Google Japan has changed the top page layout by adding tabs and links to some of their popular tools and pages. Click to see the image: Google Japan new top page Google has been religiously keeping its simple top page with big Google logo and the search box, and Google is still keeping the same top page in all of the other countries and markets. So why Google Japan decided to make the changes?

The new Google Japan’s top page has 4 tabs below the search box. Each tab has several links with icon to some of their popular pages and tools such as Gmail, YouTube, Image search, Blog search and Calender. According to Google, the change was made in response to many feed backs from the users complaining the difficulty of finding tools and pages within Google. (Like Google.com, there were links to these tools and pages on the left top corner of the page, but not visible enough for Japanese users, I guess…)

I think this is a huge change for Google, not because of the layout change, but because it can be translated as their first step into a portal site. In fact, their tools such as Google map and Google earth, and YouTube acquisition have helped them becoming the #2 property in Japan for the first time in history last year. While most of the people still come to Google to search, other tools and services are definitely driving the access to the site.

Still, I’m a bit sad to see this change…