The following is the address format summary for Japan:
| Generic field name | Japan-specific name | Requirements | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address lines (住所) | Address lines (住所) | First line is required. Additional lines are optional. | Up to five address lines can be provided. This field needs to contain all address info besides administrative area and postal code. |
| Sub-locality (地域の下位区分) | N/A | Not used | |
| Locality (地域区分) | City (市区町村) | Not used | Prior to March 2018, this field was required. Any locality information now goes in address lines. |
| Administrative area (行政区域) | Prefecture (都道府県) | Required | |
| Postal code (郵便番号) | Postal code (郵便番号) | Required |
A language is associated with each address. For example, "ja" is used when the address is written with Kanji/Kana, or either "ja-Latn" or "en" when the address is written with Latin script.
Examples of how to include locality
Any data that was listed in the locality (地域区分) field before March 2018 has automatically been added to the address lines.
Examples in Kanji/Kana
The following examples show how the March 2018 change affects addresses written in Kanji/Kana.
The following address can be structured in multiple ways:
〒106-0032 東京都港区六本木６丁目１０−１
The pre-March 2018 address format required the locality field and used the following format:
Address line 1: 六本木６丁目１０−１ Locality: 港区 Administrative area: 東京都 Postal code: 106-0032 Language: ja
Now that the locality field isn't used, the address can be provided in one of the following formats:
Example 1
Address line 1: 港区六本木６丁目１０−１ Administrative area: 東京都 Postal code: 106-0032 Language: ja
Example 2
Address line 1: 港区 Address line 2: 六本木６丁目１０−１ Administrative area: 東京都 Postal code: 106-0032 Language: ja
When reading back addresses in Japan that were previously entered with the pre-March 2018 format in "ja" language, Business Profile returns the format used in Example 2. Example 2 shows how all address lines are shifted down by one line and the locality is introduced as a new first line.
Examples in Latin script
The following examples show how the March 2018 change affects addresses written in Latin script.
The following address can be structured in multiple ways:
6 Chome-10-1 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo 106-0032
The pre-March 2018 address format required the locality field and used the following format:
Address line 1: 6 Chome-10-1 Roppongi Locality: Minato Administrative area: Tokyo Postal code: 106-0032 Language: en
Now that the locality field isn't used, the address could be provided in one of the following formats:
Example 3
Address line 1: 6 Chome-10-1 Roppongi, Minato Administrative area: Tokyo Postal code: 106-0032 Language: en
Example 4
Address line 1: 6 Chome-10-1 Roppongi Address line 2: Minato Administrative area: Tokyo Postal code: 106-0032 Language: en
When reading back addresses in Japan that were previously entered with the pre-March 2018 format in "en" language, Business Profile returns the format used in Example 4.