Yano Research flags NFT shift in Japan digital content study
KEY POINTS
- Yano Research finds diverging trends across Japan’s digital content segments in the 2026 market study
- Internet advertising, video streaming and music streaming show growth, while e-books gain support from comics and games reflect hardware sales
- NFT demand shifts from speculation toward practical uses, and platform operators focus on AI integration across services
camilo jimenez
Yano Research Institute released findings from its 2026 study of Japan’s digital content market on July 17, highlighting different trends across segments including social media, internet advertising, video streaming, music streaming, e-books, games and NFTs.
The research firm defines digital content broadly as services available over the internet through smartphones, personal computers and other devices. In the latest survey, social media and SNS platforms were described as firmly established as communication tools, while internet advertising and video and music streaming showed market growth.
In other segments, e-books were supported by comics, and game market trends were influenced by hardware sales. For NFTs, Yano said demand appears to be shifting from speculative activity toward practical use cases.
Major digital content platform operators are also moving beyond a phase focused on competing over AI model research and development, according to the release. The emphasis is shifting toward linking AI with existing products to improve convenience across services including search, comparison, purchasing, viewing and payments, while keeping existing users within their ecosystems.
On NFTs, Yano said the market has expanded beyond early applications centered on digital art and games into regional revitalization, sports, brand marketing and education. Around 2021, NFTs drew attention for a series of high-value transactions and speculative trading, but Yano said that overheating in the market has since eased as companies and local governments use the technology for regional promotion, fan community building and certification of learning outcomes by educational institutions.
The firm said NFT adoption is expected to shift further from novelty-driven use toward applications tied to actual demand and sustained community formation.
The study covered digital content markets and platform operators, and was conducted from February to April 2026 through direct interviews by Yano’s specialist researchers combined with desk research.
Japan remains one of the world’s largest markets for mobile gaming, digital comics and online media consumption, with smartphones serving as the main access point for many consumer internet services. The mix of mature categories such as social media and evolving areas such as NFTs means market growth can vary sharply by content type.
