Microsoft Gets A Slight Name Change In Japan

It’s not a drastic change, so don’t freak out. In The Land of the Rising Sun, the current and official name of Microsoft is “Microsoft Co., Ltd.” That doesn’t sound very Japanese.

On February 1, 2011, the company will change its name to “Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.” According to Yasuyuki Higuchi, president of Microsoft Co., Ltd. Japan, the reason for the change is that Microsoft has been operating in Japan for nearly a quarter of a century. Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the company in Japan.

According to Higuchi, the reason why “Japan” is going to be officially added to the corporate name is so that consumers can understand that the company has roots in Japan.

The company will also move and concentrate its corporate headquarters to Tokyo’s Shinagawa.

Rebranding the company to “Microsoft Japan” as that’s already how it is referred to — even by Microsoft on Higuchi’s profile page

Microsoft has found tremendous success in Japan with its Windows operating system. It’s Xbox video game platform has traditionally had a much harder time gaining a following.

マイクロソフトが社名変更を発表 – 来年2月1日付で「日本マイクロソフト」 [マイコミジャーナル]