Producing Materials for Use in Japan
v2.0 (2006.07.20)
T. Tuttle

http://www.paccess.com

Creating promotional or other materials for a foreign market like Japan can be time-consuming and expensive. It's well worth the effort to do it perfectly the first time. The optimal format for materials will vary with purpose and target audience, but there are some generalities that apply to trade-show handouts, on-screen presentations, and product brochures alike. Here are some ideas on getting the most out of any materials created for a Japanese audience:

Language and Translation

Use Japanese!

English is fine – even common – in graphics-heavy "image" pieces, but it’s not the right language for text-based informative materials. General-purpose materials in English will probably not be read. If it’s important enough to offer to Japanese customers, it’s important enough to put into Japanese.

Rewrite original English materials with the Japanese audience in mind

Don't just translate; write for the audience. Don't assume the reader is familiar with the companies, locales, people or processes mentioned in materials you created for the home market.

Use metric measures

Convert all Imperial measures to metric measures. Be careful when using translators; some will leave the numbers and units as they are, simply using the Japanese words for “miles”, “gallons”, and so on. Your safest bet is to specify translation of measures into metric and then double-check the translator's calculations.

Use professional translators

Quality varies widely; different translators have different strengths. Knowledge of the field, not just the languages, is a requisite for professional work. Ask around for recommendations. Request a draft text, and have a third party proofread it before committing it to print or tossing it up online.

Retain rights to text and electronic files

Some translators will insist on holding rights to the finished text, making you contract with them again for revisions. Don't let them. With the electronic text in hand you can choose your contractor for future revisions and uses.

Format and Presentation

Use A4 or other Japanese paper sizes, not letter or legal sizes

Paper size is a common problem with materials designed outside of Japan, especially in the US. American sizes may not fit Japanese folders, envelopes, or briefcases. US-sized materials can also be much more expensive to mail within Japan, falling a couple centimeters over regulation size for normal mail. Japan uses A4, B5 and other international paper sizes. So should any documents you create for Japan.

Binder formats differ too

The US-style three-ring binder is not common in Japan. There is an ISO-standard two-ring binder, typically used for archiving. General-purpose loose-leaf paper is typically a 30-hole A4 format or a 26-hole B5 format.

Use high-quality presentation

Brochures and other presentation pieces in Japan demand attractive design, printing and paper. Textured or other expensive surfaces can make a good impression. Cheap materials won’t impress readers with your thriftiness.

If you have to use photocopies for a low-cost or quick handout, make them as clean as possible. When gathering pages, paper clips are less offensive than staples. If you do have to staple, throw out any copies with gnarled staples.

Don't staple business cards to materials

Do not staple business cards to materials, or otherwise use staples, tape, glue, and so on in unattractive ways. Materials should be smooth and clean. Folders can be made with inside cutouts to accept business cards. Otherwise, attach business cards neatly with a paper clip.

Be sure shipping protects the materials from crushed corners and other damage

Once you've made expensive materials, be sure they're packed safely for shipping. Crushed corners are bad. Water damage is unacceptable.

Give your own contact information some thought

If listing an office outside Japan as a contact, consider how you’ll handle calls, faxes, and email in Japanese. You might not be prepared to handle these – but at the same time, a company name with no contact information doesn't invite confidence.

Avoid 1-800 or other toll-free numbers; these normally can't be accessed from overseas. Also avoid the "555-ABC-WORD"-style phone numbers that utilize keypad letters, common in the US. Your Japanese customers may not be familiar with that type of number, and won't likely have the letters printed on their phone keypads.

Don't force incompatible contact information formats

If you have any sort of order or reply form in the materials, don't use boxes or other formats that specify formats for postal codes, phone numbers and other data that are compatible only with your home market. The number of digits in a Japanese phone number, for example, varies by region. Nothing angers customers like being told that "the system" won't accept the format of their data.

When specifically requesting information from Japanese customers, indicate "prefecture" instead of "state". Don't ask for "street"; Japanese addresses don't use street names. Use a format that allows fairly free input: the format of a Japanese address can vary widely with locale.

If you're requesting input in romaji (as the Roman alphabet is called in Japan), be flexible in the order of elements. Preferred order of address elements differs by country, and Japan is one that orders elements from largest (country and postal code), to smallest (apartment/room number, followed by recipient name last). A Japanese customer using the Roman alphabet to send you an address may switch to the "foreign" order, or may not. Be prepared for either.

Expect blank spaces too: Tokyo, for example, is both a city and the equivalent of a prefecture, so a respondent faced with both a "city" line and "prefecture" line might leave one blank.

These guidelines are especially important online. An electronic shopping or registration form that only accepts a U.S.-style order of address elements or 10-digit phone numbers will fail with Japanese users.

Keep electronic characters simple

Specifically, watch for "smart" quotes and apostrophes (the curly, not straight, ones) and other "upper ASCII" characters in electronic files, especially HTML. Your Japanese audience will likely have its browsers set to one of several Japanese double-byte encoding schemes by default; "smart" quotes and other unusual characters can render as gibberish. Software other than web browsers, such as PDF viewers, may be similarly affected.