The Business Times
business-time-50
Global Enterprise logo
BROUGHT TO YOU BYUOB logo

Breaking into Japan? Start with Facebook, not LinkedIn

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
    • In many countries, outreach, prospecting and even pitching can be done cold, digitally and at scale. But that’s rarely the case in Japan, where relationships lead the technology, not the other way around.
    • In many countries, outreach, prospecting and even pitching can be done cold, digitally and at scale. But that’s rarely the case in Japan, where relationships lead the technology, not the other way around. PHOTO: AFP

    Paul Ashton

    Published Sat, Jul 12, 2025 · 07:55 AM

    [SINGAPORE] If you’re planning to grow a business in Japan and you’re betting on LinkedIn, you might want to take a beat. Despite what global playbooks tell you, LinkedIn is still a niche platform in Japan.

    The numbers paint a stark picture: LinkedIn has roughly five million users in a country of over 125 million people – that’s just 4 per cent of the total population. A bit of quick and dirty arithmetic shows that even among Japan’s 16 to 65-year-olds, which consists of around 70 million people, LinkedIn only has a market penetration of 7 per cent.

    In comparison, LinkedIn has 260 million users in the US and nearly 350 million across Asia-Pacific. If Japan looks like an outlier here, that’s because it is.

    Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.

    FacebookLinkedIn

    Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services

    Feedback

    TRENDING NOW

    (From left) Dushan county’s ambitious Shuisi Building project and an unfinished, full-scale replica of the Titanic in Daying county.

    Abandoned ‘Titanic’, failing ‘ancient towns’: Why China’s tourism boom leaves white elephants behind

    David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, warns against “just trying to do deals for the purpose of doing deals, as opposed to getting high rates of return”.

    Private equity giant Carlyle can grow bigger but needs to stay on its toes: co-founder David Rubenstein

    DPM Gan Kim Yong says MAS will remove the 5 per cent cap on physical investment precious metals under the tax incentive schemes for funds.

    Singapore to establish over-the-counter gold clearing system, central bank vaulting by end-2026

    “Findings suggest that roles are being reconfigured, rather than phased out, as demand for AI-related jobs rose,” the PwC report noted.

    Singapore public sector commands highest AI salary premium as job postings surge: PwC study

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More