View source for Yahoo Japan

{{Short description|Japanese web portal}}
{{About|the Japanese web portal|the defunct company|Yahoo! Japan Corporation}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Yahoo! Japan
| logo = Yahoo Japan Logo.svg
| logo_upright = 1.1
| type = [[Web portal]]
| language = [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| locations = 2 ([[Nagoya]] and [[Osaka]])
| founder = {{Unbulleted list|SoftBank (now [[SoftBank Group]])|[[Yahoo! Inc. (1995–2017)|Yahoo! Inc.]]}}
| parent = {{Unbulleted list|[[Yahoo! Japan Corporation]] (1996–2023)|[[LY Corporation]] (2023–present)}}
| url = {{URL|https://www.yahoo.co.jp/|yahoo.co.jp}}
| commercial = Yes
| registration = Optional
| launch_date = April 1, 1996
| current_status = Online
}}

'''{{Nihongo|Yahoo! Japan|ヤフー|Yafū}}''' is a Japanese [[web portal]]. It was the most-visited website in Japan in October 2018, and among the top 50 worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/04/24/reference/yahoo-japan-same-name-very-different-company/|title=Yahoo Japan: Same name, very different company|first=Minoru|last=Matsutani|date=24 April 2012|work=The Japan Times |access-date=6 August 2016|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027232933/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/04/24/reference/yahoo-japan-same-name-very-different-company|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan: most popular websites and online services by monthly active users 2018 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1071192/japan-most-popular-websites-online-services-by-monthly-active-users/ |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, Yahoo! Japan was the 4th most visited website in Japan and contains many services outside search, including [[Yahoo Auctions|auctions]], weather, and mapping services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reidy |first=Gearoid |date=2021-07-07 |title=The Yahoo brand is still worth ¥178.5 billion to Masayoshi Son |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/07/07/business/corporate-business/yahoo-brand-masayoshi-son/ |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}</ref> In terms of use as a [[search engine]], however, it has never surpassed Google. The company is the second largest search engine used in Japan as of July 2021, with a market share of 19% behind Google's 77%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/japan/#monthly-201001-202107|title=Search Engine Market Share by Company – Japan – Jan, 2010 – Aug, 2021|access-date=2021-08-03|archive-date=2023-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609081924/https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/japan/#monthly-201001-202107|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho.jpg|thumb|Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho]]
Yahoo! and [[SoftBank]] formed Yahoo! Japan in January 1996 to establish the first [[web portal]] in Japan. Yahoo! Japan went live on April 1, 1996.<ref>Matsutani, Minoru, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120424i1.html Yahoo Japan: Same name, very different company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203093328/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120424i1.html |date=2012-12-03 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 24 April 2012, p. 3.</ref> Yahoo! Japan was listed on [[JASDAQ Securities Exchange|JASDAQ]] in November 1997. In January 2000, it became the first stock in Japanese history to trade for more than ¥100 million per share. The company was listed on the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]] in October 2003 and became part of the [[Nikkei 225]] [[stock market index]] in 2005.

Yahoo! Japan acquired the [[naming rights]] for the [[Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome|Fukuoka Dome]] in 2005, renaming the dome as the "Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome". The "Yahoo Dome" is the home field for the [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]], a professional [[baseball]] team, majorly owned by SoftBank.

In 2017, [[Verizon|Verizon Communications]] completed its acquisition of Yahoo's core internet business for approximately $4.83 billion in cash. Yahoo's operating business, which included popular products like [[Yahoo Mail]], [[Yahoo Finance]], and [[Tumblr]], was merged with Verizon's existing media subsidiary [[AOL]] to form a new subsidiary called Oath (later renamed [[Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present)|Verizon Media]]).

However, the acquisition did not include Yahoo's stakes in [[Alibaba Group]], Yahoo Japan, or other minority investments. These assets remained under Yahoo, which was renamed [[Altaba]] and became a publicly traded investment company. Importantly, Yahoo Japan, which had operated as a separate joint venture, was not affected by Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo's core business. Yahoo Japan continued to use the Yahoo brand and operate independently.

The deal marked the end of Yahoo's run as an independent company after over 20 years. Despite the acquisition, Yahoo Japan remained a separate entity, maintaining its own branding and operations distinct from Verizon's ownership of Yahoo's U.S. business.

Yahoo Japan's services are not available in the [[European Economic Area]] and the UK since 6 April 2022, due to "excessive regulatory burden".<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/14538476|title= Yahoo Japan website will be unavailable to most of Europe|date= 2022-02-02|work= Asahi Shimbun|archiveurl= https://archive.today/20220203121232/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14538476|archivedate= 2022-02-03|access-date= 2022-06-09|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22911965/yahoo-japan-europe-offline-regulations-compliance-gdpr|title=Yahoo Japan is going dark in Europe|date=2022-02-01|work=The Verge|first=Sam|last=Byford|access-date=2022-06-09|archive-date=2023-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605201754/https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22911965/yahoo-japan-europe-offline-regulations-compliance-gdpr|url-status=live}}</ref>

Yahoo Japan, whose partnership with Google on search engine technology is set to expire in 2025, is considering switching to South Korean company [[Naver]]'s search engine technology.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Yahoo-Japan-weighs-ending-search-engine-deal-with-Google|title= Yahoo Japan weighs ending search engine deal with Google|work= Nikkei Asia|date= 2023-07-01|access-date= 2023-12-12|archive-date= 2023-12-12|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231212063700/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Yahoo-Japan-weighs-ending-search-engine-deal-with-Google|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Design===
Yahoo! Japan continues to use a site design similar to the one used internationally prior to 2007, as well as the red Yahoo logo that was used by the international Yahoo brand before 2013. The company has maintained a consistent look and feel over the years, even as the international Yahoo brand has evolved.

== Search engine ==
Since 2010, Yahoo! Japan's search engine has been based on Google's search technology. In exchange, Google receives user activity data from Yahoo! Japan's various products.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alabaster |first1=Jay |date=2010-09-26 |title=Yahoo Japan to use Google search technology |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/yahoo-japan-to-use-google_n_660351.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307220905/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/yahoo-japan-to-use-google_n_660351.html |archive-date=2016-03-07 |access-date=29 September 2015 |publisher=Huffington Post}}</ref>

The Yahoo! Japan search engine was a directory-type search engine, similar to Yahoo! in the United States. A crawler-type search engine was used as well, and as the popularity of the crawler-type search engine gradually increased, after October 3, 2005, Yahoo! Japan began utilizing only the crawler-type engine. On June 29, 2017, Yahoo! Japan announced that the directory-based search engine "Yahoo! Category", which had been in operation since its establishment, would be abolished on March 29, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=「Yahoo！カテゴリ」終了へ 「役割終えた」 |url=https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/1706/29/news079.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922103654/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/1706/29/news079.html |archive-date=2022-09-22 |access-date=2019-05-27 |website=ITmedia ビジネスオンライン |language=ja}}</ref>

As a crawler-type search engine, Yahoo! Japan initially used technology from the Japanese company [[Goo (search engine)|Goo]], which used Google's technology. The company later switched to using Yahoo Search Technology (YST), developed by Yahoo! in the US. In addition to serving as a standard search engine, Yahoo! Japan partnered with [[Twitter]] to provide real-time search for tweets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=株式会社インプレス |date=2011-06-14 |title=Yahoo! JAPANがTwitterと戦略提携、ツイートのリアルタイム検索を提供開始 |url=http://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/453040.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418174806/https://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/453040.html |archive-date=2023-04-18 |access-date=2019-05-27 |publisher=INTERNET Watch |language=ja}}</ref> It also receives data feeds from partner companies; [[Cookpad]] and [[Naver (corporation)|Naver]] information is displayed in search results. Yahoo! Search Custom Search was discontinued on March 31, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=サービス終了のお知らせ |url=https://thanks.yahoo.co.jp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721170427/https://geocities.yahoo.co.jp/ |archive-date=2018-07-21 |access-date=2019-05-27 |website=thanks.yahoo.co.jp}}</ref>

==Services==
Yahoo! Japan currently offers various web-based services and apps for its customers, including the following:
* [[Ymobile]]: {{nihongo|Ymobile Corporation|ワイモバイル株式会社}}, stylized Y!mobile, is a subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company [[SoftBank Group|SoftBank Group Corporation]] that provides [[Mobile telephony|mobile telecommunications]] and [[ADSL]] services. The current CEO of the company is Ken Miyauchi. It was formed in 2014 through the merger of Willcom and eAccess, and uses the Y! moniker brand from Yahoo! Japan, which is partly owned by SoftBank.
* Yahoo! Japan Mail: maintains the classic look of [[Yahoo! Mail]], but remains a separate service operated in Japan. Another notable change is the 10 GB storage limit, in contrast to Yahoo! Mail's 1 TB of storage and its former unlimited-storage offering.
* {{nihongo|Yahoo! Japan Auctions|ヤフオク！}}: Japan's largest Internet auction service. Previously known as Yahoo! Auction and Yafuoku.
* Yahoo! Japan T-Point: A rewards program that allows users to earn and redeem points for goods or cash.
* Yahoo! Premium: A paid service allowing users to obtain certain benefits, including the ability to bid on certain auction listings, and various premium features with Yahoo! Wallet (which can be used in conjunction with Japan Net Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, and Rakuten Bank) and Yahoo! points.

Other Yahoo! Japan services include or have included Yahoo! Japan Bookstore, Yahoo! Japan News, Yahoo! Japan [[Yahoo! GeoCities|GeoCities]] (discontinued in March 2019),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/geocities-dies-in-march-2019-and-with-it-a-piece-of-internet-history/|title=GeoCities dies in March 2019, and with it a piece of internet history|date=2018-10-02|work=CNET|access-date=2018-10-09|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119215940/https://www.cnet.com/news/geocities-dies-in-march-2019-and-with-it-a-piece-of-internet-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Yahoo! Japan Toto (a sports lottery site), [[:ja:GYAO!|Yahoo! Japan GyaO]] (a video on-demand service, discontinued in March 2023), Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Roko (a mapping and review service), Yahoo! Box (a [[cloud storage service]]), [[Mobage|Yahoo! Mobage]] (a social networking service), Yahoo! Wisdom Bag (similar to [[Yahoo! Answers]]), and Yahoo! Browser (an android{{endash}}based web browser).

From April 6, 2022, the home page blocked users from the EEA and the UK, apparently due to the [[General Data Protection Regulation]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Onaya |first1=Yasuyuki |title=Yahoo Japan website will be unavailable to most of Europe |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14538476 |access-date=19 April 2022 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |date=February 2, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922101028/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14538476 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some subsidiary services such as Yahoo! JAPAN Mail remained functional, although limited.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Sky ja767a yahoo japan.jpg|A Yahoo! JAPAN-branded [[Boeing 767]] operated by [[Skymark Airlines]] at [[Osaka International Airport]] in 2000
Fukuoka Yahoo!Japan Dome.JPG|The [[Fukuoka Dome|Fukuoka Yahoo! JAPAN Dome]], home of the [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]] baseball team
Yahoo! Japan's neon sign at Roppongi.jpg|Yahoo! JAPAN [[neon sign]] in [[Roppongi]], Tokyo
Less than iPad. (6447310531).jpg|Yahoo! JAPAN website on a [[Sony Tablet S]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Comparison of web search engines]]
* [[List of search engines]]
* [[Search engine]]
* [[Timeline of web search engines]]
* [[Yahoo! Japan Search Awards]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.yahoo.co.jp/ Yahoo! Japan] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Portal|Companies|Internet
}}

{{LY Corporation}}
{{SoftBank}}
{{Naver}}
{{Nikkei 225}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Internet properties established in 1996]]
[[Category:Japanese brands]]
[[Category:Japanese entertainment websites]]
[[Category:Japanese-language websites]]
[[Category:Liberal media in Japan]]
[[Category:Mass media companies based in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Naver Corporation]]
[[Category:SoftBank Group]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies based in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Video on demand services]]
[[Category:Yahoo! international|Japan]]
[[Category:Z Holdings]]