The much ballyhooed Call of Duty: Elite online service will not be available in Japan. Square Enix, Call of Duty's publisher in Japan, revealed that a Japanese version isn't happening due to localization issues.
According to Square Enix, the game's original publisher, Activision, worked hard to get localized versions of Elite released in different territories. The sticking point was that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is available as a dubbed as well as a subtitled game in Japan, complicating the Elite service in the region.
When Modern Warfare 2 was released in Japan, Japanese gamers were furious about the crummy localization. For Modern Warfare 3, Square Enix offered two versions: dubbed or subtitled.
Square Enix did mention that information regarding downloadable content released via Elite will be made in the future.
日本語版"Call of Duty ELITE"の提供について [Square Enix]