The verdict in three sentences
Wealthy families in Tokyo now ask AI assistants like ChatGPT which investor visa or residence route fits them before they ever call a lawyer, and the answer names a handful of firms, or none. A firm appears when its public information is consistent, factual, dated and confirmed by third parties, in English and Japanese; it disappears when its pages are vague, outdated or contradictory. On the market, a serious diagnostic costs roughly JPY 300,000 to 800,000 (about USD 2,000 to 5,300) in 2026, and the only honest measure is a dated record of the answers to the same questions over time.
What buyers in Tokyo now ask AI assistants
Your prospects are Japanese founders and families looking at the United States, Europe or Southeast Asia, and foreign executives in Tokyo looking at Japan's own residence options. They phrase questions the way they would to a trusted adviser, often in both languages.
| Question typed into an AI assistant | Typical asker | What the answer needs from your firm |
|---|---|---|
| "Which investor visa can a Japanese family still get for the US in 2026?" | Tokyo business owner | A dated, factual EB-5 page, with the date of the last update |
| "Is EB-5 still worth it after the 2022 reform, and how long does it take?" | Family office | Plain explanation of the framework, timelines given as ranges |
| "Which European golden visas are still open in 2026?" | Executive planning a second residence | A dated programme status page, closed routes clearly marked |
| "Best lawyer in Tokyo for US investor visas who speaks Japanese" | Founder after a liquidity event | Lawyer bios, languages, bar admissions, office address |
| "How do I get a business manager visa in Japan as a foreign investor?" | Foreign entrepreneur in Tokyo | Clear page on Japan's route, who handles filings |
| "What are the risks of investor visa programmes, and can I lose my money?" | Cautious investor | Honest risk page: project risk, processing delays, rule changes |
| "How much do investor visa lawyers charge in Tokyo?" | Any of the above | Fee structure published or explained in general terms |
Notice the pattern: these are eligibility, timeline, cost and risk questions. Programmes change often (several European golden visas closed or narrowed, Canada and Australia changed investor streams, and the US EB-5 framework was reshaped by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022), so an assistant that relies on a stale page will describe your firm with stale facts. Every statement on your site should carry a date. Lawyer advertising rules apply in every jurisdiction you practise in, and in Japan both lawyers (bengoshi) and certified administrative scriveners (gyoseishoshi) work on immigration filings under their own professional rules. No firm can promise approval, and neither should your pages. This is not legal advice.
Why some firms appear in the answers and others do not
AI assistants build answers from what is publicly and consistently said about a firm. The factors that tend to matter:
- Consistency: the same firm name, address, lawyers and practice areas everywhere, in English and Japanese.
- Third-party mentions: bar directories, chambers of commerce, press coverage, conference speaker lists.
- Clear factual pages: one page per programme, with eligibility, process, typical timelines and risks, dated.
- Structured data: machine-readable details about the firm, its lawyers and its offices.
- Reviews where allowed: within the limits of professional rules on testimonials.
- Freshness: an updated programme page beats a three-year-old blog post.
What the work covers, and what it costs on the market
In broad terms, the work combines an audit of how assistants describe you today, a rewrite of the factual pages that answer buyer questions, bilingual consistency (Japanese and English), structured data, and work on third-party mentions. It overlaps with SEO and reuses much of it. The market is young, so prices vary; the ranges below reflect typical agency quotes in Tokyo and public rate pages, converted approximately at 150 JPY per USD.
| Engagement | Tokyo range (2026 ballpark) | Approximate USD | Typical scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-off diagnostic | JPY 300,000 to 800,000 | USD 2,000 to 5,300 | Question set, dated answer record, gap report |
| Factual page project, one language | JPY 800,000 to 2,000,000 | USD 5,300 to 13,300 | Programme, fee and risk pages rewritten |
| Same project, Japanese and English | JPY 1,200,000 to 3,000,000 | USD 8,000 to 20,000 | Native copy in both languages, aligned facts |
| Monthly follow-up | JPY 300,000 to 1,200,000 a month | USD 2,000 to 8,000 | Monitoring, updates after rule changes, mentions |
| Combined SEO and AI visibility retainer | JPY 600,000 to 1,800,000 a month | USD 4,000 to 12,000 | Search and assistant visibility together |
Personal data collected through consultation forms falls under Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), supervised by the Personal Information Protection Commission; clients abroad add their own regimes. Keep forms short and the privacy notice clear.
How results are measured
Rankings do not exist in an assistant's answer. What you can measure is a dated record: the same set of 20 to 40 questions, asked in English and Japanese at regular intervals, with each answer saved. From that record, three indicators:
| Indicator | What it shows | Example reading |
|---|---|---|
| Share of answers mentioning the firm | Presence | 6 of 40 answers in March |
| Accuracy of what is said | Risk | 2 of 6 mentions cite a closed programme |
| Sources cited or implied | Where to act | Bar directory and one press article |
| Languages covered | Gaps | Present in English, absent in Japanese |
| Change after each update | Effect of the work | Same questions re-asked monthly |
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No serious provider promises that an assistant will recommend you. The record shows whether you are described, and whether you are described correctly.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: "Marunouchi Global Mobility Partners", a fictional Tokyo firm advising on US and European residence routes, commissions a diagnostic at JPY 600,000 (about USD 4,000). The baseline record: 20 questions asked in two languages, so 40 answers. The firm appears in 4 answers, a 10% share, all in English. Two of those 4 mentions describe a European programme the firm stopped advising on after it closed, so only 50% of mentions are accurate.
The partners weigh the stakes: if a single retained family represents fees of around JPY 3,000,000 (about USD 20,000), one client lost to a competitor described more accurately already costs five times the diagnostic. They decide to fix the dated programme pages first, then re-run the same 40 questions each month.
FAQ
Do AI assistants really influence how wealthy families choose an immigration lawyer?
They increasingly shape the shortlist: a family may ask 5 to 10 questions before contacting anyone. If your firm is absent or misdescribed, you may never hear from them.
Can a firm pay to be recommended by an AI assistant?
No. Visibility comes from consistent, factual, third-party confirmed information, and nobody can promise a recommendation. A 2026 diagnostic in Tokyo typically costs JPY 300,000 to 800,000 and shows where you stand.
Do we need Japanese and English pages?
For a Tokyo firm, almost always: buyers ask in both languages and answers differ. Bilingual projects cost roughly 40% to 50% more than single-language ones.
How often should programme pages be updated?
At every rule change, and reviewed at least every 3 to 6 months. A dated "last reviewed" line helps both readers and assistants.
What does Kolonell charge for this?
AI visibility work is on quote, after a first look at your current pages and the questions your buyers ask. The quote sets scope, languages and the measurement plan.
Find out how AI assistants describe your firm. We record the answers to the questions your clients ask, in English and Japanese, and show you where facts are missing or wrong. Request a diagnostic quote: reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
