Why Facebook is not popular in Japan?
Posted by: kirin on 
Jul 22nd, 2009 | 
Filed under: Rambling, Something Weird..., What's going on in Japan?
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It’s been over one year since Facebook was introduced to Japanese market. But it is apparent that Facebook is not popular at all in Japan, while it is very successful in most of other countries, including the U.S, not to speak of. Here’s Alexa ranking for Japanese top sites and Facebook is off top 20, and even 40 or 50.
Why Facebook is not popular in Japan? There are several reasons to be considered. But as a Japanese, I know that how most Japanese people would feel or think against the service, so it’s pretty easy for me to find the answer. |
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) But the real problem about Facebook to most of Japanese people is that we have to register with real name! (This is ironically quite opposite to the natural goodness about Facebook that is emphasized.) You may think, so what? What’s wrong with that? But here exists a big cultural difference and this is something particular among Japanese people. We would blog with nickname or panname, and normally we would not reveal real name. We would hide faces even when we upload photos on blogs. We would not speak to Youtube, which is why most Youtube videos made by Japanese people have no sound. (I’m talking about individual and personal bloggers. Company bloggers are not that shy, of course they have to promote themselves!) These would sound ridiculous, but it’s so true that you’ll see what I mean if you browse blogs in Japanese, especially when photos are uploaded, the faces are hidden with star mark or something. This being the case, how come Japanese people would be willing to register real name, real address and personal information on Facebook? I doubt. I wouldn’t say this trend is applicable to everyone in Japan, but majority of Japanese people would be like as I mentioned above.
I was surprised at first when I jumped into blogsphere in English because of so much cultural difference! You use real name, your face is on the photo or on Youtube, you speak to mp3 or mp4 and so on… I follow as you do once as I’m here.
So I forget about Japanese way and I started to show myself on Youtube or in photos and share them here in this blog. But as for my nickname “Kirin” which I’ve been using from my previous blog, I am always wondering if I should change this to my real name. There are pros and cos. But I feel weird if I change it to my real name from now on. 
Would it be OK going with Kirin?
But these days I receive emails from Facebook users to invite me to join it. Then I would be using my real name and I feel no coherence between this blog and Facebook.
It sounds really strange problem based on cultural difference. As I blog outside Japan, I didn’t have to stick to Japanese unspoken rules but I didn’t really know this difference until I started and read many other blogs by many other bloggers in the world.
What would you think I should do with this? This may give me another reason I don’t have an account at Facebook yet.
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July 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
For starters , I wouldn't change Kirin to your real name .
I'd stay away from facebook till it's privacy settings become more easy.
I don't think you need to use it : you already have a completely functional blog at tokyokawaiietc.com
Personally, I won't use it. Not ever. Google blog does nicely enough for me.
you can read about my ideas and look at my pictures , but you don't need to know my name and where I live.
The argument that on facebook you can keep your close friends and family up to date over the internet in your private area of facebook is so much BS to me.
If I have some private news I want my family or friends to know, I'll pick up the phone or leave a message on their mobile or email it.
You can find out more about it here
http://pcworld.about.com/od/security2/Can-Faceboo...
and
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-priva...
read some of the comments : interesting.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Facebook certainly requests real names but they don't and cannot enforce that policy. So if, for example, you were to set up an ID such as Karin Blogger@yahoo.com, Facebook would have no idea that this was a fictitious name and, frankly I doubt that anyone there would care.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I actually do not use my real name on anything! I always use my nickname (which is used in real life, so I don't know if that counts). I can understand being wary of anything that asks for your real name and address, however, for social networking sites like facebook you can fill in false information. On myspace, I put my nickname with a silly last name, and I only give the basics of where I live (town, state/province). I don't provide any full/real informaiton on anything, including my e-mail accounts. These sites do not check to verify and so your real information is actually not needed.
I completely understand hiding one's face! It's scary to think that someone, who may not be a good person, may recognise you on the street from a photo on the internet.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Hello Kirin,
Reading your post, I understand the reason why FB is not popular in Japan. I am new to FB too. I am registered but I did not use my real name. I used my nick name. Does not matter to me if I do not have lots of added friends there. As time goes by, I am getting lots of friend requests.
Marly
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
How interesting! I actully learned about this cultural element in my Asian studies units and you can find many scholars actually research it!
Thank you for commenting on my blog! I have actually been learning Japanese since I was 10 (so 11 years now)… I don't feel like I'm fluent yet but I think it's just the matter of being confident with my skills and being willing to make mistakes >_<
July 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
very interesting observation. had not considered the "real name" dilemma but it makes sense. I really thought it was more like mixi was already established and so popular. but, for facebook, it does not require a real name on profile (at least for English version). many people have nickname or fake name. a friend of mine has her Chinese name instead of English name because she does not want people to know who she is. maybe you can experiment with English version? if you sign up, you can add me as friend. ^_~
July 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
The non-anonymity of Facebook is more of an exception than a rule in America. The many people I know here do not use their real name anywhere else on the internet. They have blogs, post on forums, etc. all with aliases. The reason they feel they can reveal themselves on Facebook is because of its history and privacy settings. When Facebook just started becoming popular, MySpace was the biggest community. While optionally anonymous, the people there were starting to get fed up with it. Every user's page looked different, had a bunch of noises playing at the same time, and it was harder to find your friends, but any stalker could find you. Though rare, the stories of child molesters started cropping up. The MySpace stereotype emerged that everyone on it was either 13 (or acted 13) or was over 40 and interested in the 13-year-olds.
When Facebook started out, only people from college could join. Every profile was only viewable by friends and people at your own college. You needed a college email address in order to join the site, so you easily knew that the people you could see where people that lived nearby. This, along with a few other features made FB an excellent resource for students. You could write down which classes you were in and then see who else was in your class. That way you could contact anyone in your class to find out about assignments or get help with problems, etc. You could search for people at the school that had similar interests. Also, you could find out which people lived in the same dorm as you. These features combined made it easy to make friends at college. For example, I could have searched for someone in my building that liked fighting video games and I could have sent them a message inviting them up to my room to play Super Smash Brothers Melee.
The FB privacy features simultaneously made people feel much safer than MySpace. Since we could be fairly sure that the people at our college were closer to our age, it made the chances of being seduced by a 49-year-old pretending to be a 20-year-old much less likely. It also made it more likely that people we discovered and started to like were not 13. Outside of your own college, people that searched for you could usually only see your profile picture, your name, and the college you go to. If you did not accept their request to be your Facebook Friend, they would not be able to see any more than that about you. Similarly, the information available to people in your college could be limited so that non-friends would not be able to see things such as your contact information, your photos, etc. FB felt like a more mature place to be for a college crowd.
Once FB was opened up to everyone else, FB itself transformed to accommodate the new interests. It became less of a student resource and more of a general way to keep up with everyone you know.
When regions were introduced to FB, not much changed for the American college students, but the new users didn't always have the same use for FB. Especially large regions could not take advantage of privacy controls as well as college students simply because there were more people in the region and you can't tell a person's age or intent if their FB network is a large region instead of a school. Thus, Japan which, last time I checked, is treated as an entire region on FB, would not be able to use FB as efficiently as American college students.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Thank you for your opinion. Actually I am just as you are, who would pick up the phone or send email personally to family and friends. In that sense, I am not heavy user of Mixi, either. I just keep my account there for some of my friends who use it frequently. :p It's nice to hear from you, as you are one of the frequent readers of my blog.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Right, JPT. I know I could set up my account with my nickname at Facebook, but I was not sure if that makes sense to the reason I start it when most of the users use their real names…but your comment counts to me. Thank you!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 pm
It's very interesting, Miss Ia, to hear the opinion which sounds the same as most Japanese people would say. It's not only that we are shy but security is more considered in Japan. Especially for women, keeping her private info. to herself is indispensable to protect herself from crimes or menace by stalker!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
That's only my opinion, but there are many foreign services that Japanese people would not really fit into our culture. That's why I guess IKEA or Forever21 or even ebay failed in our market when they attempted to expand sales in Japan for the first time. (They are doing good in Japan now, which I guess they did some minor changes to get along with Japanese ways.)
It's a relief to hear that there are people like you belonging to Facebook.
Thank you for your comment!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Interesting…"Asian study" sounds academic. B)
How cool it is that you started to study foreign language only at the age of 10!! You can speak Indonesian, too right? How competent and useful. The skill is definitely a plus to your work and life! Keep it up!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I think Japanese version allows nickname as well. I had this strong impression that we have to register Facebook with real name, because it was one of the most emphasized points and uniqueness of the service when it was introduced in Japan last year. Not until I recieved comments from English speaking people in the world like this, including you of course, did I know that people in fact are using nick name or fake name for Facebook!! Thank you for your comment, and I followed you on twitter.
I'll add you as friend, in case I decide to join Facebook. Thanks!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Very informative background of Facebook. Thank you for your comment, I didn't know the history of Facebook and how it originally was. It sounds so cool when it was used only among college students. So I see the goodness about Facebook may not always be applicable once it was transformed to the social networking site for general people. I thought many people like to use real name on Facebook, as many bloggers use real name ( is this also a fake name?) . Thank you for sharing this, Paul!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Very informative background of Facebook. Thank you for your comment, I didn't know the history of Facebook and how it originally was. It sounds so cool when it was used only among college students. So I see the goodness about Facebook may not always be applicable once it was transformed to the social networking site for general people. I thought many people like to use real name on Facebook, as many bloggers use real name ( is this also a fake name?) . Thank you for sharing this, Paul!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:31 am
I often thought about this phenomenon a lot myself and have the same dilemma, except for me it was the other way around. I began by using my real name everywhere on the Internet, which surprised some people but also gave me something of a professional touch to my work. Recently I decided to stop using my surname so much on the internet and limit it to just my first name.
Of course, persistent people could find out my full name if they looked hard enough, and I'm sure people with the right tools could find out your name too. Once you're on the internet, you begin to leave a trail of breadcrumbs (IP addresses that can be traced to locations, odd bits of information on twitter – etc etc).
It seems futile to me to try and hide one's real name, but I think limiting the use of one's surname and especially keeping addresses and phone numbers safe is important. I personally think you should start using your real first name, at the very least. I find it hard to take bloggers seriously who use pseudonyms, but that's just me perhaps…
Also, on a side note, it's interesting that most the Japanese international students I've met sign up to Facebook with their real names. It seems coming abroad opens their mind up a bit and they try to fit in over here
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:29 am
"That's why I guess IKEA or Forever21 or even ebay failed in our market when they attempted to expand sales in Japan for the first time."
haha, when I first read this, I thought "Huh? I was there they day Forever 21 opened in Harajuku and it seemed pretty busy…" And then I saw your next sentence that said they were doing well. XD
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 am
It sounds like Facebook was a lot more useful back in the day. It would be nice if it was still a bit like that, but I prefer it (the current version) so much more than MySpace. Just the look is enough to make me like it more.
I mostly use Facebook for keeping in touch with my friends (it's faster than email, sometimes), and I don't worry about any unwanted persons seeing my profile because of my privacy settings.
Personally, I use my real name in some places, and a nickname in others. It just depends on what I'm doing. Though I guess that can make things sorta 'messy'. For example, here my name is listed as 'megan' (my real name), but on the blog I link to, my name is listed as 'em.'
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:29 am
Paul is a nickname I've had since about age 5. I moved to the USA from Europe around then. My real first name is often mispronounced. I introduce myself as Paul to people in person as well. Some of my closest friends don't know that Paul is a nickname. Since it is not my real first name, I don't worry about identity theft when I use it. Naturally, I am Paul on FB as well, but without my last name you would have trouble finding me.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 am
I am friends with a lot of Japanese exchange students at my college so I can confirm that they do in fact use their real names on FB, or at least something very similar to their names. Their last names stay the same at least.
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:30 am
That is very interesting…where did you find suck good information?
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:51 am
Just like you, my real name is often mispronounced, too. And I don't actually like to correct it everytime. Moreover, it sounds like an English word that does not have a good image.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Sometimes when the name is already taken, we have to use something else. In that way we have to use several names or nicknames according to the social networking sites, and this is complicated. "Kirin" for example is often taken already and I use "junkeet" instead, but this makes me confused with which password and nickname were for twitter and which ones were for flickr…etc. To join SNS is easy but it was better for me to think about all these things before I signed up. :p
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Some people say that I should use my real name even from now on, while most of others say it's OK going with my nickname as my blog readers have been recognizing it for a certain period and it's unnatural if I change it from now on.
That's why I am really confused and still cannot reach my conclusion.
International students from Japan maybe a little different from how they are in Japan. Also, there is different perception between young people and elder people. Young people, in one's 10s, early 20s, may be more open than 30s or 40s., but I don't know. But as long as I see blogs in Japan, most bloggers use nickname.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
This is my original thought and opinion. I just feel this way as a Japanese but there should be more Japanese people who would think this way. This is something from cultural difference, and it maybe hard to imagine for non-Japanese people. There are some foreign things and services that look weird from Japanese point of view or way of thinking. It's not easy to explain because it's from natural feeling, you know. I think same can be said to how Japanese things or services are perceived by non-Japanese people.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Well, that settles your dilemma. If you used your real name, you might not get shown the same respect you deserve from ignorant English-speakers, so anywhere online that you expect to interact with non-Japanese, you should probably use a nickname. There is no problem using a fake name online anywhere except closed communities (which FB used to be) and online stores.
There is a good reason to use a name slightly different from your real one on FB. A friend of mine, after using FB for a few years with his real name came up with this idea: he changed both his first and last name to something a bit different. His first name he changed from Greg to Reggie and he added a few letters to his last name to make it sound more like an awesome fictional character. He ended up with a more classy name. He decided to do this after he realized that his future employers might look for him on FB and keep tabs on him.
There is a famous bit of correspondence between one employer and a guy that went on sick leave and refused to provide a reason. When asked what he was sick with he said that he did not have to provide that information as part of the company policy. His boss said that would normally be true except when there is evidence that the guy is not really sick. When asked if the employer had such evidence, he sent the guy a screenshot of the guy's facebook profile, on which the guy's status message was something like, "I'm getting so trashed, screw work tomorrow." updated around maybe 1AM the night before.
Changing your name like that is a great idea for anyone not yet 21, since that is the legal drinking age in the U.S. I have read stories of cops that look through local FB photos of students not yet 21 looking for evidence that they drank at a bar. This is also what some parents might do and they will otherwise discover some activities that their kids would prefer to keep secret.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:31 am
I wish I liked my real name in English. My first name and last name both are very common name in Japan. This means there are so many people with same name as mine in Japan. In that sense, I like my nickname better anyhow… Sometimes I envy people whose names sound good both in Japanese and in English, too.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Hey, I think ポール (Paul in Japanese) sounds ridiculous. I don't know if my last name in Japanese sounds like a Japanese word but I think it sounds better. For your information, I took Japanese for a year so I can read and write Hiragana and Katakana but my vocabulary and grammer knowledge is very limited. I don't remember most of the Kanji I learned.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I too feel the same way as the Japanese people (though I'm Australian). Most of everyone I know has a face book and they ask if I have one too. When I tell them I don't I say because it is to intrusive of personal information. I never use my real name or show my face online either. I think its best to keep private on the vast internet.
I think you should continue keeping your real name and other details in life private, I think its more humble and also safe.
July 26th, 2009 at 5:02 am
ポール..does it sound ridiculous in Japanese??? Sometimes some non-Japanese people ask me how to spell their names in Japanese Kanji, but there are sounds that cannot fit into Kanji. And as you know there are many options and combinations available from Kanji.
July 26th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Thank you for your comment, Lissy. It was a surprise for me to know there are Aussie like you. I thought most of English-speaking people have no worries against opening their real name and face. Men and women maybe different, too. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
July 27th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I use my real name everywhere on the internet and always have. It was just how I started things way back at the very birth of the web so I stuck with it. I have a facebook page only to stay in touch with one friend. I don't really like it. I use twitter for business only and I blog for business and for fun. You've got an excellent blog here so there is really no need for facebook in my opinion.
July 28th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Thank you for your opinion. It's interesting to hear opinions from each individual, because the image I've got from this comment section was a bit different from how I've felt against Facebook so far. In that way, I cannot just say as an individual Japanese that Facebook is not cool in Japan, as there may be different point of view from other Japanese people. :p Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
August 15th, 2009 at 12:45 am
aaah!!!!
sorry for interrupting but cin's blog in ameba was one i said in my comment in previous post http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/2287 i tried to leave my comment but i cant cos i dont know how to. haha so surprised we both meet here ;p
back to topic:
how about twitter? is it popular in japan? korean have one similar to twitter, called http://me2DAY.net
wonder if japanese have one too
August 15th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Oh, what a coincidence! XD
Twitter is not that popular in Japan, but we have similar services.
HARU (http://haru.fm/)
mogomogo (http://mogo2.jp/top)
FC2 mini blog PIYO (http://piyo.fc2.com/)
I don't use them, though. (I'm a twitter user in English.)
October 1st, 2009 at 8:01 am
Japanese blogosphere is really very specific ….
japans place photoes with their breakfasts , dinner and so on
>Stars hide faces ….
it's really so …. but i did not pay much attention for that …
>Huge number of mobile users
it's true – there is a normal condition when number of mobile users is more that PC's one (I mean internet users in global)
let me add some more notices:
1) tooo loaded page with huge number of various widget's , images and flash at sidebar … (your blog is real exception from that point of view)
2) maybe the most interested topic is FOOD
3) big love to make some graphics with specific characters like stars, circles etc
October 14th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Kirin chan, if you already join facebook, please add me as your friend'"). add me at mmindarwati@yahoo.com. ok dear??
October 14th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Yeah, I've opened my account on facebook because I had some invitations from friends. I tried to add you from facebook, but hope it works. I am still new to it, and I don't know how to use it well. ^_^;
February 15th, 2010 at 7:07 am
I am not sure how much this has changed, but a number of my Japanese friends have joined facebook. Though most still use Mixi.
March 6th, 2010 at 12:53 am
i guess because i keep quite a tight control over WHO i add (my privacy settings means that my profile is pretty much on lock down and i have to approve everything everywhere) i don't mind if my face isn't blocked out or if i use my real name with friends. the only time i REAAAAAAAAAAALLLLY hate it is when someone else who I don't know/ like gets hold of my picture through a friend's profile because they might not have as tight a control over what goes on on there. that's why i don't really upload stuff anymore and most of it has been taken off…
haha. i guess i'd just be better off without all of these silly websites and just emailed the person directly! (or got a job so i might have credit)
haha.
March 6th, 2010 at 12:54 am
facebook has many issues and generally isn't one of the best networking sites i've been on. generally they all have something wrong with them but…*shrugs* i guess i only use them because i need up-to-date contact information for my friends that i don't get to see very often these days.
it's one of the easiest ways to get in contact besides using your mobile (haha i hardly ever have credit!
) because you could always get someone else such as another friend or their sibling to tell them.
in the end it all gets pointlessly complicated though
. facebook is generally really complicated and it has so many weird rules and unclear settings etc. it isn't something that i like using very much though if it means i get to keep in contact with certain people…it's a means to an end that i have to use.
btw i had to split this comment up so it's the FIRST part of 2 comments…the one above is the second part. sorry. :S
March 7th, 2010 at 7:42 am
Sorry for the inconvenience of splitting the comments, which is sometimes required by the system especially when your comment is too long. I had to open my facebook account because of several invitations from friends, but I still don't get how to use it wisely. Once I accepted unknown people, I started to receive invitation emails everyday…I totally don't like facebook.
March 19th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
I live in Europe and I have a facebook but I don't use my real name. Many western bloggers that i know don't use their real names too.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:56 am
Oh that's good to hear. I feel better. :p
May 19th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
l still don’t understand about the culture difference that Japanese hide their faces when they upload their photo.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I know. I learned this Japanese culture first because I'm Japanese. Then I decided to blog in English to the non-Japanese people, I am totally confued with this difference. As I spent more time browsing non-Japanese people's blogs and websites, how much I was surprised at how often people show their face and real name on internet. This is not common in Japan at all. I don't know why, but we may think it safe to keep anonymous while we are not famous but when we want to speak our opinions. I think many Japanese people are scared of personal attack or envy by the readers. It's complicated cultural difference.
May 25th, 2010 at 11:44 am
That's very interesting! Do you have an update of this post?
June 18th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Oh I see. Now I know why my Japanese friend is not loging in her facebook for a long time since she back to Japan
June 18th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
What about twitter? I think twitter is easier for us. Nowadays many of us like to use it. IMO, twitter is definitely more popular than facebook in Japan.
June 28th, 2010 at 10:19 am
wow this is interesting.. I didn’t know that the culture would be so different.. no wonder I never encounter any Japanese blog in english.. well until now
by the way nice blog keep on sharing
June 29th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Do you want to read English blogs written by Japanese people?
Check out this post (http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/2470) => Blog Mura.
August 25th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Your English is rather good. I thought japanese schools do not really pay much attention to english so i was rather surprised when you wrote so well.hahahaha
August 27th, 2010 at 2:47 am
Thank you. Well, it's true our English education has not stressed much towards speaking and listening, but when it comes to grammar, reading and writing, we study a lot. Many of us are not good at speaking or listening in English, but if you give us a pen and a paper, I think we can do it better!
As for me, I studied English in the U.S for 1 year at a college, and I also have some work experience that needed communication in English with foreign customers. Those experiences made it possible to write this blog. haha! ^ ^
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 am
hi, I live in Japan now and I have a mixi account too. I totally agree there is a big cultural difference and too many unspoken rules in Japanese cyberspace. No faces seen or faces with a star over it and all the other stuff you've mentioned. (But you do not have to use your real name in Facebook actually.) Another difference I'd like to talk about is the way Japanese people make comments. Everyone's so polite. It's understood that one shouldn't make a comment unless it's a 'nice' comment. Of course, Japanese or not, we're all taught to be nice and to say nice things about others and I'm not talking about badmouthing like you see so frequently in Youtube…I mean Japanese people won't normally express their disagreement or dislike, so every comment after the other is so similar and so 'nice'. Unlike Mixi, the comments you see will have more depth…some people agreeing, others disagreeing, more others voicing their own opinions and also you see a lot of casual, witty comments and jokes.
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:21 am
I totally agree with what you point out about how we leave comments. Basically we don't like to debate. http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/4900 So why do we bother to post an opinion to state disagreement? But I didn't know how we exchange opinions so well. I had an account on mixi but I didn't use it at all and so I quit it. I'm now thinking of re-opening the account as Kirin, with link to this blog. Thank you for sharing your comment with us!
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