diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 429febc..b6de3fc 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -2368,7 +2368,7 @@ similar are internal endpoints/hook names, not credits — leave them.)
   is now **multi-way** — en/es stay key-for-key identical (unchanged), `th` (and
   `ja`) may be partial and are reported as **coverage %**; a `th`/`ja` key absent
   from `en` fails.
-- **Font:** `@fontsource/kanit` (Kanit) imported in `main.tsx` and added to the
+- **Font:** `@fontsource/kanit` (Kanit), **lazy-loaded per locale** (`lib/cjkFonts.ts`) and added to the
   CSS + Tailwind font stacks — ⚠️ Outfit/Inter/Bebas/Barlow have **no Thai
   glyphs**, so without it Thai silently falls back to a system font.
 - **Detection:** a Thai-device browser (`th*`) starts in `th` (`detectLanguage`).
@@ -2388,7 +2388,9 @@ similar are internal endpoints/hook names, not credits — leave them.)
   bloats the app. Each language is its own on-demand chunk.
 - **Fonts:** added **Noto Sans KR** (Korean) and **Inter** (Cyrillic/Russian) to
   the CSS + Tailwind stacks; JP/KR/TH each need their own font (Outfit/Inter
-  lack CJK).
+  lack CJK). **(2026-10-12) CJK fonts are lazy-loaded per locale** (`lib/cjkFonts.ts`,
+  wired in `contexts/LanguageContext.tsx`) — they're ~16 MB of font payload that
+  non-CJK users no longer download at boot.
 - `check-i18n.mjs` now reports **all 12**; new locales are *partial* (coverage %)
   until complete. Adding a locale = register in `language.ts` (`Language` union +
   `LANGUAGE_LOADERS`), `LanguageContext.detectLanguage`, `LanguageToggle`,
@@ -2408,7 +2410,7 @@ similar are internal endpoints/hook names, not credits — leave them.)
   Both partial-locale rules below still hold for any *future* keys.
 - **Partial by design** (same as `th`): a missing `ja` key falls back to English.
   `check-i18n.mjs` reports `ja` coverage and fails if a `ja` key is absent from `en`.
-- **Font:** `@fontsource/noto-sans-jp` (Noto Sans JP) imported in `main.tsx` and
+- **Font:** `@fontsource/noto-sans-jp` (Noto Sans JP), **lazy-loaded per locale** (`lib/cjkFonts.ts`) and
   added to the CSS + Tailwind font stacks — ⚠️ Outfit/Inter/Bebas/Barlow/Kanit have
   **no Japanese glyphs**, so without it Japanese falls back to a system font.
 - **Detection:** a Japanese-device browser (`ja*`) starts in `ja` (`detectLanguage`).
diff --git a/src/contexts/LanguageContext.tsx b/src/contexts/LanguageContext.tsx
index 8e7ae0d..ac9beb3 100644
--- a/src/contexts/LanguageContext.tsx
+++ b/src/contexts/LanguageContext.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   type Translations,
 } from './language';
 import { setDateLocale } from '@/lib/dateFnsI18n';
+import { loadCjkFont } from '@/lib/cjkFonts';
 
 interface LanguageProviderProps {
   children: ReactNode;
@@ -76,6 +77,12 @@ export function LanguageProvider({ children }: LanguageProviderProps) {
     return () => { active = false; };
   }, [language]);
 
+  // Lazy-load the CJK display font for the active locale (ja/ko/th) — large font
+  // files that non-CJK users no longer have to download at boot.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    loadCjkFont(language);
+  }, [language]);
+
   const setLanguage = useCallback((lang: Language) => {
     setLanguageState(lang);
     setStoredLanguage(lang);
diff --git a/src/lib/cjkFonts.ts b/src/lib/cjkFonts.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7299d8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/cjkFonts.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import type { Language } from '@/contexts/language';
+
+const loaded = new Set<Language>();
+
+/**
+ * Lazy-load the CJK display font for the active locale.
+ *
+ * The Thai (Kanit), Japanese (Noto Sans JP) and Korean (Noto Sans KR) font
+ * families are large and only needed for users on those locales — but they were
+ * imported statically in main.tsx, so every visitor downloaded them. They are
+ * now loaded on demand, once per locale, and non-CJK users never fetch them.
+ * Text briefly falls back to a system font until the stylesheet resolves.
+ */
+export function loadCjkFont(language: Language): void {
+  if (loaded.has(language)) return;
+  loaded.add(language);
+
+  if (language === 'ja') {
+    void Promise.all([
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/400.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/500.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/700.css'),
+    ]).catch(() => {});
+  } else if (language === 'ko') {
+    void Promise.all([
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/400.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/500.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/700.css'),
+    ]).catch(() => {});
+  } else if (language === 'th') {
+    void Promise.all([
+      import('@fontsource/kanit/400.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/kanit/500.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/kanit/600.css'),
+      import('@fontsource/kanit/700.css'),
+    ]).catch(() => {});
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main.tsx b/src/main.tsx
index acdf922..bc1877e 100644
--- a/src/main.tsx
+++ b/src/main.tsx
@@ -34,19 +34,9 @@ import '@fontsource/bebas-neue';
 import '@fontsource/barlow-condensed/400.css';
 import '@fontsource/barlow-condensed/600.css';
 import '@fontsource/barlow-condensed/700.css';
-// Kanit — Thai glyphs (Latin/Thai stack fallback; the other fonts have no Thai)
-import '@fontsource/kanit/400.css';
-import '@fontsource/kanit/500.css';
-import '@fontsource/kanit/600.css';
-import '@fontsource/kanit/700.css';
-// Japanese glyphs — Noto Sans JP (Outfit/Inter/Bebas/Barlow/Kanit have none)
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/400.css';
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/500.css';
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-jp/700.css';
-// Korean glyphs — Noto Sans KR
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/400.css';
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/500.css';
-import '@fontsource/noto-sans-kr/700.css';
+// CJK fonts (Thai Kanit, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR) are NOT imported here —
+// they're large and only needed for ja/ko/th users, so they're lazy-loaded per
+// locale (lib/cjkFonts.ts, wired in contexts/LanguageContext.tsx).
 // Cyrillic (Russian) — Inter has Cyrillic; Outfit does not
 import '@fontsource-variable/inter';