This post is a response to JapanProbe’s article about Facebook’s recent Japanese GUI translation and privacy issues which will hinder it’s penetration rate in Japan.

A Japanese friend of mine, whose English level is higher than most, but not conversationally fluent, has been on Facebook for a while, doing her best in the native English GUI. When the Japanese translation came in, she checked it out but quickly reverted to the original, claiming the “weird” Japanese phrasing made it even harder to use. That’s something to think about.

As for the Mixi vs. Facebook in Japan debate:
Yes, a keitai interface is mandatory and more important than PC interface.
Yes, the predominantly English-speaking userbase will scare off non-speaking Japanese.
Yes, mixi’s invite-only policy makes them feel safer.

But there are some other factors which were not mentioned in JapanProbe’s article:

Another safety/anonymity factor is Google. I’ve never seen a Mixi user profile pop up on a Google search, but a Facebook profile will show on the first page for most people with an account if you search for a full name in quotes.

The Facebook Newsfeed will be seen as way too nosy for most Japanese to handle. Again, this is a feature Mixi doesn’t have, and I doubt many Japanese will find it appealing. However, Mixi’s “atoashi” (footprint) feature, which shows a log of who has viewed your profile, is an odd exception to it’s privacy-friendly feel.

A final factor that will turn the Japanese off to Facebook are the applications, a ‘feature’ that Mixi does not have. On Mixi, everyone’s profile has the same features in the same place. There’s no hunt involved when looking for someone’s info/diary/pics/etc.

Not so with Facebook since the advent of applications.　Applications make profile layouts unpredictable and hinder useability. On many Facebook profiles I’m left stumped as to whether I should post on the FunWall, MegaWall, UberMultimediaWall, or (heaven forbid) the default Wall. No such problem with Mixi, and the Japanese will notice this.

Another problem with applications is they create a new type of spam that is unique to Facebook: Application Invite Spam. This will be seen as even more of a nuisance to the Japanese than it is to American users (who are just happy it’s not gone all Myspace on us, yet).

Basically, if Facebook can’t do everything faster, cleaner, and more portable than Mixi, it’ll never make it anywhere in Japan outside the circles of Japanese who were brought in via their foreign friends.

Outisde that niche, Facebook has as much appeal to the average Japanese as Mixi does to the average American.