Sector Guide · International Preschools
English Google Maps and AI Checklist for International Preschools in Tokyo
English-speaking parents may ask AI for an English preschool in their area, often months before admissions. If your listing is in Japanese only, those English searches may not match you.
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers or a school, and we don't run a preschool.
Looking for a place for your child? We can't enroll anyone; please contact the school directly.
Ads for preschools in Japan fall under Japan's general advertising law (景品表示法), and some school and center names are reserved by law (学校教育法, 認定こども園法).
For questions about your own ads, your licensing status or your contracts, ask a lawyer.
The Short Answer
Make your English facts complete and consistent:
- Which ages and programs you offer
- Daily hours and term dates
- Your fees and what each one includes
- How visits and admissions work
- Which language each class uses
- Where you are
Keep every claim factual.
Your Google profile, your English pages and your Japanese pages should say the same thing.
Not sure where you stand? Get a free snapshot or see a sample snapshot.
How Parents Search for a Preschool
Parents may search by area, age and hours. Example searches (written by us for illustration, not taken from any data):
- "English-speaking preschool near Nishi-Azabu" on Google Maps.
- "Which international preschools in Setagaya take 3-year-olds?" in ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode.
- "Bilingual preschool with after-school care in Meguro" in Gemini.
If your listing is in Japanese only, with no English description, those English searches may not match you.
Key Takeaway
The answer depends on the facts the assistant can find about each school.
Why It Matters
- In one large study outside Japan, AI answers about local businesses named about 2 to 4 businesses on average. Source: BrightLocal, local AI visibility study (September 2026) and directory sources article (August 2026; same data; US, UK and Australia, not Japan).
- Business websites were the source of 42% of local AI citations in one study. Source: Same BrightLocal study as above.
- 52.3% of people in Japan aged 15 to 69 use generative AI to search. Source: CyberAgent GEO Lab, Japan survey, August 2026 (n=9,278).
Key Takeaway
If your English facts are thin, the answer may name someone else or get your details wrong.
The Facts AI and Parents Look For
| Fact | Where It Should Appear | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name | Google profile | The real-world name, in one script only. No extra words such as "English" or "Bilingual": Google doesn't allow unnecessary information or service details in the name |
| Ages and Programs | Google services, website | Ages you take, class sizes, half-day or full-day. Describe what the day includes, not a result |
| Hours and Term Dates | Google profile, website | Daily hours, holidays and term dates, the same everywhere |
| Teaching Language | Google profile description, website | Which parts of the day are in English, in Japanese or in both. Be specific and accurate |
| Fees | Website | Tuition, joining fee, materials and lunches, stated plainly and the same as on your Japanese pages. Fees must not look better than they are, so show any condition right next to the figure |
| Visits and Admissions | Website, Google booking link | How to book a visit and how admissions work, in English, and when applications open |
| Licensing Status | Website | Your status exactly as it is, for example whether you are a licensed (認可) childcare facility or not. Never imply a status you don't have |
| Location | Google profile, website | Nearest station exit, entrance and drop-off point |
Rules for Claims, Fees and Names
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Claims About Results Need Proofsource 1 | Keep reasonable evidence for claims like school admission results, test scores and "bilingual by age 5". If the Consumer Affairs Agency asks, show it within a set time, or the claim is treated as misleading. Treat English pages, posts and profile text like Japanese ones: the law is not limited to ads in Japanese. | Making a service look much better than it is: the law bans it. |
| We don't write results, admission or "No.1" claims. | ||
| Fees and Offerssource 2 | Keep English and Japanese fees the same, with any condition next to the figure. If you mention the government's free preschool scheme (幼児教育・保育の無償化), say only what applies to your school, with its conditions next to it. | Tuition, joining fees or trial days that look much more favorable than they are: the law bans it. |
| School Names Are Reservedsource 3 | If you are not a 幼稚園, prefer "preschool", the safer English word: Japan's official English translation of the Act calls a 幼稚園 a "kindergarten". Check with a lawyer before using "kindergarten". | Using the name 幼稚園, or another Article 1 school's name, if you are not a school listed in Article 1 of the School Education Act: the law reserves these names and bans anyone else from using them. Calling yourself a 認定こども園, or using a name that could be confused with it, if you are not a certified center: the law bans it. |
| License Status and Staff Titlessource 4 | — | Writing "licensed", "accredited" or "certified" in English if that is not true. Calling staff 保育士, or using a name that could be confused with it, if they are not registered staff: the law reserves the name and bans anyone else from using it. Calling staff "qualified" or "certified" in English if that is not true. |
Sources for This Section (4)
- 景品表示法 第5条第1号, 第7条第2項.
- 景品表示法 第5条第2号.
- 学校教育法 第135条; 認定こども園法 第31条; Japanese Law Translation, School Education Act.
- 児童福祉法 第18条の23.
Key Takeaway
No results or license claims you can't back up, and fees with their conditions.
Rules for Your Profile, Reviews and Photos
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Google Profile Limits | Keep the description to 750 characters, about your school, not promotions or prices. | Links in the description. See our English Google profile guide. |
| Reviewssource 1 | Ask every family the same way for honest feedback, with no reward: no discounts, no free days, no gifts, no staff quotas, and never only the happy families. Thank reviewers in general terms. | Paying for or rewarding reviews: Google's rules ban it, and a rewarded review can also count as your own advertising (ステマ規制). Confirming that a child attends, or mentioning a child at all. |
| Children's Photos and Namessource 2 | Handle any photo in which a person can be identified as personal information: under Japan's privacy law, it is. | Our rule: no children's photos or names without written consent from their parents, collected by the school. Photographing anyone without good reason: Japan's Supreme Court has recognized a legal interest in not having your face and figure photographed without good reason. |
| Photos and Stories You Use | Use only photos you took or have the rights to. Our advice: in FAQs and posts, use invented examples. | Our advice: never a real child's or family's story in FAQs and posts. |
Sources for This Section (2)
- Google, Maps contribution policy; ステマ規制 (stealth-marketing rule), in force since 2023-10-01; Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan (stealth marketing Q&A).
- Supreme Court of Japan, 2005-11-10 (最高裁 平成17年11月10日); Personal Information Protection Commission, general guidelines (通則編) 2-1.
Key Takeaway
No rewards for reviews, and no children's photos or names without written parental consent.
How We Work With Preschools
- What We Do
- We make sure the parents who find you see the right phone number, hours and admissions details, in English.
- That includes categories, services, attributes, hours and holiday hours, and a description in English and Japanese.
- It also includes up to 10 of your photos with captions, with no child in them whose parents haven't agreed in writing, and replies to your reviews, in the reviewer's language.
- With the monthly retainer, we draft one English FAQ or service page a month for your website about how you work: ages, hours, fees, visits, admissions.
- Our AI work is in English. The Japanese side is limited to your Maps listing.
- What We Don't Do
- We don't publish anything until you approve it: profile text, pages and reply templates.
- We don't write results or admission claims, and we don't give licensing, contract or legal advice. Anything about licensing, contracts or refunds comes from you.
- We work with Manager access to your Google profile, never your password, and we never handle children's or families' files.
See Services for prices and terms, what Step 1 and the monthly retainer include, and the work guarantee.
Common Questions
Can We Say "Our Graduates Get Into Top Schools"?
We don't write it.
An admission result is a claim about your program's quality, which needs evidence under Japan's advertising law. Our rule is no results or admission claims. Describe ages, hours and a typical day instead.
Can We Call Ourselves a Kindergarten?
In Japanese, only a school listed in Article 1 of the School Education Act may use the name 幼稚園 (学校教育法 第135条).
Japan's official English translation of the Act uses "kindergarten" for 幼稚園, so check with a lawyer before using the English word, and never imply a status you don't have. "Preschool" is the safer choice.
Can We Give a Discount for a Google Review?
No. Google's rules ban rewards for reviews, and a rewarded review can count as your own advertising in Japan.
Ask every family the same way for honest feedback, with nothing in return.
Can You Promise More Enrollments?
No. Nobody can honestly promise enrollment numbers or a place in AI answers.
We guarantee the work, not the result, and we report how often AI names you out of a stated number of answers. See how we measure.
Can We Post Photos of Children at Events?
Our rule: only with written consent from their parents, collected by the school. We never add children's names.
General information, not legal advice.
See What AI Says About Your Preschool
Send your school name and Google Maps link. We ask ChatGPT and Google's AI two questions an English-speaking parent would ask and check your listing. Free, no obligation. More: Who We Help, FAQ, and the full guide.
