Insights · Authority in Japan
Links in Japan: what a press release actually costs, what Google's policy rules out, and where durable links come from
Foreign companies arrive in Japan with two beliefs about links: that the Japanese web is closed to outsiders, and that a local agency has a list. The first is half true and the second is where the trouble starts. Here is what is public, what is ruled out, and what has worked for us.
Published 2 September 2026. Prices from PR TIMES's pricing page and policy wording from Google Search Central's spam policies, both confirmed 2 September 2026. The three sources are SuzuLabo's experience, stated as such.
What is ruled out, in Google's words
Start with the boundary, because the Japanese market has as many link sellers as any other and their sales copy is in a language you cannot read. Google's spam policy defines link spam as "the practice of creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings" and lists, as its first example, "buying or selling links for ranking purposes", which it says includes "exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links", "exchanging goods or services for links" and "sending someone a product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link" (Google Search Central, spam policies, confirmed 2 September 2026).
Two consequences. A Japanese "link package", however it is described, is inside that definition. And a paid placement in Japanese media is fine as advertising and as a source of readers, but the link it carries should be marked as such; the policy does not object to paid content, it objects to paid content passing itself off as an endorsement.
What a press release costs, from the published price list
The press-release route is the one most foreign companies can use on day one, because the largest distribution service publishes its prices and accepts companies after a screening that needs little more than a corporate site.
| PR TIMES plan (published prices, excluding tax) | Price | Notes from the pricing page |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-per-release (default on sign-up) | 30,000 yen per release | All features included on every plan. Company screening takes about one business day and needs a corporate website. |
| Flat-rate, monthly contract | 80,000 yen per month | Up to 30 releases a month; 40,000 yen extra for the 31st onward. |
| Flat-rate, six-month contract | 75,000 yen per month | Same cap. Annual contracts are quoted from a lower monthly figure. |
| Optional: release writing | 50,000 yen per release | If you have no Japanese writer. |
PR TIMES, "料金プラン" (pricing), confirmed 2 September 2026. Prices change; check the page before budgeting. We have no commercial relationship with PR TIMES.
What you get for the fee is a page on the service's own site, distribution to registered media contacts, and republication on partner media. Whether that turns into coverage depends on the release. Japanese trade press pick up product launches with a Japanese-market angle (pricing in yen, a Japanese partner, a Japanese customer) far more readily than a translated global announcement. The link from the release itself is a modest signal; the coverage it can trigger is the point.
Where durable Japanese links come from
- Distributors, resellers and integrators. If you sell through Japanese partners, each has a partner page or a product page that should link to you. This is the most under-used source we see, because nobody at headquarters thinks of it as SEO.
- Trade media in your category. Japanese vertical media accept contributed articles more often than their English counterparts, and a Japanese-language byline from a foreign vendor is still unusual enough to be read. This needs a Japanese writer; it does not need a link budget.
- A number about Japan that nobody else publishes. Our own English article on Japanese search engines earns its links because it splits the share data by device and explains why published figures disagree. The same logic works in Japanese: measure something in your category, publish it with the method, and Japanese writers will cite it because they have nothing else to cite.
What is missing from that list is anything that can be bought by the unit. That is not idealism; it is what the policy above says, and what we have seen hold up.
The order that works for a foreign company
- Partner pages first. Ask every Japanese partner for a link from the page that already mentions you. Free, relevant, and usually done in a week.
- One press release with a Japanese angle when there is something to announce, priced as above. Not a monthly habit until you have a Japanese reader who can write them.
- One piece of data about Japan in your category, published in Japanese with the method shown. This is a content project, not a link project, and it is the one that compounds.
- Trade media contributions once the first three have given you something to point to.
If an agency proposes a fourth thing, ask which of Google's listed examples it falls outside. A clear answer is the test.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it harder to get links in Japan than elsewhere?
Different rather than harder. Japanese media rely heavily on press-release feeds, partner links are under-used, and contributed articles are more welcome than in some English markets. The closed part is language: most of this needs a Japanese writer.
Are paid press releases against Google's policy?
Distribution fees are not link buying. The policy targets links exchanged for money or goods as endorsements. A press release is a disclosure channel; use it for announcements, not as a link package.
How much should we budget for links in Japan?
The only published, fixed cost is the press-release fee, currently 30,000 yen per release on the largest service. The rest is people's time, which is where the rest of a Japan SEO budget goes too: a Japanese writer for releases and contributed articles, and someone to ask partners.
Do we need Japanese links, or do global links count?
Both count. Japanese-language links from relevant Japanese sites are the ones that establish the Japanese pages as part of the Japanese web; global authority helps but does not substitute.
What about directories?
Category directories and review platforms are worth a listing where they are real destinations for buyers. They are not a link strategy on their own.
Can SuzuLabo get links for us?
We can write and place the Japanese content that earns them: releases with a Japanese angle, data articles, contributed pieces. We do not sell links, and we will say so if a plan is really a purchase in disguise.
If you want the first two steps scoped
Send your site and a list of your Japanese partners, if any. We will reply in writing with which partner links to ask for, whether you have something worth a release yet, and a quote for the Japanese writing if you need it. That reply is free.