Sector Guide · Real Estate
English Google Maps and AI Checklist for Foreigner-Focused Real Estate Agents in Tokyo
People moving to Tokyo may ask Google Maps or AI for "an English-speaking real estate agent" near where they want to live. If your listing is in kanji only, those English searches may not match you.
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers or a licensed real estate business, and we take no part in any property deal.
Looking for an apartment? We can't help you find a home; please contact an agent directly.
Real estate ads in Japan fall under the Real Estate Brokerage Act (宅地建物取引業法) and the industry's fair-competition code for property ads (不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約).
For questions about your own ads, ask your local fair-trade council for real estate (不動産公正取引協議会) or a lawyer.
The Short Answer
Make your English facts complete and consistent:
- Which areas you cover
- What you handle (rentals, sales, or both)
- Which languages your staff work in
- How your fees are set
- How to book a first meeting
- Where your office is
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 an English-Speaking Agent
Someone moving to Tokyo may search by area and language. Example searches (written by us for illustration, not taken from any data):
- "English-speaking real estate agent near Nakameguro" on Google Maps.
- "Which agencies in Tokyo help foreigners rent an apartment in English?" in ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode.
- "Agent for expats in Setagaya with English contract support" in Gemini.
If your listing is in kanji 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 agency.
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.
- In Japanese-language local searches in Google's AI Mode, about 70% of answers referenced Google business cards, and real estate searches were among the most card-reliant. Source: GMO TECH, Japan study, August 2026 (vendor study; English not measured).
Key Takeaway
In these studies, AI answers leaned on Google profiles and businesses' own websites.
The Facts AI and Clients 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 "for Foreigners": Google doesn't allow unnecessary information or service details in the name |
| What You Handle | Google categories and services, website | Rentals, sales, property management. Pick the primary category that says what your office is, and as few extra categories as you need |
| Areas You Cover | Google service area (if you also visit clients), website | The wards and stations you actually work in. An office that customers visit can show its address and also set a service area; Google says a service area should stay within about 2 hours' drive |
| Languages | Google profile description, website | Be specific and accurate: "English-speaking staff for viewings and contract meetings" is more useful than "English OK" |
| Fees and Costs | Website | Your own fees and the usual move-in costs, stated plainly and the same as on your Japanese pages. Rents, prices and fees must not look better than they are (第32条), so show any condition right next to the figure |
| First Meeting | Website, Google booking link | How to book, online or at the office, and what to bring |
| Hours and Location | Google profile, website | The same everywhere; nearest station exit and floor |
| License Number | Website | Your real estate license number (宅地建物取引業 免許番号), shown on your English pages as on your Japanese ones, so clients can check you are licensed |
| Individual Properties | Your website or listing portals | A property can't have its own Google profile; your sales or leasing office can |
Rules for Property Ads
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed Agents Can't Exaggerate Adssource 1 | Treat English pages, posts and profile text like Japanese ones: the article is not limited to Japanese ads. | Showing anything far from the facts, or making a property or its terms look much better than they are: the law bans it. Any of that in what you say about location, size, use limits, surroundings, transport, price, rent and payment terms. |
| Some Words Need Proofsource 2 | For "best"-type and "cheap"-type words, show the supporting fact together with the word, as the code asks. | 最高 (best), 格安 (cheap), 日本一 (No.1 in Japan), 業界一, 完ぺき (perfect), 厳選 (hand-picked) and 完売 (sold out): the code bans them unless you hold documents that back them up. |
| We don't write "No.1", "best", "cheapest" or "perfect" in English either. | ||
| Who the Code Bindssource 3 | Check with your fair-trade council: the code covers internet ads and binds agents whose industry association belongs to one. | Thinking you are exempt outside the code: you are not, because the Real Estate Brokerage Act and 景品表示法 still bind you. |
| Only Real, Available Propertiessource 4 | Take a property off your English pages as soon as it is let or sold, as you do on your Japanese ones. | Bait ads (おとり広告): properties that don't exist, can't actually be rented or bought, or that you don't intend to deal in. The code bans them. |
| Property Ads Need Set Detailssource 5 | In an online ad for a specific property, show the code's set details: about you, the property, its price and terms, and transport. Show your role in the deal (取引態様: seller, agent or broker). | Advertising unfinished land or buildings before their required permits, such as building confirmation (建築確認): the law bans it. |
Sources for This Section (5)
- 宅地建物取引業法 第32条.
- 不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約 第18条.
- 不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約 第4条; 宅地建物取引業法; 景品表示法.
- 不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約 第21条.
- 不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約 第8条; 宅地建物取引業法 第33条, 第34条.
Key Takeaway
No superlatives, and no bait listings.
Rules for Your Profile, Reviews and Photos
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Google Profile Limits | Keep the description to 750 characters, about your business, not promotions or prices. Check Google's naming rules for individual practitioners before creating a profile for one agent: Google lists real estate agents as such. See our English Google profile guide. | Links in the description. |
| Posts and FAQs Stay General | Our advice: keep Google posts about your office and how you work: a short post may not have room for a property ad's required details. In FAQs and posts, use invented examples, never a real client's story: it can reveal what you learned in your work. | — |
| Reviewssource 1 | Ask every client the same way for honest feedback, with no reward, and never only the happy clients. | Rewarding reviews with gift cards, fee discounts or staff quotas: Google's rules ban it, and a rewarded review can also count as your own advertising (ステマ規制). |
| Review Repliessource 2 | Thank reviewers in general terms. | Confirming that someone was a client, or mentioning a property, an address or a move-in date. Telling anyone a secret you learned in your work without a justified reason: the law bans it for licensed agents and their staff. |
| Personal Detailssource 3 | Use only photos you took or have the rights to. | Tenants, owners or their details in photos: a photo in which a person can be identified is personal information under Japan's privacy law. Faces, nameplates (表札), mail, papers on a desk, car number plates or the unit number of an occupied flat. |
Sources for This Section (3)
- Google, contribution policy; ステマ規制 (stealth-marketing rule), in force since 2023-10-01; Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan (stealth marketing Q&A).
- 宅地建物取引業法 第45条, 第75条の3.
- Personal Information Protection Commission, general guidelines (通則編) 2-1.
Key Takeaway
No rewards for reviews, and no tenant or owner details.
How We Work With Agents
- What We Do
- We fix how your whole profile reads in English: categories, services, attributes, hours and holiday hours, and your service area if you have one.
- We write a description in English and Japanese.
- We add up to 10 of your photos with captions, with no tenant or owner details in them.
- We reply 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: areas, languages, fees, booking, what to bring.
- 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 contract explanations or legal answers. Anything about lease or sale contracts, deposits or tenants' rights comes from you and your licensed staff (宅地建物取引士).
- We never charge per inquiry or per deal. We write no property ads, and we introduce no home-seekers to agents.
- We work with Manager access to your Google profile, never your password, and we never handle tenant or owner files.
See Services for prices and terms, what Step 1 and the monthly retainer include, and the work guarantee.
Common Questions
Can We Add "English OK" to Our Google Business Name?
No. Google doesn't allow unnecessary information or service details in the name, and the name stays exactly as it is in the real world.
Say it in your description and on your website instead.
Can We Say We Are "No.1 for Foreigners" If Our Clients Say So?
We don't write it. Under the fair-competition code, "No.1"-type words need documents that back them up, and we don't use "No.1", "best" or "cheapest" at all.
Plain facts work better: the areas you cover, the languages you speak and how you work.
Should Each Property Have Its Own Google Profile?
No. Google's rules don't allow profiles for rental or for-sale properties.
Your sales or leasing office can have one; put individual properties on your website or listing portals.
Can You Promise More Inquiries From Foreign Clients?
No. Nobody can honestly promise inquiry 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 Thank a Reviewer for Choosing Their New Apartment Through Us?
Thank them, but keep it general. Never confirm in a reply that someone was a client, and never mention a property, an address or a move-in date.
General information, not legal advice.
See What AI Says About Your Agency
Send your agency name and Google Maps link. We ask ChatGPT and Google's AI two questions an English-speaking client would ask and check your listing. Free, no obligation. More: Who We Help, FAQ, and the full guide.
