http://jp.ign.com/games/18925/news/itchio
So one of the first steps to getting itch.io recognized by Japan is to break into the Japanese media. With this announcement we've proven that itch.io is serious about Japan so we're a few steps closer. Once we get some of the publishers games out there, then we'll start making bigger splashes - and then hopefully Itch will start to be as common as Steam (Which still isn't super common, but it's getting there :).)