Longform

・ July 10, 2025

Insight from the Content Marketing Landscape in Japan 2025

Executive Summary

Japan is a market like no other. As Asia’s second-largest economy, it continues to be a hub of innovation across sectors and a global leader in industries such as advanced manufacturing, healthcare and technology. But what really sets the Japanese market apart is how business gets done. The marketing environment here remains uniquely Japanese: deep-rooted values, nuanced communication styles and high expectations for quality differ significantly from global norms.

In 2025, digital transformation and shifting demographics are accelerating changes in how companies connect with their audiences. Japanese consumers and B2B decision-makers alike expect highly localized, culturally attuned messaging delivered through trusted platforms in the right format and at the right moment. Meanwhile, the integration of generative AI into marketing workflows is gaining traction—and becoming an emerging challenge. In Japan, where adoption of AI has been more cautious, the question isn’t whether to use AI, but how to use it in a way that aligns with Japan’s high standards for quality and trust.

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At Custom Media, we help global businesses succeed in Japan through AIM B2B, our dedicated agency that blends our publishing heritage with deep storytelling expertise and global marketing know-how. As part of Custom Media, an award-winning content and communications firm with strong local roots and a proven track record, AIM B2B offers the insight and network needed to navigate Japan’s distinct business landscape.

To gain an in-depth understanding of the market and where it’s headed, we conducted a survey of B2B marketing leaders—from global heads of communications to local strategists—across a range of industries. The findings highlight emerging trends in content marketing platforms, reaffirm the power of storytelling and shed light on the growing challenge of integrating generative AI in a way that respects Japan’s cultural expectations and brand standards.

Key Learnings

A large majority of the companies surveyed this year reported having a defined content marketing strategy—65%, to be exact. However, this marked a slight decline from last year’s 75.6%, suggesting a growing need for clarity and alignment in strategic planning. For those with a strategy in place, the main goals remained consistent: brand awareness and lead generation were once again top priorities, followed by thought leadership and customer engagement.

Storytelling continued to play an important role in helping companies communicate their value propositions and executing their content marketing. Whether through brand narratives, case studies or customer testimonials, respondents saw storytelling as an effective way to humanize their messaging and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

But building compelling content isn’t without its challenges. Time and resource limitations were cited by a large majority of respondents, along with the difficulty of creating diverse content formats and maintaining consistency across channels. Scaling production without sacrificing quality proved to be another common pain point. As a result, many companies have turned to outsourcing key activities to keep up with demand.

Compared to last year’s more cautious tone, the adoption of generative AI has accelerated, and a majority of respondents identified AI proficiency as the most crucial skill for content marketers to master in the next 1-3 years. That said, most respondents expressed caution around over-reliance on AI. Concerns about quality and accuracy, loss of creativity and ethical considerations were common. While many marketers expressed optimism about AI’s potential, a majority of respondents said that human editors always review AI-generated content, indicating that human oversight remains a critical part of the process.

While spending remained closely tied to internal resources and ROI expectations, a majority of respondents allocated up to 25% of their overall marketing budget to content—highlighting its growing importance in modern marketing strategies.

Taken together, these findings reinforce a familiar truth: content remains at the heart of effective marketing. But they also reflect a changing landscape, one where success depends not only on output, but also on strategic alignment, compelling storytelling, AI integration and an intimate understanding of audience needs and market dynamics.

About the Study

Survey Respondents & Methodology

To help B2B companies better understand the impact of content marketing in Japan, we gathered insights from 60 professionals across a range of industries and roles within their organizations. The survey was conducted between April 15 and June 15, 2025.

Seniority Level

Size of companies represented

Top 5 industries surveyed

83.3%

of respondents highlighted AI proficiency as the most crucial skill for content marketers within the next 1-3 years.

Top 3 skills for marketers in the next 1-3 years

83.3

AI proficiency

Data analysis

53.3

Creative writing

Last year, over half of respondents reported not using generative AI tools yet.

This year, nearly three-quarters of respondents are now using generative AI to some extent or extensively.

94.2%

of respondents believe that
generative AI tools will have a
somewhat or mostly positive impact on content marketing.

Top 3 AI tools that respondents use or plan to use

88.2

ChatGPT

45.1

Gemini

21.6

Perplexity

Types of content generated with AI

64.7

Translations

56.9

Ad copy

Email content

43.1

Social media

41.2

Blog posts

88.2%

said they always have
human editors check
AI-generated content.

Top 5 concerns about using AI in content marketing

76.7

Quality and accuracy

Loss of creativity

41.7

Dependence on AI

Ethical concerns

Plagiarism

65%

of respondents have a defined
content marketing strategy,
compared to 75.6% from last year’s survey.

Budget percentage allocated to content marketing

96.7%

of respondents thought that storytelling was at least moderately significant in capturing audience attention and building brand engagement, compared to 95% from last year.

70%

of respondents incorporate storytelling into their content marketing strategies for brand narratives, followed by case studies and customer testimonials.

55%

of respondents outsourced part of their content marketing, compared to 62% last year.

Top outsourced work

69.7

Video production

57.6

Writing

54.5

Translation

45.5

Graphic design

42.4

Website design

of respondents said that creating content for diverse formats and channels is a challenge for their organization.

The key challenges were

46.7

Consistent production

43.3

Resource allocation

38.3

Audience reach

36.7

Standing out

Narrative creation

Thank You

We sincerely thank all the professionals who completed the survey and shared their insights. Your contributions were invaluable to the creation of this report.

Download the 2025 Report