LinkedIn Has Value Preposition to Succeed in Japan, Digital Garage to Help

Digital Garage announced on Wednesday that it will provide marketing, public relations, market research, and product marketing support for LinkedIn in Japan.

This announcement was made after Joi Ito’s who is also a Co-founder and Director at Digital Garage. Reid Hoffman, CEO at LinkedIn , is also part of Digital Garage’s advisory board since 2007.

As far as I can see, LinkedIn has all the needed connections to be successful in Japan. However, Japan’s unique anonymity culture on the Internet could prove to be the biggest barrier for LinkedIn, as professional web consultant and TechCrunch writer, Serkan Toto explained:

Historically, all business social networks in Japan have had a hard time establishing themselves in the market. In fact, there is not even a single social network of this kind with critical mass in Japan, for a number of reasons (the biggest being the general tendency in Japan to stay anonymous online whenever possible).

Unlike U.S, social networks in Japan (including game networks like Mobage ) thrive in a sea of anonymous users. It is also a key reason why Facebook, which builds on real identities, isn’t gaining steam in Japan. While Twitter, to a certain extend, gain popularity because users can choose to stay anonymous. It remains to be seen if LinkedIn can be the first successful real-identity network in Japan.

LinkedIn’s Value Proposition

One advantage LinkedIn has over Facebook is its value proposition: LinkedIn could provide Japanese with business contacts abroad, an offer certainly more valuable than Facebook’s.

Plus, other social networks like Mixi and Twitter are good Facebook-replacements in Japan. LinkedIn’s value proposition remains unique in Japan and could achieve success if it plays to its strength. In other words, Digital Garage is taking on an important role to ensure Japanese professionals understand how LinkedIn can make a difference in their work. The task is certainly more than just providing a Japanese LinkedIn site for the users.

“Japan is one of the most professional network oriented business environments in the world and LinkedIn has enormous potential to increase productivity of individuals and organizations in Japan and help Japan in its global context,” said Joi Ito.

With the right connections, value offered to users, and execution, there is a good chance that LinkedIn will succeed in Japan. I look forward to see how LinkedIn will take on this challenge (what an excitement!).