Technical Writing in Japan

Keys to producing user-friendly manuals for the Japanese market

In today’s Japanese market, winning the customer’s trust in one’s company and products requires placing ever more attention to after-sales service. For instance, the corporate image is often determined by the quality and reliability of the after-sales service when problems occur after buying a product. With a wide variety of products to choose from, helpful and comprehensive operation manuals are particularly important as an aspect of after-sales service. This article highlights points that should be considered when producing printed operation manuals for the Japanese market. In addition, it provides concrete examples to illustrate these points.

The proper form of manuals for home appliances

In Japan, instruction manuals are defined as “an important means of conveying procedures for the correct, safe use of products to consumers, including information required to use products properly, to maintain them correctly, and to secure user safety” (From the “Handbook for preventing accidents resulting from misuse of consumer products” published by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation)…