Q6: What is the social media engagement status of inbound tourists?

How is Japan, constantly changing, perceived by the world? How is Japan's brand—its tourism, food, products, and more—evaluated overseas?

This article introduces results from the "Japan Brand Survey 2017," conducted in 20 countries and regions worldwide from February to March 2017. This installment focuses on "Social Media Usage."

A. Facebook ranked first in all regions except China, Russia, and Malaysia. LINE ranked highly in Asia.

When visiting tourists were asked about the microblogs and SNS they use for information gathering, Facebook ranked first in about 80% of regions. Furthermore, in every region except China, its usage rate exceeded 70%. In China and Russia, where domestically developed SNS platforms are dominant, WeChat and VK respectively topped the list with usage rates over 90%.

While "LINE" (*) is used by about 60% of users in Japan and ranks first in some areas like Asia, "Facebook Messenger" is used for similar messaging purposes in most regions.

While all fall under the broad category of SNS, each has distinct characteristics, and usage purposes and user moods vary. Consider these engagement data points while keeping the unique features of each SNS in mind.

* LINE July 2017 Financial Results Presentation Materials

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<Overview of Japan Brand Survey 2017>
● Purpose: To understand overseas consumers' perceptions and actual behavior regarding "Japan Brand" products and services (including Japanese food, tourism, and Japanese goods) and support corporate marketing activities.
●Target Areas: 20 countries/regions
China (Group A = Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou; Group B = Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Dalian, Xi'an, Qingdao), Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia
※East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea)
※ASEAN (Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines)

●Survey Method: Internet survey
●Respondent criteria: Men and women aged 20–59 in the middle-income bracket and above
※Definition of "middle-income": Conditions set per country based on national average income (OECD statistics) and social class classification (SEC)
●Sample size: China: 200 respondents each for A and B groups, total 400 respondents; USA: 400 respondents; Other regions: 200 respondents each, total 4,400 respondents
●Survey Period: February 13 to March 10, 2017

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Dentsu Inc. Team Cool Japan
A cross-functional project team established by Dentsu Inc. to promote 'Cool Japan-related initiatives'—expanding products and services leveraging Japanese culture and strengths into overseas markets. Dentsu Inc. also invests in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Cool Japan Organization (fund). The team brings together client company representatives for overseas expansion, media and content specialists, overseas subsidiary network managers, producers, and planners to work on initiatives promoting Japan's appeal globally.