Japan

To which language should you translate to localize in Japan?

“Will the Japanese dialect disappear?

In Japan, Japanese is generally used, which is also a standard language based on the Tokyo dialect. And there are dialects with different intonations and flexions, and slightly different everyday expressions depending on the region. With the spread of television, locals often talk in an urban style. So has the dialect gone? It seems different in the copy of the ad. At Cobit-19, many regions created posters to encourage them to stop returning home to prevent the spread of the infection. It was made in a dialect-like copy, like the voice of a family. Also, the traditional image of the region is alive and well. Kansai is a city of commerce, and the Kansai dialect fits nicely with the lines that make things discount. Perhaps because of the influence of the yakuza movie, the dialect of Hiroshima is often used in threatening scenes. Also, the Kyoto dialect speaks slowly and relaxes the listener. The copy used in the advertisement takes advantage of these local characteristics and gives the copy a nuance different from the standard language.”

Official language

Japanese (99.1%)

Actual languages

Japanese (99.1%), Korean (0.5%), Chinese (0.2%), Tagalog (0.1%), English (0.1%).

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Japan

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

• 130/150 localize by translating into Japanese
• 3/150 localize by translating into both Japanese and Simplified Chinese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into both Japanese and Japanese Sign Language
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Japanese, Bahasa Indonesian, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Nepali and Burmese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Japanese, Bahasa Indonesian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish, Thai, Ukrainian and French
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and French
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and French
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Japanese, Simplified Chinese and French