Otonal Inc. and The Asahi Shimbun Company released a survey regarding podcast usage in Japan for 2024, "PODCAST REPORT IN JAPAN: Survey of Podcast Usage in Japan #5” in March 2025.
The survey was conducted from December 6th to December 7th, 2024, targeting 10,000 men and women between the ages of 15 and 69.
In response to the recent increase in podcast listeners in English-speaking countries and markets, this study aims to understand the listening trends of podcast listeners in Japan.
Summary of Survey Results
- Podcast usage is 17.2%, with a steady increase in usage from the previous year. The usage rate is high among young people, with 34.0% of all listeners in the 15-19 age group and 27.3% of listeners in their 20s.
- Podcast usage is second only to TikTok and exceeds Facebook for all ages.
- About 50% of all podcast listeners frequently listen to programs under 30 minutes. About 40% of 15-19 year olds frequently listen to programs under 20 minutes.
- YouTube is the #1 podcast listening platform, and Spotify is #2.
- More than 50% of podcast listeners have searched for, purchased or visited a product, place or service they listened to on a podcast.
※Estimated from the population and Internet usage rate of each age group of 15~69 years old.
※Please be sure to specify [Research conducted by Otonal Inc./The Asahi Shimbun Company] when using the survey results and graphs in this release.
▼Survey Results (Excerpt)
■Podcasts have high usage among young people. About 1 in 3 among 15-19-year-olds and 1 in 4 among those in their 20s
A survey of 10,000 people, including general users, found that 17.2% of those who use podcasts at least once a month fall into the category of monthly active users.
In particular, the percentage of those aged 15-19 using podcasts was 34.0% (up 1.2% from the previous year), while the percentage of those in their 20s was 27.3% (up 2.3% from the previous year), a larger percentage than in the previous year.
■Podcast usage is second only to TikTok and higher than Netflix and Facebook for all ages
A multi-media comparison of usage rates showed podcasts to have the second-highest usage rates after TikTok. In terms of usage among all age groups, podcasts surpassed Netflix, Facebook, magazines, and ABEMA.
When restricted to 15-29-year-olds, podcast usage was 29.3% (ranked 7th among all media), ahead of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
■About 50% of all users frequently listen to programs of less than 30 minutes. About 40% of teens frequently listen to programs of less than 20 minutes
As for the length of programs they listen to most frequently, about 50% of podcast users indicated that they listen to programs that last less than 30 minutes, with those aged 15-19 more likely to listen to programs that last less than 20 minutes, while those in their 40s and older are more likely to listen to programs that last 40 minutes or longer.
■YouTube is #1 in listening platform usage. Spotify is #2
YouTube was the most popular way to listen to podcasts (39.2%), followed by Spotify (33.0%), radiko (20.5%), websites (15.8%), Amazon Music (14.4%), and Apple Podcast (12.0%). The most popular music services were Spotify (33.0%), radiko (20.5%), websites (15.8%), Amazon Music (14.4%), followed by Apple Podcast (12.0%).
■More than 50% of users have searched/purchased/visited based on information heard on podcasts
In terms of actions taken in response to information heard on podcasts, 65.1% of podcast users indicated that they have searched for information regularly. Also, 55.3% of podcast users have purchased a product or visited a place they heard about in a podcast.
