Japanese copywriting. How to approach this international content creation effectively.

Companies looking to expand their footprint in Asia will almost certainly consider the viability of the Japanese market. It’s easy to see why: with a population of 125.7million and a position as one of the world’s leading economies, it’s a lucrative opportunity – on paper at least.

In reality, the Japanese market can be an incredibly difficult one for foreign business to enter. Just look at the difficulty that Microsoft’s Xbox has faced in a country that is generally accepting of video gaming.

There are a couple of reasons that foreign brands may find it more difficult to access Japanese consumers:

• A general preference for domestically produced goods and services
• A lower level of English proficiency, resulting in a reliance on Japanese-language content
• A market that already offers many powerful, native, brand experiences

These factors mean that, for any company looking to break into Japan, Japanese copywriting services are a must.

Why use a copywriter, and where to start

As with all copywriting tasks, Japanese copywriters will need to be able to emotionally engage audiences and make their business’ products or services relevant to the challenges Japanese audiences face in their daily lives. This, of course, requires intimate knowledge of both Japanese culture and the company’s offerings. Of course, few companies employ full-time, in-house Japanese copywriters that are capable of doing this.

That’s where professional copywriting services come in. High quality copywriting suppliers will have in-house Japanese copywriters with expertise in various subject matters, who can help bring life to international products. In order for them to do this however, some key information is required.

• Formality: While there are, of course, different formality registers in English, things don’t change quite as substantially as they do in Japanese. For Japanese markets, brands will need to specify a more distinct formality level so that copywriters can ensure that all content is offering the right kind of experience to the audience.
• What to do with loan words: In Japanese, loan words are often used provided in the katakana phonetic writing system. This means that Japanese audiences will be able to read them easily, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will understand what is being said – business will need to decide how best to convey the specifics of their offerings.
• On a similar note, while loan words can be considered cool and exciting in the Japanese markets, with katakana’s sharp angles only adding to that, using too many of them will undoubtedly put people off. It’s important to strike the right blend – talk with the Japanese copywriter to agree on which words should be preserved in katakana, and which can be translated into more native Japanese.