The SaaS Source: June 2025
This month’s roundup covers the latest innovations and developments from Japan’s SaaS industry, including SaaS award wins, cloud tech leadership changes and new data on generative AI costs in Japan’s enterprise sector.
Japanese Enterprises Spend Millions on Generative AI Integration
ZDNet Japan reported (in Japanese), that a recent survey by Exa Enterprise AI reveals that large, traditional Japanese companies are investing heavily in generative AI, with in-house development averaging ¥31.65 million and SaaS-based solutions costing ¥14.45 million annually. Conducted in May 2025 among 410 professionals from companies with 300+ employees and 30+ years of history, the study found that despite significant investments, more than 66% reported low or unmeasured ROI for both development paths.
In-house projects often face implementation hurdles, with 71% admitting some initiatives never reached practical use. SaaS tools saw broader usage but similar ROI challenges. Adoption typically took 6.1 months, with higher ROI correlating to quicker implementation and use of multiple tools, averaging 7.9 in high-performing companies. Most popular functions included document summarization, meeting transcription, chatbots and programming support.
YuLife App Named Top 10 Rookie SaaS in Japan
YuLife Japan announced that its employee wellness app, YuLife, has been selected as one of the Top 10 Rookie of the Year winners in the ITreview Best Software in Japan 2025 awards, according to PR Times (in Japanese). Chosen from approximately 13,000 business-oriented SaaS products, the recognition highlights new or rebranded services released in Japan since April 2023. Operated by ITreview, the annual award evaluates user satisfaction, number of reviews and engagement metrics. YuLife stands out for its gamified approach to encouraging healthy behaviors in the workplace, earning strong praise from corporate users and contributing to its high placement in this year’s rankings.
SHANON MARKETING PLATFORM Named Top 100 SaaS in Japan
PR Times reported (in Japanese) that Shanon Inc. announced that its marketing automation tool, SHANON MARKETING PLATFORM, has been selected for the ITreview Best Software in Japan 2025 list, which highlights the top 100 SaaS and software solutions in Japan based on business user reviews. Hosted by IT product review site ITreview, the annual ranking recognizes platforms with outstanding user satisfaction and visibility, especially those highly rated over the past year. Shanon offers a full suite of cloud-based marketing solutions that combine digital and offline strategies covering events, seminars, CMS and ad tech. Its tools are widely adopted across industries, including finance, IT, manufacturing and the public sector.
Podobas Acquires 5% Stake in Cloud POS Leader Smaregi
According to KTLA, Podobas Global Investments has acquired a 5.08% stake in Smaregi Inc. (4431.T), a top Japanese provider of cloud-based POS and back-office solutions for retail and food service. The investment signals Podobas’s long-term support for Smaregi, which is known for its modular SaaS architecture, customer satisfaction and steady ARR growth. Founder Voytek Podobas praised Smaregi’s strong leadership, product quality and scalable model, citing its potential to become Japan’s digital infrastructure for online and offline commerce. Smaregi welcomed the investment, reaffirming its commitment to customer-centric innovation.
