The Japanese version of the popular scrapbooking site Pinterest is now live.  Those using Rakuten Connect, the nation’s version of Facebook Connect, can now use their Rakuten login to use the Japanese version of Pinterest.

This is the first time a Rakuten login will be used on a non-Rakuten service, but it’s still in Rakuten’s interest.  The Japanese e-commerce site initially invested $50 million into Pinterest last spring, making up half of a $100 million round of funding used for Pinterest’s global expansion.

This new version of Pinterest is beneficial for both parties. Aside from adding more Pinterest users, this can be an opportunity for Rakuten to awaken their “sleeping customers” and even spark interest in their other services.  Rakuten has about 80 million users, and this will be a great add on to Pinterest’s community of about 70 million users, provided that all or a significant portion of users decide to use the scrapbooking service.

What makes the Japanese Pinterest version more enticing for locals is that it features  subcategories that cover various topics that are popular in Japan.

Pinning down the right locals

The launch of Pinterest Japan comes just months after the service launched local versions in the UK and France.  The company hired Sarah Bush as its UK country manager, and Stéphanie Tramicheck as its France country manager.  It’s all part of Pinterest’s strategy to pin down the right local influences to maintain a user-friendly experience across borders.  Bush and Tramicheck are commercially connected, hailing from the fashion industry and well-versed in the technology sector.

Pinterest is one of many companies utilizing such liaisons to merge the worlds of consumer interests and computer science, hinting at Pinterest’s long term goals to incorporate more brand-related content and advertising capabilities into its platform. Question now is, who will Pinterest be hiring as its Japan country manager?

Pinterest has been creating such as buzz since its launch a couple of years back.  Though it has yet to generate its own revenue, partnerships and acquisitions have been abundant to make the service better for users and build the potential for a successful ad platform.

Pinning down the right tech

This year alone, Pinterest acquired discovery and sharing site Punchfork, mobile recommendations app Livestar, and HackerMeter, a service that aimed to replace the résumé for coders by giving coders a series of tests which will be graded based on the coder’s performance and the code’s efficiency.

Pinterest also made strategic partnerships with brands such as Target, Netflix and eBay to introduce more descriptive pins, Bing has included Pinterest pins in its search results.  Telefonica has equipped its Android phones with a Pinterest widget, and to help improve the service, Pinterest partnered with Getty Images.

Though these partnerships aren’t generating direct revenue for Pinterest just yet, the budding ecosystem is needed to build a solid foundation for the service’s commercial efforts in the future.  And the strategy is paying off in some ways already, as these acquisitions and partnerships are drawing in top investors.

In October, Pinterest raised $225 million in a Series E round of funding led by Fidelity Investments, with the participation of current investors Andreessen Horowitz, FirstMark Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Valiant Capital Management.

The round of funding will be used to invest in technical infrastructure to make the service faster, more reliable and efficient, and to acquire strategic talent and technology, all of which will hopefully boost the company’s international efforts.  Pinterest plans to launch more local versions of the service.

photo credit: gullevek via photopin cc