For Japan-exclusive content, you’re going to need a Japanese iTunes account. Sometimes, there are things that are not available in our own store. I have two iTunes accounts, an American one and a Japanese one. You don’t have to know Japanese or live in Japan to make a Japanese iTunes account! I’ve made a visual guide to help those that want to make one and you don’t need a credit card to do it. Totally free!
Why do I want one?
Why would you want to make a Japanese iTunes account? I can think of a few reasons. First, maybe you want an app that is only found on the Japanese iTunes store. It’s a free app, but you can’t download it until you have an account in Japan.
Another reason could be you love J-Pop or other kinds of Japanese music and want to legally purchase it to support the artist. However, the hardest part is you don’t know how to navigate the Japanese registration page.
Some people also want to watch Japanese movies or famous Western movies dubbed in Japanese. Wouldn’t it be neat if you could watch The Little Mermaid in Japanese?
How to make a Japanese iTunes Account
First, you’ll need to go to the Japanese Apple ID sign up page. You’ll be greeted by fields of Japanese text asking for information! I’m going to post information you can use to copy and paste into the fields. All you need to do is put in your email address and make a password.
NAME Fields
Japanese people usually have to enter their names using kanji as well as hiragana/katana because the name readings could be different. If your name is not Japanese, that is OK!
For our Japanese ID, we’re going to use the name Shigeru Miyamoto. The same as the legendary game designer.
姓（漢字）: 宮本
名（漢字）: 茂
姓（カタカナ）: ミヤモト
名（カタカナ）: シゲル
Apple ID and Password
Apple ID: (put in YOUR email address you want to use. Don’t use the same one as your other iTunes account)
パスワード：(make a password)
パスワード確認： (retype the same password)
Security Questions
You must choose 3 questions and write answers to in the case that you forget your password or need to access the account. You can choose any of the choices and your answer can be in English.
質問（しつもん）Question
答え（こたえ）Answer
First Security Question List:
- What’s the title of your favorite picture book?
- What’s your dream job?
- What was your childhood nickname?
- What was your first card?
- What was your favorite band or song when you were a student?
- What was your favorite movie star or famous person when you were a student?
Second Security Question List
- What was the name of the boss at your first job?
- What is the name of the city where your parents met?
- What was the name of your first pet?
- Who was your best friend as a teenager?
- What was the first movie you saw in a movie theater?
- What was the first thing you learned to cook?
Third Security Question List
- Who was your favorite teacher when you were in Elementary School?
- On your first plane ride, what was your destination?
- What is the name of the town that you grew up in?
- What was the name of the beach that you went to as a child?
- What was the name of the first CD album you bought?
- What is your favorite sports team?
Date of Birth
You can put anything, but make sure you’re over 18.
生年月日（せいねんがっぴ）Birthdate
Choose your birthdate in this order: Year, Month, Day.
Mail Recovery email address
修復用メールアドレス（しゅうふくよう）
Just skip this section, you don’t need to enter anything.
Address
住所（じゅうしょ）
Ok, here is where a lot of people get stuck because they don’t know a Japanese address to use. You’re in luck, because today we are going to use the address of a Pizza Hut in Hokkaido. Apple never sends real mail to those addresses, so it will be fine.
国/地域： 日本 (Japan)
会社名/団体名： [LEAVE BLANK]
郵便番号：0802470
都道府県：北海道（ほっかいどう）Hokkaido
市区町村：帯広市西二条南
住所１：6-4
住所２：[LEAVE BLANK]
使用言語(Main language)：You can choose your native language here.
メール環境設定(email subscription settings)：Uncheck any boxes you see.
Not a Robot confirmation
There will be a picture of random numbers like this:
Your screen will be different, so enter what you see from the box into the blank.
Creating the Japanese iTunes ID
Click the blue button that says (Apple ID の作成）
You should be taken to the final screen that states a confirmation email has been sent to your inbox.
Final Confirmation
You will receive an email from Apple with a confirmation link. It is important that you click the link and log in with the registered email address and password. After you do that, congratulations! You just learned how to make a Japanese iTunes account! Now you can have access to all kinds of Japan-exclusive stuff.
Ok, I have a Japanese iTunes account, what now?
If you want something that is not free, you can always buy a Japan iTunes card from J-List. They sell 3000 yen cards which are delivered digitally to your email address. All you have to do is input it in iTunes and boom! You’ve got lots of fun money to spend on Japanese music, movies, or apps. I purchased a lot of stuff from J-list back in the day, so I can vouch that they are a trustworthy source to get iTunes codes.
Were you able to create a Japanese iTunes account with this tutorial? Were there any hiccups? Let me know in the comments so I can tweak this tutorial. I want everyone to be able to make an account easily.