Recently, the Japanese live streaming market has been making headlines: popular local streamers are breaking viewer records on Twitch, VTubers with digital avatars are dominating YouTube charts and gaining traction in esports. At the same time, it was recently announced that the Japanese streaming platform Mildom has shut down after five years of struggling. So, what's currently happening in Japanese livestreaming segment?
Statistics and Trends in the Japanese Livestreaming Market
According to Streams Charts, the Japanese live streaming market now encompasses ten different platforms, from giants like YouTube and Twitch to newer services like SOOP. Our estimates show that in the first half of 2024, Japanese streams generated over 2.17 billion Hours Watched — up 39.4% compared to the same period in 2023.
The number of channels has also risen by nearly 12,000, or 3.2%. Most of the growth has occurred on YouTube and Twitch. This trend can be attributed to several factors, including the search for larger platforms with robust streaming ecosystems and the introduction of multicasting, which was announced in the fall of 2023 but really started to take off at the beginning of 2024.
The peak viewership for Japanese streams across all platforms was recorded on May 6, hitting just over 9.2 million concurrent viewers. Among the most popular broadcasts that day was the Mario Kart Nijisanji Cup tournament, featuring popular Japanese VTubers from the NIJISANJI agency.
The top channel among Japanese broadcasts was STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, which hosted a brief stream on May 29 featuring a segment from the WE ARE concert, showcasing popular J-Pop groups. The stream lasted just half an hour but drew nearly half a million concurrent viewers at peak.
Overall, the Japanese livestreaming segment shows impressive organic growth, with steady month-over-month increases across all metrics, without any extra incentives. Currently, Japanese streams reach a larger audience than those in France and Germany combined. Japan is gradually closing the gap with Spain, despite the latter being an international language spoken across many countries on different continents.
In the Asian region, Japan ranks in the top three, competing with South Korea and Indonesia. The Japanese livestreaming segment boasts the largest number of unique channels and the second-highest total Hours Watched for the first half of 2024, though it lags in viewer numbers. It’s worth noting that South Korea and Indonesia have very active esports scenes, particularly for games like League of Legends and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which are currently the two most popular esports titles globally, attracting millions of viewers. In comparison, Japan is less immersed in the esports industry, with fewer top players and teams, and viewer engagement during streams is significantly lower.
Trends in Japanese Livestreaming by Platform
Looking at the platforms, the bulk of the Japanese livestreaming market is on YouTube: during the first half of 2024, Japanese streams there accumulated over 1.51 billion Hours Watched. In comparison, the share of Japanese content on Twitch during the same period was half that amount.
When it comes to growth rates for watch time, Twitch is outpacing YouTube in Japan and is gradually narrowing the gap in total numbers. Additionally, the number of Japanese channels on Twitch is also seeing significant growth: during the first half of 2024, their count increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2023.
Streamers and their audiences are leaving smaller platforms to join the industry leaders. Sometimes this shift happens naturally, but other times it’s prompted by circumstances: like the recent shutdown of Mildom, a Japanese streaming platform owned by DouYu Japan, which ceased operations on September 1. Despite being active since 2019, it struggled to compete with other services.
In addition to Mildom, the Japanese audience has almost completely migrated away from BigoLIVE, Nonolive, NimoTV, and Trovo: watch time for Japanese streams on these platforms has dropped by 80-90% in the first half of 2024. The only platform besides YouTube and Twitch showing growth in the Japanese segment is Kick, however, despite the increase in watch time, the number of unique Japanese channels on Kick isn’t growing.
This audience migration suggests that Japanese viewers are consistently following trends and are willing to switch platforms to follow their favorite streamers. This consolidation of viewers sets the Japanese market apart from others.
Top Categories for Japanese Content
The landscape of the Japanese livestreaming segment can be viewed from several perspectives. For instance, gaming content continues to lead, although its share is gradually declining. Previously, gaming content on Japanese channels generated twice as many Hours Watched as IRL content. Now, these categories are starting to even out and may reach parity as soon as next year.
VTubers are a key part of the Japanese livestreaming market. In the first half of 2024, streams featuring Japanese VTubers generated over 513 million HW — surpassing the total figures for some other languages. While VTubers hold a significant share, they don’t dominate the market; their portion has actually decreased from 26.9% to 23.6% over the past year compared to other content. This isn’t because they’re losing their audience; rather, the non-VTuber segment of the Japanese market is growing even faster.
A similar trend can be seen in esports. Japan has always had a strong following for fighting games, and recently, interest in titles like Valorant, Apex Legends, and League of Legends has surged. Many VTubers frequently host show tournaments with each other or cover international championships on their channels as community casters. However, the share of esports broadcasts in the Japanese segment remains relatively small, making up just 4.1% in the first half of 2024. Like VTubers, while Hours Watched for Japanese esports streams are increasing, they aren't growing as rapidly as those for regular streams.
When it comes to gaming, Japanese viewers not only love fighting games, Valorant, and Apex Legends, but they also have a strong affinity for GTA V, especially RP content. The game's popularity in the region is closely linked to VTubers, who enjoy hosting marathon sessions of GTA V, often playing together as agencies. The same goes for Minecraft, which is particularly popular among female VTubers.
VTubers are also gradually making their mark in the esports industry, acting as community casters for professional tournaments and show events. One of the hottest streamers right now is Kuzuha, the most popular VTuber on YouTube and worldwide. He has streamed tournaments for Apex Legends, League of Legends, and Street Fighter, amassing a total of 1.4 million hours of watch time with esports content in the first half of 2024. As noted earlier, esports broadcasts make up a relatively small share of the Japanese livestreaming segment, but involving VTubers in community casting creates a win-win situation for both the streamers and tournament organizers.
Top 10 Japanese Streamers in H1 2024
The most-watched Japanese streamer in the first half of 2024 was fps_shaka, whose channel racked up over 42.5 million HW in just six months. Shaka is recognized as one of the trendsetters and faces of Japanese live streaming; he identifies as a gaming streamer but also regularly covers esports tournaments and even hosts show matches between Japanese content creators.
Almost all popular Japanese streamers are gaming-focused, mainly entertaining audiences with streams of GTA V, Valorant, Minecraft, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Street Fighter, and other trending single-player titles. Many top streamers collaborate on streams or host game marathons, effectively sharing their audiences.
Half of the spots in the Japanese top rankings are filled by VTubers from the Hololive and NIJISANJI agencies, underscoring the significant role streamers play in the Japanese market. Most VTubers primarily create gaming content, community casting tournaments, and Let's Plays, although some female VTubers spend more time engaging with their audiences (while still playing frequently). In addition to gaming streams, top female VTubers often organize music streams or virtual concerts with fellow VTubers.
Who Are Japanese Viewers Watching?
Japanese audiences tend to be conservative and generally prefer to watch their compatriot streamers or VTubers. However, a small number of foreign channels have gained traction among Japanese viewers — specifically, channels run by professional esports players broadcasting first-person matches.
This is particularly true for Valorant players: for instance, over 15% of viewers of Thai player PRXf0rsakeN come from Japan, making them the largest demographic on his channel. A similar situation applies to his teammate Jinggg from Singapore, whose Japanese audience is just above 10%, ranking second after Thailand. American Apex Legends player Verhulst, part of TSM, also attracts a significant Japanese audience, with Japanese viewers making up 8-9% of his audience.
It seems Japanese viewers are open to watching foreign streamers, but only if they provide exclusive and high-quality gaming content. In this context, the language barrier is less of an issue, as the main goal is to evaluate the gaming skills of professional esports players.
Most Popular Esports Tournaments Among Japanese Audiences
The share of esports broadcasts in the Japanese livestreaming segment is relatively small — most local gamers tend to follow only a couple of top titles and championships. However, there is considerable interest in various show events featuring local star VTubers and streamers. For example, in the first half of 2024, the LEGENDUS for Street Fighter 6, organized by fps_shaka, had the highest average viewer count, attracting around 260,000 concurrent viewers, with peaks exceeding 300,000. Other show events, such as the Nijisanji Apex Festival and The K4sen League of Legends, also made it into the top ten.
When it comes to professional esports, Japanese audiences particularly enjoy Valorant tournaments. In the first half of the year, events like VCT 2024: Pacific Kickoff, VCT 2024: Pacific League, and Valorant Challengers Japan 2024 were especially popular, easily pulling in 200,000 to 300,000 Japanese viewers at their peaks. The same goes for the ALGS: 2024 Split 1 Playoffs for Apex Legends, which also surpassed 200,000 viewers at peak times.
Many Japanese viewers also tune in for fighting game tournaments, such as the Crazy Raccoon Cup for Street Fighter or EVO Japan 2024 for Tekken. These events typically take place in a single day with streams lasting only a few hours, yet they still manage to attract over 150,000 to 200,000 viewers at their peaks.
