Localizing the Map

This example creates a map that's localized in Japanese, regardless of the user's browser settings. The region is also set to Japan, which biases the geocoding results to that region.

Read the documentation.

// This example displays a map with the language and region set
// to Japan. These settings are specified in the HTML script element
// when loading the Google Maps JavaScript API.
// Setting the language shows the map in the language of your choice.
// Setting the region biases the geocoding results to that region.
function initMap() {
  var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
    zoom: 8,
    center: {lat: 35.717, lng: 139.731}
  });
}
<div id="map"></div>
/* Always set the map height explicitly to define the size of the div
 * element that contains the map. */
#map {
  height: 100%;
}
/* Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. */
html, body {
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}
<!-- Replace the value of the key parameter with your own API key. -->
<script async defer src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=AIzaSyCkUOdZ5y7hMm0yrcCQoCvLwzdM6M8s5qk&callback=initMap&language=ja&region=JP"></script>

Try it yourself

You can experiment with this code in JSFiddle by clicking the <> icon in the top-right corner of the code window.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Localizing the Map</title>
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <style>
      /* Always set the map height explicitly to define the size of the div
       * element that contains the map. */
      #map {
        height: 100%;
      }
      /* Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. */
      html, body {
        height: 100%;
        margin: 0;
        padding: 0;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>
    <script>
      // This example displays a map with the language and region set
      // to Japan. These settings are specified in the HTML script element
      // when loading the Google Maps JavaScript API.
      // Setting the language shows the map in the language of your choice.
      // Setting the region biases the geocoding results to that region.
      function initMap() {
        var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
          zoom: 8,
          center: {lat: 35.717, lng: 139.731}
        });
      }
    </script>
    <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY&callback=initMap&language=ja&region=JP"
    async defer>
    </script>
  </body>
</html>