eMarketer looks at online advertising in Japan, one of the world's most "connected" markets.

As in many countries with an experienced online population, and borne out by recent data from Video Research Ltd., internet usage in Japan is higher than usage of all other types of media besides television.

This robust usage begs a look at how online ad spending measures up. The simple answer is that online ad spending is growing very strongly in yen terms. According to Nomura Research Institute, total spending will grow by 35 percent this year and will continue to increase through 2010.

Mobile ad revenue is also keeping pace with online advertising in general, although it has dipped down somewhat from the boom year of 2004.

Still, when considering the amount of time spent on the internet compared to other media, online ad spending still trails spending for advertising in other media both in total dollars and as a percentage of overall media ad spending.

It is worth noting, however, that online ad spending growth is higher than overall ad spending growth.

However, total ad spending growth in Japan is less than half that in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Neighboring China is the bright spot of growth in the region.

James Belcher is a senior analyst at eMarketer. This article is drawn from eMarketer's recent report, Japan Online. Contact eMarketer via email.