fees that can easily reach into the 100,000s of USD. You can also expect to pay a retainer up front.

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There are also smaller boutique agencies in Japan with more flexibility in building up your marketing plan that includes influencers, so you have more control over your expenses. They usually have databases filled with influencers of all sizes who charge different fees, so you can let them know which budget you would like to work with.

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