Sell to Japan: Website Translation & Languages Guide
Languages, market data and the right technical SEO strategy for selling into Japan with a WordPress site.
Which languages does the Japan market expect?
Japan's web audience is primarily served in Japanese. World-class e-commerce market where English-only sites struggle badly; Japanese localization (with formality) is essential. Serving these languages on real, indexable URLs is the baseline for ranking in local search results.
What URL & hreflang strategy fits Japan?
For most sites: keep one domain, serve each language in a subdirectory, and add region-qualified hreflang where offers are country-specific. Example for Japan: hreflang="ja-jp" on localized pricing pages, plain hreflang="ja" elsewhere.
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ja-jp" href="https://example.com/ja/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />
Practical checklist for entering Japan
- Translate the market-entry set first: homepage, top products, pricing, contact and legal pages in Japanese.
- Show prices in JPY where possible — language plus local currency is what makes a site feel domestic.
- Run per-market keyword checks: never assume your English keywords translate into how locals actually search.
- Watch Search Console impressions from this country before and after launch — that delta is your localization ROI.
City guides in Japan
Frequently asked questions
What languages should my website support for Japan?
Start with Japanese. With roughly 84% of Japan's ~124M people online, the addressable web audience is about 104.2 million.
Do I need a local domain (.jp ccTLD) for Japan?
Usually not. Google recommends language subdirectories (yoursite.com/ja/) with hreflang region targeting for most businesses — they inherit your domain authority and cost nothing extra. A ccTLD makes sense only with a dedicated local team and budget.
How do I target Japan specifically rather than the whole language?
Use region-qualified hreflang (e.g. ja-jp) on pages with country-specific prices or offers, while keeping a generic language version as the default for other speakers of the language.
What does it cost to localize for the Japan market?
Machine translation at wholesale API rates costs single-digit dollars per language for a typical site. The real localization budget goes to currency display, local payment methods and (for regulated industries) legal review.
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