Netflix and other streamers are so popular in Japan that subscription fees are pressuring the yen

• Netflix, Disney+ and other overseas streaming services are so popular in Japan that it’s weighing on the yen, Barclays said. 
• The trend was the main driver in 2022 of Japan’s largest services account deficit in 20 years. 
• “This ‘digital deficit’ appears to reflect a structural change in the behavior of consumers and businesses.” 

Japanese consumers watching Netflix or listening to music on international streaming platforms need to pay for those pastimes, and Barclays says that outflow is weighing on the yen. 

An increase in payments to overseas tech companies for access to video, music and other entertainment streaming platforms was the key driver in 2022 of Japan logging its largest services account deficit in 20 years, Barclays said in a recent research report.