Japanese press releases share commonalities with English ones, but there are notable differences. The main purpose of a press release remains the same, which is to share the truth in a clear and concise manner. Content aside, here is the standard format of a Japanese press release:
Title
Titles should be clear and concise and can be translated within 80 Japanese characters.
Sub-title
Sub-titles are directly under the title and should be a short part of the most important information of the press release.
Images
Images are critical in Japanese press releases as media representatives rely heavily on them in judging newsworthiness. The Japanese media often uses the images in press releases for promotional videos, and generally, the higher quality and the more photogenic the image is, the higher chance the media will pick it up. Images may be placed immediately before the introduction or after depending on the image and the context you would like to use them in (example: using an image after describing a product).
Introduction
Introductions should be a brief summary of the news that is being delivered. Think who, what, when, where, why, and how when constructing this initial paragraph. The first sentence should introduce the entity (company, organization, etc.) with the following format or similar:
Company name (Address: City, State/Province/Prefecture, Country, CEO: CEO’s name)
Body Paragraph 1 with Header
The paragraph following the introduction should provide details of the product, service, event, etc. of the press release.
Body Paragraph 2 with Header
The second paragraph should provide background information on why the product, service, event, etc. came to be. This is also an opportune time to include statements from representatives.
Body Paragraph 3 with Header
The third paragraph should briefly explain activities regarding the product, service, event, etc. in the near future.
Boilerplate
Like English press releases, boilerplates should be a brief summarization of the entity of the press release. This usually consists of the founding date, company philosophy/practices, etc.
Contact
The last part of the press release must include the contact information of PR representatives. The following format is commonly used:
(Contact name, email address, phone number)
Please see below for visual reference:
