Audible Marks 10 Years Bringing Premium Audio Storytelling to Japan

Audible celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its service for Japan on June 25 with a stellar event attended by more than 200 publishers, creators, performers, agencies, employees and leaders, including Audible CEO Bob Carrigan and CFO and Growth Officer Cynthia Chu.

Over the past decade, Audible has introduced the pleasure of audio storytelling to Japanese listeners, and continued to grow excitement for it by bringing cherished Japanese authors to audio for the first time, such as Haruki Murakami, and adapting blockbuster franchises like the Marvel's Wastelanders series. We’ve also acquired high-profile works like Asako Yuzuki’s Butter, which won the British Book Awards 2025 debut fiction category, and Masuji Ibuse’s Black Rain, releasing in late July and narrated by film star Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception). And customers are delighted to find their favorite “light novels,” that is short, fast-paced novels with illustrations, adapted for audio, including global hits like Spy x Family, Sword Art Online, and Naruse wa Tenka wo Tou Iku, which won the 2024 Japan Booksellers’ Prize.

To help meet the growing demand for audio content in Japan, Audible launched our “All You Can Listen” model in early 2022, then followed it up with a memorable campaign featuring an adorable bulldog. Since the launch, we’ve seen a more than 600% surge in listening hours, with impressive year-over-year listening hour growth of more than 40% for three consecutive years. Audible membership has more than doubled in that time, and continues to grow by double-digit percentages each year, making it clear Audible has become the premier destination for immersive audio storytelling in Japan.

The anniversary celebration was held at Kanda Myojin Shrine, which was founded 1,300 years ago and is considered by locals to be especially auspicious for success in business. Also, the shrine is located in Akihabara, a Tokyo neighborhood that’s central to otaku (geek) culture’s love of anime and technology, making it the ideal place to honor a decade at the crossroads of tradition, storytelling and innovation.

Shima Osaka, Audible’s country manager for Japan, said in her opening remarks, “My mission has been to introduce a new dimension to Japanese daily life — the joy of listening to Audible — and hopefully make people's lives a little better through this experience.”

After a video of highlights from the last ten years featuring some of the country’s top authors and performers, attendees took part in the traditional Japanese ceremony of kagami biraki, where guests use wooden mallets to break open the mirrored lid of a decorated sake barrel, then share the sake, symbolizing harmony, good fortune and unity among those gathered. Guests also took home gifts including Japanese crafts like kimono bags and wooden sake cups.

Carrigan expressed gratitude to Audible’s publishing partners, creators, agencies and performers, saying, “Audio storytelling has the power to change lives, as I know you’ve been able to see. I look forward to all of you continuing on this journey with us as we look ahead to the next decade and beyond.”