Labrador signs Digiday and reseller in Japan

Cloud based publishing platform Labrador CMS  has established operations in Japan through a strategic partnership with TNL Mediagene, marking a significant shift in the region's digital publishing infrastructure. Digiday Japan will migrate from WordPress to become the first Japanese implementation of the modern CMS tailored for publishers.

The move signals growing industry recognition that legacy publishing systems are increasingly unable to meet the demands of modern digital news operations.

Technical Implementation

The expansion includes deployment of Tokyo-based server infrastructure, headless API implementation for Digiday Japan, and integration with Piano's subscription management system. The platform will support Japanese character sets and editorial workflows while utilizing regional CDN architecture.

- This is a big day for our companies. We are launching an internationally renowned brand like Digiday Japan to serve as a proof of concept. We believe there is big potential for modernization and cost reductions in the tech stack of many Japanese publishers, says CEO of Labrador CMS Jan Thoresen.

Market Context

TNL Mediagene, which operates 17 digital properties including Business Insider Japan and Gizmodo Japan, sees the partnership as addressing critical pain points for publishers.

- Labrador CMS is the perfect CMS for digital-era publishers. Its user-friendly interface and simple management will help Japanese media operate more efficiently, said Motoko Imada, CEO of Mediagene Inc.

- Through this CMS, we aim to support sustainable growth for news media in Japan, she says.

The move comes as publishers worldwide seek to reduce technical overhead while accelerating digital transformation. The modern onmichannel CMS architecture decouples content management from front-end presentation, like a headless CMS, but for the user it appears as a visual and easy to use system. It has gained global traction for its flexibility and performance advantages.

System Architecture

Key technical components of the implementation include:



• Cloud-native deployment eliminating on-premises hardware requirements
• API-first architecture enabling system-to-system integrations
• Automated scaling during traffic spikes
• Continuous deployment without site downtime

The system will be supported by technical personnel in both Japan and the Philippines, with 24/7 monitoring and Japanese-language support. Servers will be located in Tokyo.

Market Position

Labrador CMS currently serves 312 sites for 130 customers across 16 countries, with projections to exceed 400 sites by the end of 2025. The company'sclient portfolio includes national news outlets, local publishers, magazines, and specialized B2B publications.

This expansion represents a direct challenge to established CMS providers in the Japanese market, where WordPress and legacy systems has traditionally dominated despite growing security and performance concerns.

The Digiday Japan implementation is scheduled for completion in May 2025, with both companies confirming plans to pursue additional Japanese media clients throughout the year.