Best domain extension for Japan?

.jp .co.jp .com

[David_M]

Just wondering if anyone has seen a survey on customer attitudes towards domain extensions in Japan. (.jp .co.jp .ne.jp or .com)

For example, which domain extension makes you feel more comfortable with the company behind it?

[bill]

Nothing official, but I try to make a point of checking the URLs posted on advertisements on the trains I ride every day. I also check billboards and other posted fliers. I'm surprised that even with the easing of restrictions on the .jp second level domains that a lot of people are using .com or sticking with the old .co.jp domains. I'm also seeing a lot of random .cc, .tv and other country domains being used here.

.com is still one of the most recognized domains in Japan. Almost everybody knows the value of that. What I find odd is the use of non-Japan domains on a lot of advertising.

I'm going to have to take closer note of the numbers of each domain I see.

[David_M]

Yeah, I've seen lots of companies using all sorts of extensions too.
But what I'm looking for is actual consumer feelings towards the extensions.

[LifeinAsia]

Nothing official, and my experience relates to Korea not Japan, and from a few years ago. But I think most people regarded sites with .co.kr extensions as purely local players trying to target the Korean market. Those with .com domains had more of a "global" feeling. (There was also a minor level of nationalism mentality who felt that .co.kr domains showed more national pride, while .com domains were imperial sellouts.) Many companies have both .com & .co.kr (as we do), some showing different content on each. We have the same content, but use .co.kr to flag Korean as the default language to display, just as we also registered the .jp domain to use to flag the default language as Japanese.

Those with .cc, .tv, and others were viewed as bit players who came too late to grab decent .com real estate and/or are off-shore because they're doing something illegal. The impression is that the company/site hasn't been around very long, nor is it likely to last very long.

[Webwork]

Interesting. A parallel discussion is going on in the Domain Forum.

[webmasterworld.com...]

Feel free to weigh in with any thoughts.

[bill]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld LifeinAsia!

I wonder whether the Korean market parallels the Japanese market in cases like this. From what we've heard from our members residing in Korea there is a very unique mentality brewing there, particularly concerning the Internet and online culture. In general I get the impression that the Korean market is quite a bit more nationalistic and aware of such issues.

In Japan I don't get the same feeling of national fervor when it comes to domains. I'm guessing that a lot of that stems from the arguably poor way that JPNIC handled the .jp names all along. They made the bureaucracy/red-tape and price so unattractive compared to other domains, for so long, that a lot of people just gave up on them. There's certainly no stigma for using a .com in Japan.

I would rank the domains in Japan like this:

1. .co.jp
   
2. .com
   
3. .jp

.co.jp is still the most difficult to obtain. They are limited to one name per company and you have to be incorporated in Japan. Although incorporation in Japan is now easier than it was even 5 years ago it's still a bit of effort. People expect companies that have this domain to be a Japanese company (or at least a company with offices in Japan). Even the Japanese version of IE is set to default to add www + domain name + .co.jp in the Address bar when you hit Ctrl + Enter. This is probably the best recognized extension. It conveys establishment.

.com is quite popular in Japan. Japan was #2 only to the US in terms of online population for many years. Starting from the mid-90s onward you began to hear the Japanese on the street talking about .com-this and .com-that. It became part of their vocabulary. Also, as companies were limited to only one .co.jp name, larger companies with many brands and needs for multiple domains often took on .com names. And there are plenty of Japanese keyword .com names still available.

.jp was the latecomer to the party. During the Sunrise period of opening this second level name all trademark holders and businesses with .co.jp names were allowed to obtain the same name with the .jp extension. Some corporations have gone with this shorter name. However the general public haven't caught on to the buying frenzy with .jp as they do with the .com names for one major reason...cost. A .com name costs about ten times less than a .jp name.

[David_M]

A very non-scientific survey- asking a few Japanese people I know.

Q: Does the domain extension matter to you when buying something or going to a site online?

A: No

Q: Do you feel more confortable buying online from a .co.jp or .jp vs. a .com, .net, .info etc..

A: No (but most have only bought 1 or 2 things online, most people in japan are still in the research online, buy offline stage of ecommerce)

Q: If you see an offline advertisement and want to go to the site, do you use the domain extension?

A: No, I enter the company or product name in a search engine.