What Is a Podcast? How to Listen and What Japan Hears

What is a podcast? Audio shows you can play anytime

A podcast is an audio show distributed over the internet. Instead of airing at a fixed time like radio, a show builds up a library of episodes, and listeners can play any episode whenever they like.

At the core is a data feed called RSS. When you follow (subscribe to) a show in an app, new episodes appear in your list automatically. Most shows require no account or payment on the listener's side, so anyone with a smartphone can start right away.

How it differs from radio and YouTube

The biggest difference from radio is that you are not tied to a schedule. You don't need to tune in at broadcast time, and you can pause and pick up where you left off. In fact, many shows in Japan are radio programs that are later released as podcasts.

The difference from video is that you don't have to look at a screen. You can listen while commuting, doing chores or working out, when your eyes and hands are busy. Shows with video are becoming more common, but the basic idea is that the content works with audio alone.

• Time: listen whenever you want, starting from any episode
• Place: well suited to listening on the move or while doing something else
• Relationship: many people follow a show and keep listening episode after episode

How to listen on the main apps

Four apps are widely used in Japan. The flow is the same in all of them: find a show, follow it, choose an episode and press play.

Apple Podcasts

This app comes preinstalled on the iPhone. Search for a show by name, or browse the charts and recommendations. Once you follow a show, new episodes appear in your library. The rankings on this site are based on the Apple Podcasts Japan chart.

Spotify

Many people use Spotify for music, and it also carries podcasts. Search for a show and follow it, and new episodes will show up on your home screen and in your library. Being able to switch between music and podcasts in one app is a real convenience.

Amazon Music

The Amazon Music app also has a podcast section. It is a handy option if you want to listen on a smart speaker.

YouTube

Some shows are also published on YouTube as podcasts. Formats vary, from full video to audio shows with a still image on screen. We cover how to publish a show as video in our video podcast guide.

What genres are there?

Podcasts cover a wide range of genres: comedy and talk, news, business, education, history, arts, sports and hobbies, drama and more. There are casual chat shows hosted by comedians and personalities, shows where an expert digs deep into one subject, and daily shows that sum up the news in a few minutes.

You can browse top shows by genre from the genre list. Open the comedy or education pages, for example, to see what people are listening to in each.

Why people listen

The reasons people listen to podcasts fall roughly into these groups:

• They fit into spare moments: commutes and chores become time for learning or entertainment
• The host feels close: hearing someone's voice for long stretches builds familiarity and trust
• You can go deep: topics that short videos or articles can't cover are explored at length
• You look forward to the next one: a new episode on the same day each week turns listening into a habit

What the Japan chart looks like

Here is a picture of what is being listened to in Japan right now, based on this site's own analysis (public RSS feeds of the top 100 shows on the Apple Podcasts Japan chart, as of October 22, 2026).

By primary genre, comedy is the largest group with 31 shows, followed by society & culture with 17, education with 16 and news with 11. Shows built around laughs and talk make up a large share, while shows for learning and staying informed also have a solid presence.

Looking at who publishes them, shows from radio stations stand out. Counting by the creator name in the RSS feed, TBS RADIO has 25 shows, Nippon Broadcasting 7 and Bunka Hoso 5. Talk shows developed on radio are clearly finding listeners as podcasts too.

The shows also share some common traits:

• The median episode length (taking each show's median) is 30 minutes, with the middle half falling between 24 and 38 minutes
• 90 of the 100 shows released a new episode within the last 7 days
• The median number of episodes is 208, so many shows have been running for a long time

In short, the top of the chart is centered on shows that release episodes of around 30 minutes every week without fail. We look at length and frequency in more detail in our guide to podcast length and frequency. You can check the latest positions on the rankings.

Tips for getting started as a listener

If you are new to podcasts, try following about three shows in genres you are interested in. You can start with the latest episode, or go back to episode one to see how the show took shape. Speeding up playback a little or only listening to episodes that catch your eye is perfectly fine. Find the style that suits you.

If you want to make a show

Podcasts are not just for listening. Individuals and companies alike can start one. Our guide on how to start a podcast walks through the process from planning to distribution. If you would like help with planning, recording and editing, feel free to get in touch through podcast production inquiries.