eSports viewership growth Japan 2018-2023

The domestic eSports market in Japan had an estimated audience of around 4.83 million people as of 2019. Viewership was expected to increase to more than 12 million people by 2023, due to eSports getting more easily accessible for smartphone users. Similarly, the eSports market size in Japan was estimated to grow from more than six billion Japanese yen in 2019 to more than 15 billion yen by 2023.
eSports are video game competitions of mostly professional players competing in games of several genres, ranging from multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) to card games. These events are often broadcast to a larger audience via live streaming. Several news reports referred to 2018 as the year in which Japan embraced eSports, partly because the Japan Esports Union (JESU) was formed in February of that year.