What we have learned running market entries, written for the person who has to make the decision rather than the person who has to approve the budget.
Market entry
14 Jul 2026
Exporting, distribution, a branch, a subsidiary, or an outsourced local team. The trade-off is not cost against control — it is how much you have to commit before you find out whether the market wants your product.
5 min read
Localization
23 Jun 2026
Translating your website is the cheapest part of entering Japan and the least predictive of success. Here is the list of things that genuinely have to change, in the order they affect revenue.
4 min read
B2B / SaaS
19 May 2026
Japanese enterprise buyers rarely purchase from a foreign vendor with no local presence. That does not mean you have to hire one. It means someone has to be present on your behalf.
4 min read
Structure
28 Apr 2026
The difference between a kabushiki kaisha and a godo kaisha is real but smaller than most advisers imply. The bigger question is whether you need an entity at this stage at all.
4 min read
Consumer
31 Mar 2026
Japanese consumers research online and validate offline. Foreign brands that budget for a purely digital launch consistently discover that the conversion happens somewhere they are not present.
3 min read
We answer specific questions about specific products more usefully than we answer general ones. Send us yours.
No heavy commitment. Just real execution.
