How to Earn App Store Reviews from Japanese Users

Japanese App Store ratings skew lower than US ratings, and the path to a strong rating runs through different mechanics than in the West. This article covers when to prompt, how to respond, and what to do when ratings drop.

For broader listing strategy, see the Japanese ASO complete guide.

Why Japanese Ratings Skew Lower

Two reasons that compound:

1. Japanese users are reluctant to give 5 stars. A satisfied JP user often gives 4. The cultural norm is that 5 stars implies "perfect" — and very few products are perfect.

2. Frustration goes straight to 1 star. When something breaks or annoys, JP users skip 2–3 and go to 1, often with a detailed complaint. There's no middle ground.

The combined effect: a JP rating is bimodal (lots of 4s and 1s, fewer 2s and 3s) compared to the US distribution which is more spread out.

Don't benchmark JP ratings against US

A 4.4 in Japan is a hit. A 4.0 is solid. A 3.5 is acceptable. A 3.0 is concerning. A 2.5 is broken.

In the US, a 4.4 is mediocre and a 4.7 is the bar. Don't apply US benchmarks to JP listings.

When to Prompt for a Review

The standard SKStoreReviewRequest (iOS) and In-App Review API (Android) work in Japan. The trigger logic matters more in Japan than in the US — JP users will rate you 1 star if you prompt at the wrong moment.

Good moments to prompt

After a successful, satisfying action. Completing a workout, finishing a level, saving an important file, achieving a streak milestone.
After 3+ days of consistent use. Not on day 1 — the user hasn't formed an opinion yet.
After resolving a support issue. If a user contacted support and you helped them, that's a moment of goodwill.

Bad moments to prompt

Mid-flow. Interrupting a task to ask for a review is intrusive.
After an error. Even if recovery succeeded, the user is still in an error mindset.
On first launch. They have nothing to evaluate.
More than once in 365 days per user. Apple limits this; respect it.

The conservative rule: prompt at most once per major version, after a positive interaction, and only after meaningful usage.

The Pre-Prompt Pattern

Many JP apps use a custom modal before triggering the system review prompt. The custom modal is dismissable without affecting your rating; the system prompt isn't.

Pattern:

[Custom modal, before system prompt] 「Habitlyを楽しんでいただけていますか？」 [はい] [改善点を教えてください]

If "はい" → trigger SKStoreReviewRequest If "改善点" → open feedback form

This filters out users who'd give 1–2 stars before they reach the system prompt. The "feedback" branch lets dissatisfied users vent privately, often turning what would be a public 1-star into a fixable bug report.

This pattern is widely used and Apple has not flagged it. It's accepted practice.

Responding to Reviews

Responding to JP reviews is more important than responding to US reviews. Other JP users read your responses before installing — your responses are part of your listing's perceived quality.

Three response types

Type 1: Positive review response Brief, warm, thanking the user.

ご利用いただきありがとうございます。〇〇機能を気に入っていただけて嬉しく思います。今後もより使いやすいアプリを目指して改善を続けます。 Habitly チーム

Type 2: Negative review response (bug) Acknowledge, apologize, explain, follow up.

ご不便をおかけして申し訳ございません。ご指摘の問題は次回アップデートで修正する予定です。詳細につきましては support@example.com までご連絡いただけますと幸いです。早急に改善いたしますので、しばらくお待ちください。 Habitly チーム

Type 3: Negative review response (feature request) Acknowledge, validate, indicate openness.

貴重なご意見をいただきありがとうございます。〇〇機能のご要望、確かに承りました。開発チームで検討させていただき、今後のアップデートに反映できるよう努めてまいります。 Habitly チーム

Response style notes

Use polite-neutral or honorific. Casual responses to negative reviews look defensive.
Sign off with the team name (「〇〇チーム」 or 「〇〇サポートチーム」), not a personal name. Personal names feel weird in JP review responses.
Don't argue with the user, even when they're factually wrong. Apologize for the inconvenience and explain.
Don't ask the user to update their rating. It's against Apple's guidelines and JP users find it pushy.

Response timing

Reply within 48 hours for negative reviews; within a week for positive ones. Faster reduces the time the unanswered complaint sits visible to other users.

Recovering from a Bad Rating Period

If a release introduces bugs and the rating drops, the recovery path:

Ship a fix release fast. Days, not weeks.
Respond to every 1–2 star review with a "fixed in next version" message.
Trigger the review prompt for users on the new version, after a positive in-app moment.
Use App Store Connect to reset summary rating (Apple allows resetting ratings at major version release; new ratings replace old).

Resetting ratings is a single-shot tool. Use it when a major release fundamentally changes the app or when you've recovered from a bad period and want a clean slate.

Encouraging Reviews Without Prompting Inside the App

Outside the in-app prompt, things you can do:

In your support email confirmation. "もしご満足いただけましたら、App Storeでの評価もお願いいたします" — soft, optional.
In a release-notes update. "皆様のフィードバックをお待ちしています" — sets the expectation that feedback is welcomed.
In an in-app newsletter or post-release modal. Once per major release, after the user has used the new feature.

What not to do:

Email the user with a direct review request. Many JP users find this pushy.
Offer rewards for reviews. Against Apple guidelines and erodes trust.
Ask in marketing campaigns. Public asks for reviews look desperate.

Review Mining for Product Insight

Reviews are also product feedback. A monthly review of JP reviews, in Japanese, surfaces:

Recurring bug reports that telemetry didn't catch.
Feature requests that don't surface elsewhere.
UX confusion about specific features.
Wording problems ("〇〇という言い方が分かりにくい").

For a 50K-DAU app, expect 50–200 JP reviews/month. Read them all. Tag and aggregate. The aggregate signal is one of your best product feedback sources, especially for cultural fit issues.

Reviews on Google Play

Most of the above applies. Differences:

Play Store distribution skews slightly higher than App Store for the same app (~0.2–0.3 points typically), partly because Play has lower-friction prompts.
Play allows responding with longer text (up to 4096 chars). Don't go long; the same brief response style works.
Play exposes the response publicly the same way; readability matters.
Play has better tooling for filtering by version, making it easier to see if a release introduced regressions.

Run review response on both stores in parallel.

A Self-Check on Your Current Review Hygiene

Every JP review in the last 30 days has a response.
Every response is in Japanese, not auto-translated.
Negative review responses acknowledge, don't argue.
Review prompt is triggered after positive moments, not arbitrary timers.
Pre-prompt modal exists if the app has any volatility in user satisfaction.
Reviews are read monthly for product signal.

Where to Go Next

We can run JP review-response operations on a retainer — written in native Japanese, with response time SLAs. Contact us for review-response support.