Doing Business Online in Japan: A Guide for English-Speaking Companies

This version is written for English-speaking businesses serving people in Japan. A translated homepage is not a market plan: the pages, search language and contact routes need to match the audience and the support the business can actually provide.

Start with audience and operations

Useful localisation starts with specific operating choices rather than assumptions about a whole culture:

• Service scope. State which locations, customers and services the Japanese pages cover.
• Search language. Research the terms the intended audience uses instead of translating an English keyword list word for word.
• Useful detail. Give visitors the service area, price basis, process and next step they need to decide whether to contact you.
• Real contact coverage. Publish an address only when it represents the operation accurately, and offer phone or email hours the team can meet.

The bilingual site question

You have, broadly, three options:

Machine assistance can be part of the process, but published copy still needs accurate meaning, useful detail and review by someone who understands the audience and the business. Google's guidance focuses on helpful, reliable, people-first content rather than whether automation was used. See Google's guidance on automated and AI-assisted content.

SEO in Japan: what actually moves the needle

• Target Japanese keywords, not translated English keywords. Search behaviour is genuinely different. A keyword tool that supports Japanese (Ahrefs, Semrush, Google's keyword planner in JP mode) is non-negotiable.
• Use reciprocal language links and hreflang only between genuinely equivalent pages. A Japanese page for local customers may not be the counterpart of an English page for overseas partners.
• Choose the domain for the operation. A .com can serve Japan. JPRS says JP domains are for organisations or individuals with an address in Japan; a general-use .jp requires an address in Japan where notices can be received, while organisational domains such as .co.jp have additional eligibility rules. Check the JPRS registration FAQ before buying.
• Measure the Japanese pages separately. Track which pages and contact routes help the intended audience complete useful actions.

The things foreign businesses commonly get wrong

• Writing for an undefined “Japanese market” instead of a location, service and customer group.
• Translating marketing copy verbatim, including idioms that don't translate.
• Publishing a phone number without stating when and in which language it is answered.
• Forms that ask for furigana (the reading of kanji names) only on the English-facing site, or ask the wrong way round.
• Sending forms or automated email without testing authentication, delivery, reply handling and Japanese text rendering.

A practical setup we'd recommend for most

1. One site with EN/JP language switcher, hreflang done properly.
2. An address and contact availability that accurately describe real operations.
3. A contact route answered in Japanese during clearly stated hours.
4. A Google Business Profile only when the operation is eligible, using real business details.
5. Accurate translations reviewed for the intended audience and kept current with the source pages.

Useful related reading

Two related pieces in this series go into specifics: Why your Japanese business needs an English website . Channel-specific LINE guidance remains in the companion article, LINE or website? If you're ready to talk about your own setup, our contact page has both English and Japanese routes.