Ad Spending Down in Japan

TOKYO: Ad expenditures in Japan totaled 5,709.6 billion yen ($71.2 billion) in 2011, which was down 2.3 percent from the year prior, according to Dentsu’s annual report.

After a three-year decline, Japan’s ad market recovered in 2004. Spending was up 2.9 percent in 2005, 1.7 percent in 2006 and 1.1 percent in 2007. It dipped again in 2008, down 4.7 percent, as a result of the financial crisis in the U.S. and global recession. The spending shrank further in 2009, down 11.5 percent, and 2010, down 1.3 percent. The slight drop again in 2011, of 2.3 percent, is largely attributed to the impact of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Overall spending on traditional media fell by 2.6 percent, with a decline of 0.5 percent for television.