Japan’s art market has outperformed the global industry over the past five years, according to a new report from art economist Clare McAndrew. While global sales ticked up just 1 percent from 2019 to 2023, amid a general downturn, Japan’s saw an 11-percent increase, going from $611 million to $681 million, McAndrew reports.
The new report, “The Japanese Art Market 2024,” examines a field that remains somewhat opaque to the international art community. It was commissioned by Japan’s Agency of Cultural Affairs, which operates under the nation’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. McAndrew, of the firm Art Economics, also authors the UBS Art Basel art market reports and the U.K. art market report.
While Japan has produced reports on the art field for about a decade, this high-profile publication comes as it aims to strengthen its local art market, particularly for contemporary art, by promoting homegrown events like Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) and Art Week Tokyo, which have been gaining attention overseas, and the young Tokyo Gendai fair, which is organized by the Art Assembly.
“There is an obvious shift in the art market towards Asia, away from Europe and the U.S.,” McAndrew said in a media briefing on the report. “There is a lot of interest in Japan, which is a wealthy economy, and in terms of high-net-worth wealth, it is the most evenly distributed. It deserves a bigger market.”
Despite its strong five-year showing, Japan underperformed the global market last year, according to the report. Its $681 million total in 2023 was off 10 percent from 2022, while the global market saw just a 4-percent contraction. The U.S. was also down 10 percent, while China saw a 9-percent climb, per the report. Business seems to have continued apace in the country, but at a lower price point: Works at or below $50,000 accounted for 95 percent of dealer’s sales in 2023, compared to 65 percent in 2022.
Charts from The Japanese Art Market 2024. Courtesy Arts Economics.
Japan’s share of the global market remains small, at about 1 percent, but it has the second-biggest market in Asia, the report noted, accounting for 5 percent of the region’s business in 2023. China holds the number-one slot, with 80 percent. That finding corresponds with The Asia Pivot‘s report in October. According to data from the Artnet Price Database, Japan’s art and design auctions from October 2023 through September 2024, accounted for 5.1 percent of the Asian auction market, second to China’s 85.5 percent. India came in third at 2.9 percent and South Korea came in fourth at 2.5 percent.
An Art Week Tokyo bus. Photo courtesy Art Week Tokyo.
Gallery sales are the core of the country’s art market, accounting for about two-thirds of transactions by value, according to the report, with auctions and art fair sales being less important than in many peer countries. There are more than 2,060 dealers and galleries operating in Japan, the report says, with 59 percent based in Tokyo. Eight percent operate in the ancient city of Kyoto. Three percent of galleries have overseas premises. Collectors in Japan attended an average of 10 gallery shows in 2023, compared to eight by their international counterparts.
Auction sales accounted for about one-third of Japan’s total sales last year, whereas, in China, the figure was around 70 percent, McAndrew said. Prices at Japanese auctions are lower than those in many other leading countries, with 91 percent of works selling for $10,000 or less. While the three top-selling living Asian artists at auction are Japanese (Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, and Takashi Murakami), according to Artnet Price Database, many of their high-value works are sold in international hubs like Hong Kong, rather than at home.
Sales generated at art fairs account for only 10 percent of galleries’ total sales—8 percent at Japanese fairs and 2 percent overseas. This percentage is significantly low compared to the global average, where sales at art fairs account for 29 percent of global art sales. The weak Japanese yen and an increase in costs have discouraged dealers from taking part in fairs, especially overseas.
Online art sales in Japan remain remarkably low, with direct gallery sales accounting for just five percent and third-party platforms contributing one percent, compared to the global averages of 20 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Another report on the Japanese art market is expected to be released between in the second half of 2025.
