How to Print Business Cards in Japan in 2026

Printing business cards in Japan is straightforward once you know the local rules — but almost every one of those rules differs slightly from what you're used to. The card is a different size. The paper is measured in a unit you've probably never seen. The resolution standard is higher. And the card itself carries far more social weight here than it does in most countries.

This guide walks through every decision, in order, so your meishi (名刺) comes back from the printer looking exactly the way you intended.

• Size: Japan's standard business card is 91mm × 55mm — bigger than the US 89×51mm card. Never reuse an overseas template without resizing.
• Paper: Japan measures paper in kg, not gsm. 180kg is a solid everyday choice; 220kg feels noticeably premium.
• Files: CMYK PDF, 350dpi, 3mm bleed, fonts outlined. Japan specifies 350dpi, not 300dpi.
• Bilingual: Japanese on one side, English on the other — not both crowded onto one face.
• Ordering in English: Most Japanese print sites are Japanese-only. Bilingual services let you order in English and still print and deliver inside Japan.

What size are business cards in Japan?

The Japanese standard is 91mm × 55mm, known as 四号 (yon-gō). This single fact catches out more newcomers than anything else on this page, because it is close enough to international sizes to look correct and different enough to look wrong in a card case.

Four millimetres sounds trivial. In practice, a US-size card sits visibly short inside a Japanese meishi-ire (card case) and in the card binders many Japanese professionals use to file the cards they receive. It reads as an imported card rather than a local one — a small signal, but a real one in a business culture that notices detail.

The practical rule: if your design was made abroad, rebuild it at 91×55mm rather than scaling it. Scaling distorts type and pushes elements into the trim area.

What paper weight should you choose?

Here's where Japan genuinely diverges from the rest of the world. Most countries specify paper in gsm (grams per square metre). Japan uses kg — a figure called 連量 (renryō),which is the weight of 1,000 sheets at a given base size. That means the number describes a ream, not a sheet, and you can't convert it in your head. What matters practically is the relative scale:

Weight

Feel 

If you're unsure, 180kg is the safe default — it's what most Japanese business cards feel like, so it will never seem flimsy or ostentatious. Go to 220kg when the card is doing real work for you: pitching, consulting, or any situation where the physical object is part of the impression.

Which finish should you pick?

Three finishes cover almost every business need in Japan:

• Matte — a calm, non-reflective surface. The most common choice for corporate cards, and the only one that's genuinely easy to write on. If a Japanese contact wants to note the date or context of your meeting on your card, matte is what they'll thank you for.
• Gloss — sharper contrast and more saturated colour. Good when your logo or brand palette is doing heavy lifting. Harder to write on, and fingerprints show.
• Velvet / soft-touch — a laminated finish with a suede-like feel. Reads as premium immediately on contact and pairs naturally with heavier stock.
• The conservative default is matte on 180kg. It's appropriate in essentially any Japanese business setting, which is why it's the most-ordered combination.

Should your business cards be bilingual?

If you deal with Japanese clients, suppliers, landlords, banks or government offices — yes, and it's the single highest-value upgrade you can make to a card in Japan.

A bilingual meishi does three concrete things:

1. It makes your name pronounceable. Your name rendered in katakana tells a Japanese counterpart how to actually say it. Without that, many people will avoid saying it at all.
2. It makes your company legible. Japanese staff can file, search and reference your details without transliterating anything themselves.
3. It signals commitment. A bilingual card says you're set up to operate here, not just visiting. That reads as seriousness.

How to lay out a bilingual meishi

The standard and strongly preferred approach is one language per side: Japanese on one face, English on the other. Resist the temptation to fit both onto a single side — 91×55mm is small, and a crowded card looks amateurish in a market that values restraint.

• Lead with the Japanese side when presenting to a Japanese contact — face it toward them so it's readable as you hand it over.
• Include katakana for your name on the Japanese side, alongside the company name in Japanese.
• Keep both sides visually identical — same layout logic, same colours, same logo placement. It should read as one card, not two.
• Horizontal (横型) is the safer choice for bilingual cards. Vertical (縦型) is traditional and elegant, but it constrains English typesetting considerably.
• Have the Japanese proofread by a native speaker. A machine-translated job title is worse than no Japanese at all — and job titles are exactly where automated translation tends to fail.

How do you prepare a print-ready file?

Most rejected or disappointing print jobs trace back to one of four file problems. Get these right and the rest is routine.

Two more habits that prevent avoidable reprints: keep all critical text at least 3mm inside the trim edge, and export a single print-ready PDF rather than sending a native design file, which can render differently on another machine.

How to print business cards in Japan, step by step

1. Set your canvas to 91 × 55mm plus 3mm bleed on every edge (97 × 61mm total working area).
2. Choose paper weight — 180kg as a default, 220kg for a premium feel.
3. Choose a finish — matte, gloss or velvet.
4. Decide single-sided or bilingual double-sided. If you work with Japanese counterparts, choose bilingual.
5. Design both sides, keeping layouts consistent and text inside the safety margin.
6. Export as a CMYK PDF at 350dpi with bleed and outlined fonts.
7. Upload and review the digital proof. Check kanji, katakana, phone numbers and the postal code character by character — these are the errors that survive a casual glance.
8. Choose your delivery speed and confirm. Express options are available when you're up against a deadline.

Common mistakes when printing business cards in Japan

• Reusing an overseas template at the wrong size. The most common error, and immediately visible in a Japanese card case.
• Submitting RGB files. Colours print duller than the screen showed, usually noticed only once the box arrives.
• No bleed. Produces thin white edges on any card with a coloured background.
• Machine-translated Japanese. Job titles and department names are where this fails most visibly.
• Cramming both languages onto one side instead of using both faces.
• Skipping the proof. A digital proof takes two minutes and catches the transposed digit that would otherwise cost you the whole run.
• Choosing gloss without thinking about writing. If people will annotate your card, gloss actively works against you.

Can you order business card printing in Japan in English?

Yes, though it's a narrower field than you'd expect. Japan's large online printing companies are excellent and competitively priced, but their ordering flows, help pages and customer support are almost entirely in Japanese. Browser translation gets you partway, and then tends to break down exactly where precision matters: paper specifications, file requirements and proof approval.

Bilingual services exist to close that gap. PrintNavi lets you order entirely in English. Specifications, proofing and support, while printing and delivering within Japan, with bilingual meishi layout handled for you. Support is available in both English and Japanese, so nothing gets lost when a question comes up mid-order.

Printing business cards in Japan comes down to six decisions: the size (91×55mm, always),the paper weight, the finish, whether to go bilingual, a correctly prepared file, and the quantity. Get the size and the file right and you've avoided the two mistakes that account for most disappointing print runs.

The bilingual question is the one worth thinking hardest about. In a business culture where the card exchange opens nearly every professional relationship, a well-made bilingual meishi does quiet work for you long after the meeting ends. It sits in someone's card binder, legible and correct, whenever they come looking for you.

Print your meishi with English support

PrintNavi is a bilingual online printing service in Japan. Order business cards entirely in English or Japanese, with bilingual layout handled for you and nationwide delivery.

→ Browse Business Cards   or  → WhatsApp +81-70-8579-7190