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ステマ sutema
Sneaky paid promo.
What does sutema mean?
Stealth marketing: an ad dressed up as an honest opinion. Japanese users sniff it out fast, and since 2023 hiding a sponsorship is actually illegal here.
Example
この絶賛レビュー、ステマっぽくない？
This glowing review feels like a paid ad, doesn't it?
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Be careful This one carries weight. Read the meaning and the story before you say it to anyone.
The story behind sutema
ステマ entered ordinary Japanese in 2012, the year a run of scandals put the practice on the evening news: fake glowing reviews planted on restaurant listing sites, celebrity blogs quietly pushing an auction service that turned out to be rigged. Before that it was industry jargon. Afterwards everyone had an opinion.
Japan then did something unusual: in October 2023 undisclosed advertising became illegal under consumer protection law, which is why timelines are now dotted with PR labels. The downside is a permanent low hum of suspicion. Praise something with genuine enthusiasm and someone will ask whether you were paid, which is a small tax that honest fans pay for a decade of dishonest marketing.
Get sutema in your pocket
ステマ is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
