Adspend in Japan dropped 11.5 per cent year-on-year to $64.9bn in 2009, according to figures from advertising agency Dentsu.

The results are attributed to the global recession and come despite the positive effects of tax breaks for eco-friendly consumers. It also represents the second consecutive fall after expenditure was down 4.7 per cent in 2008.

In line with global trends, newspapers suffered most from the decline, with a fall of 18.6 per cent, followed by television’s 10.2 per cent drop, which typified a 14.3 per cent decline in traditional media for the fifth consecutive year. However, digital broadcasting saw the biggest benefit of shifting trends posting a growth of 4.9 per cent.

A breakdown of ad expenditure by industry showed 20 of 21 sectors seeing declines, with energy, materials and machinery suffering most with a fall of 32.9 per cent followed by automotive, down 32.9 per cent. Only government and organisations boosted by elections posted a growth in ad spend increasing 4.6 per cent.

Source: M and M