Japanese-speaking AI receptionist

For callers who would rather not do it all in English.

Nuteq greets callers in English and answers in Japanese when they speak it. It books the viewing or visit, answers from the details you provide, and writes up each call for your team.

Add Japanese to your receptionist Read an example call

Two-minute setup
No credit card
Keep your number
See pricing

Missed-call estimate

What do unanswered Japanese-speaking calls cost?

Every call that rings out is a lost visit. Pick how many calls you get a week.

Calls a week10 a week ≈ 43 a month

Calls nobody answers

13 a month

Visits at risk

7 a month

Business at risk each month, up to

$2,600

How this is estimated

Calls nobody picks up%

Callers ready to book%

Value of one visit$

Example figures for this kind of business. Change them to match yours. The estimate assumes callers who reach nobody do not call back.

Compare that with Nuteq pricing

How Nuteq helps

Can an AI receptionist answer Japanese-speaking callers?

Yes. Nuteq is a Japanese-speaking AI receptionist for businesses whose English-language line also gets calls in Japanese. You keep English as the agent’s main language and add Japanese under “Also understands”. When a caller speaks Japanese, the agent replies in Japanese straight away, so nobody has to find a colleague or ask the caller to try English. It books viewings, visits, and appointments against your real availability and answers from the documents and notes you give it. This helps people on work assignments who arrived recently, their families, and visitors who are more comfortable explaining details in Japanese. Every call is kept with its recording, a transcript in the words the caller used, and a written summary. Japanese is included on every Nuteq plan at no extra charge.

Updated September 28, 2026

Answers: Phone, text messages, WhatsApp, and website chat
Speaks: English and Japanese on one number
Voices: Several Japanese voices, male and female
Register: Polite and plain by default, adjustable in your instructions
Japanese costs: Included, no add-on fee

Use cases

What Japanese-speaking callers need from you

Japanese companies send staff and their families abroad for work assignments, and many of them spend their first months handling housing, schools, cars, and health care in a second language.

relocation
A newly arrived employee wants to see apartments
Replies in Japanese and books a viewing at an open time.
Viewing booked
spouse
A spouse calls while the employee is at work
Answers in Japanese and collects the details your team needs.
Details captured
question
Someone asks what documents they need to apply
Answers in Japanese from the checklist you uploaded.
Answered
evening
A call comes in late after a long workday
Picks up after hours and books the first slot that is free.
Booked after hours
mixed
A caller uses English, then finishes in Japanese
Moves between the two languages as the caller does.
Handled in both
handoff
A tenant needs a staff member for a lease question
Transfers the call to your number with the question already noted.
Transferred

Example call record

Kenji Tanaka

Leasing office · phone · 1:12

Viewing booked

japanese
relocation
viewing

AgentHarbor View Apartments leasing office. How can I help you?
Callerもしもし、日本語でも大丈夫ですか？来月こちらに転勤になるので、部屋を探しています。Hello, is Japanese okay? I am being transferred here next month, so I am looking for an apartment.
Agentはい、大丈夫です。内見でしたら、今週の土曜日の午前11時が空いています。いかがですか？Yes, that is fine. For a viewing, this Saturday at 11 a.m. is open. How does that sound?
Caller土曜日の11時でお願いします。Saturday at 11, please.
Agentわかりました。お名前を教えていただけますか？Understood. May I have your name?
Caller田中です。It is Tanaka.

Call summary

Kenji Tanaka is moving here for work next month and called in Japanese to see apartments. The receptionist replied in Japanese and booked a viewing for Saturday at 11:00 AM under his name and number.

Replied in Japanese from the caller’s first sentence
Booked a viewing for Saturday at 11:00 AM
Saved Kenji Tanaka as a new contact

Nuteq vs a Japanese-speaking answering service vs voicemail

How Nuteq compares with a typical answering service and voicemail
Question	Nuteq	Typical answering service	Voicemail
Japanese on the line	Any call, any hour	Uncommon; often an interpreter line or a callback	None
Switching language	Mid-call, no menu	Usually a transfer or a wait	Not possible
Books the visit	Yes, into your calendar	Usually passes on a message	No
What you get afterwards	Recording, transcript, and summary	A short message	Audio you still need to understand
Busy hours	Several calls at once	Varies by provider	Callers wait for you to call back

One agent on every channel

Phone: Greets in English and replies in Japanese the moment the caller speaks it.
Text messages: Replies to customers who text, and sends booking confirmations and reminders.
WhatsApp: Answers questions and books appointments for customers who prefer WhatsApp.
Website chat: Visitors can talk to the voice widget on your site in Japanese and hear Japanese back.

How do you set up a Japanese-speaking AI receptionist?

Setting up a Japanese-speaking receptionist in Nuteq takes a few minutes. Choose your business template, add Japanese under “Also understands”, add readings for names written in kanji, then test a call in Japanese from your browser before you forward your number.

1
Sign up and pick the template closest to what you do.
2
In Voice and language, add Japanese to the languages your agent understands.
3
Make a test call in Japanese from your browser, then forward your number or get a new local one.

Questions about Japanese callers

Is Nuteq a Japanese-speaking answering service?

Nuteq is an AI receptionist that works as a Japanese-speaking answering service: it answers in English and Japanese at any hour, books visits, and saves a record of every call.

Does it use keigo?

Nuteq speaks polite Japanese with plain, conversational phrasing by default rather than full honorific keigo. If your customers expect a more formal register, say so in your instructions and test a call to hear the result.

Will it read Japanese names correctly?

Nuteq recognizes most spoken names, but kanji can have several readings. Add names, street names, and building names to Vocabulary with how to say them, so the agent hears and pronounces them the way you expect.

How much does Japanese cost?

Nuteq includes Japanese on every plan with no add-on fee. The plans are listed on the pricing page.

Can I choose a Japanese voice?

Nuteq offers several Japanese voices, male and female, that you can play before choosing. If English stays the main language, the voice you picked speaks Japanese whenever the caller does.

Can it transfer a Japanese caller to a person?

Nuteq can transfer the call to any number you set, such as a colleague who speaks Japanese, once the caller asks for a person or the situation matches your instructions.

What other languages can the same agent handle?

Nuteq speaks more than 20 languages, including Korean and Chinese. One agent can understand several of them, so you can cover the languages your callers use most.

See all languages See all industries

Answer your Japanese-speaking callers in Japanese.

Two-minute setup, no credit card.See pricing

Add Japanese to your receptionist