Sector Guide · Language Schools
English Google Maps and AI Checklist for Language Schools in Tokyo
Newcomers may ask AI for a Japanese school for working adults near them, and English-speaking parents may search Google Maps for a kids' English program. 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 teach.
Looking for a class? We can't enroll you; please contact the school directly.
Ads for language courses in Japan fall under Japan's general advertising law (景品表示法) and, for longer paid courses, the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (特定商取引法).
For questions about your own ads or contracts, ask a lawyer.
The Consumer Affairs Agency's guide to the Act (特定商取引法ガイド) explains the rules for longer courses.
The Short Answer
Make your English facts complete and consistent:
- Which courses and levels you teach
- When classes run, online or in person
- Your fees and what each one includes
- How to book a trial lesson
- Which language each class is taught in
- 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 People Search for a Language School
Newcomers and parents may search by area, level and class time. Example searches (written by us for illustration, not taken from any data):
- "Japanese school for working adults, evening classes, near Shinjuku" in ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode.
- "Kids' English program near Futako-Tamagawa" on Google Maps.
- "Part-time Japanese course for beginners in Tokyo, taught in English" 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 Students 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 "JLPT": Google doesn't allow unnecessary information or service details in the name |
| Courses and Levels | Google services, website | Beginner to advanced, kids or adults, test-prep or conversation. Describe what a course covers, not a result. Pick the primary category that says what your school is, and as few extra categories as you need |
| Class Times and Format | Google profile, website | Days and times, online or in person, group or one-to-one |
| Teaching Language | Google profile description, website | Which classes are taught in English, in Japanese or in both. Be specific and accurate |
| Fees | Website | Tuition, joining fee, materials and trial lessons, 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 |
| Trial and Enrollment | Website, Google booking link | How to book a trial and how to enroll, in English |
| Terms | Website | Course length, how to cancel and how refunds work, in plain English |
| Hours and Location | Google profile, website | The same everywhere; nearest station exit and floor |
Rules for Claims, Fees and Courses
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Claims About Results Need Proofsource 1 | Keep reasonable evidence for claims like pass rates, score gains and "fluent in 3 months". If the Consumer Affairs Agency asks, show it within a set time, or the claim is treated as misleading. | Making a service look much better than it is: the law bans it. |
| Pass Rates and English Pages | If you publish a pass rate, make it true for the group it describes. Say who was counted and over what period: a pass rate also depends on who is counted. Treat English pages, posts and profile text like Japanese ones: the law is not limited to ads in Japanese. | — |
| We don't write pass-rate or results claims. | ||
| Fees and Offerssource 2 | Keep English and Japanese fees the same, with any condition next to the figure. | Tuition, joining fees or trial offers that look much more favorable than they are: the law bans it. Course offers that mislead about how favorable they are (有利誤認): the law bans them. The kind of offer that drew a cease-and-desist order (措置命令) in October 2025 against an English conversation school operator, over how its course offers were shown. |
| Longer Paid Courses Follow a Special Lawsource 3 | Check whether your language lessons run longer than 2 months and cost more than ¥50,000 (the law's figure, not our fee). Also check lessons that prepare for school entrance exams or support schoolwork: they are separate types under the same rule, with the same 2 months and ¥50,000. If lessons are covered, follow the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (特定商取引法) in your contracts and course ads. | — |
| Course Ads and Contractssource 4 | Ask a lawyer about your own contracts, or see the Consumer Affairs Agency's guide to these rules (特定商取引法ガイド). | Exaggerated ads for courses the Act covers: the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions bans them. |
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; Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan, 措置命令 notice (2025-10-17).
- 特定商取引法 第41条; 特定商取引法施行令 別表第4.
- 特定商取引法 第43条.
Key Takeaway
No pass-rate or results claims, and fees with their conditions.
Rules for Names, Profile and Reviews
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Japanese Schoolssource 1 | — | Calling yourself a certified school (認定日本語教育機関), using a name that could be confused with it, or using its official mark, if you are not certified under the Japanese Language Education Institutions Act: the law bans it. Writing "certified" or "accredited" in English if that is not true. |
| 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 2 | Ask every student the same way for honest feedback, with no reward: no free lessons, no discounts, no teacher quotas, and never only the happy students. 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 someone is a student, or mentioning their level, test results or visa. |
Sources for This Section (2)
- 日本語教育機関認定法 第4条, 第5条.
- 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).
Key Takeaway
No "certified" unless you are, and no rewards for reviews.
Rules for Student Photos
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Student Photossource 1 | Handle any photo in which a person can be identified as personal information: under Japan's privacy law, it is. Ask again before you reuse a photo somewhere new: the consent you got may cover only the use you asked about. | Student photos without their consent: Japan's Supreme Court has recognized a legal interest in not having your face and figure photographed without good reason. |
| Children's Photos | — | Our rule: for kids' classes, no children's photos or names without written consent from their parents, collected by the school. |
| 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 student's story in FAQs and posts. |
Sources for This Section (1)
- 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 student photos without consent, and no children's photos or names without written consent from their parents.
How We Work With Schools
- What We Do
- We keep your English profile and course facts (levels, times, how to book) clear and easy to find.
- 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 student in them who hasn't agreed, 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: courses, levels, class times, fees, trials.
- 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 pass-rate or results claims, and we don't give visa, contract or legal advice. Anything about student visas, contracts or refunds comes from you.
- We work with Manager access to your Google profile, never your password, and we never handle student files.
See Services for prices and terms, what Step 1 and the monthly retainer include, and the work guarantee.
Common Questions
Can We Say "95% of Our Students Pass the JLPT"?
We don't write it.
A pass rate is a claim about quality, which needs evidence under Japan's advertising law, and it depends on who is counted. Our rule is no pass-rate or results claims. Describe your levels, class times and how lessons work instead.
Can We Offer a Free Lesson 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 student the same way for honest feedback, with nothing in return.
Do You Help With Student Visas or Contracts?
No. We don't give visa, immigration, contract or legal advice. Anything about visas, contracts, cancellation or refunds on your pages comes from you.
Can You Promise More Students?
No. Nobody can honestly promise student 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 Use Photos From Our Kids' Classes?
Our rule: only with written consent from the children's parents, collected by the school. We never add children's names.
General information, not legal advice.
See What AI Says About Your School
Send your school name and Google Maps link. We ask ChatGPT and Google's AI two questions an English-speaking student would ask and check your listing. Free, no obligation. More: Who We Help, FAQ, and the full guide.
