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Decoding Japan: Navigating Japan's Market Adoption

Updated: Jun 16

By Priscilla Knoble, Senior Director, International Strategy & Product Management, Digital Media BU (Creative Cloud, Document Cloud) at Adobe

Japan’s remarkable transformation from post-war 1945 to becoming one of the world’s most advanced and prosperous nations is nothing short of extraordinary. Having been born and raised in Japan, and having spent much of my career focused on international software development, I’ve had a front-row seat to this amazing country’s evolution.


I’m also a quilter. Quilters often cut pieces of fabric—of all colors, patterns, and shapes—and stitch them together to create something new and beautiful. I think of the world as a patchwork quilt. I absolutely love the diversity of countries and cultures we live among. While we might describe the global landscape as a “quilt,” it’s the individual pieces—the unique cultures and stories—that make it meaningful.


The same metaphor applies to global business. On the surface, there may appear to be a uniform “business quilt,” with similarities like global supply chains, multilingual teams, and interconnected economies. But when you look more closely—at the individual “fabric pieces”—you begin to see the deeper, culturally distinct stories within countries, regions, and/or even further delineated to states, and prefectures.


Before we dive into how to develop software for the Japanese market, it’s helpful to consider different levels of software internationalization. This framework shows how companies adapt (or don’t) their products for international users:

Levels of Internationalization

Level 1: “One Size Fits All”

The product is developed for the origin country (e.g., English UI for an American multinational corporation). It may support basic international fonts or text if your computer OS or device supports these, but there's no specific investment in cultural or language localization within the product. The software company believes there is benefit for customers in other countries and that they will use the software regardless of having no specific language/cultural support within the product.


Level 2: “One Size Fits All PLUS”

This version adds localization or translation of the UI/UX. Features and workflows remain unchanged from the original; only the surface-level language has been adapted.


Level 3: “Cultural Adaptation”

Here, companies invest time and money to understand a specific market. They create features or workflows tailored to the local language, culture, and industry. This is a deeper commitment that typically requires long-term investment.


Level 4: “Fully Culturalized/Custom”

This is distinct, locally developed software, intended for one market only. The product reflects a deep cultural and language integration designed solely for the domestic customer base.

Today, most large multinational corporations operate somewhere between Levels 1 and 2, with occasional forays into Level 3. However, with the rise of mobile apps and ubiquitous digital experiences over the last 10–15 years, more companies are beginning to invest meaningfully in Level 3. And with the emergence of AI, generative AI, and Agentic AI, the landscape is changing again.

At first glance, doing business in Japan might seem like entering any other global market. But if you believe your product has a real chance in Japan, it's worth spending the time to study the cultural "patchwork pieces" that make up this unique country. The beauty and subtlety of Japanese culture—the people, the language, and the systems—demand close attention. Below are some key areas to understand when developing and selling software in Japan.

Key Considerations for Success in Japan

PEOPLE

Hire the right team. Not only should they have native-level Japanese skills, but they should also be culturally fluent—ideally having lived and worked in Japan for a significant period. This includes roles like product management, QA leadership, and engineering leadership.


MARKET UNDERSTANDING

Go beyond TAM (Total Addressable Market) or TPM (Total Potential Market). Conduct in-depth local research into industry competition, typography and language needs, legal regulations, industry associations, and government requirements. Digging below the surface can also uncover norms that are unpublicized, but critical to success.


RELATIONSHIPS

Success in Japan requires more than great software—it requires trust and relationship-building.

  • Introductions: Cold outreach is rarely effective. Trusted introductions through intermediaries are essential.

  • Long-Term Commitment: Business relationships are expected to last years, not just for the duration of a deal.

  • Face-to-Face Communication: In-person meetings are still key. Multiple meetings are often necessary to build trust before a contract is signed.

  • Loyalty: Japanese firms value long-term loyalty. Once a relationship is formed, it often persists—even through hard times or better alternatives. This applies to customer relationships and employees alike.

  • Sales Cycles: These are often lengthy and require thorough documentation. Enterprise clients may request extensive customization. While digital tools are growing, contracts still frequently require stamps (Hanko) and signatures.


WORKFLOWS & PROCESSES

If your product integrates with other systems or workflows, these may differ significantly in Japan. Investigate technical requirements, common platforms, and industry-specific standards.


QUALITY EXPECTATIONS & CUSTOMER SUPPORT

QUALITY:

Japanese consumers have high standards for quality, including in software. Pay close attention to bug fixes and feature modification requests (FMRs). Regular updates and reliability matter.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT:

Clear, prompt, and long-term product support is expected. Build in multiple support channels with fast response times.

SOFTWARE-SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS

LANGUAGE: TEXT, TYPOGRAPHY & FONTS

Fully supporting Japanese is incredibly nuanced and complex. Hire experts to get this right. Consider:

  1. Full Japanese UI/UX translation with accepted fonts

  2. Inclusive of, but not limited to correct punctuation, spacing, and line-breaking rules

  3. Support for multiple typefaces and weights (Mincho, Gothic, Round Gothic, etc.), including full kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji support


UX DESIGN

  1. Navigation and Layout: Japanese apps can be more information-dense than Western ones and layouts and interfaces often appear busy.

  2. Defaults: Set local defaults—paper size, fonts, measurements, date/time formats (including Japanese era years), etc.

  3. Tone and Style: Should the UI be more formal for business users? Cute and colorful for consumers?

  4. Visual Aesthetic: Use color schemes and designs that match local preferences.

  5. Imagery: Avoid visuals that could be offensive, misleading, or culturally out of place.


FEATURES

  1. Culturalization-Driven Features

    • Text orientation (horizontal, vertical)

    • Ruby text, warichu, kenten, kinsoku-shori, and more

    • Character-based page grids in publishing: Font, orientation, character size, character spacing, line spacing, characters per line, lines per frame, columns per frame. Originally done on paper, this must be supported digitally in publishing software.


  2. Local Payment Options

    • Include support for options like PayPay, LINE Pay, Rakuten Pay, etc.


  3. Social Integrations

    • Support or integrate with widely used Japanese platforms to boost usability and adoption.

In Conclusion

Successfully developing and selling software in Japan is a significant achievement. It requires careful attention to cultural nuance, technical requirements, and relationship-building. But the payoff is real: when done well, the loyalty, quality expectations, and long-term customer relationships in Japan can drive sustainable growth and impact.


The more effort you put into building a quality product that aligns with Japan’s cultural and industry norms, the more likely you are to see enduring success.



 
 
 

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