— News & insights
Field notes from Japan.
Lessons from the front lines of Japan market entry. Strategy playbooks. Regulatory updates. What we see, what we learn, what we think founders should know.
— Start here
- 01The bilingual unicorn problem: why your Japan Country Manager search has failed for 6 months
- 02What a Japan Country Manager Really Costs: Why a $250k Salary Becomes $400k+
- 03How Much Does It Cost to Set Up in Japan in 2026? A Line-by-Line Budget After the ¥30M Visa Rule
- 04We Launched in Japan but Sales Are Half of Other Regions — Why, and What to Do
- 05Why Your Japanese Pilot Never Became a Contract
- 06Japan Market Entry Timeline: What Actually Happens in Months 1–12 (and When Deals Close)
— Latest
How to Find a Distributor in Japan: Trading Companies, SIers, and the Three Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Japan has one of the deepest channel ecosystems in the world, and most of it will not return your email. Here is how the channel is actually built — trading companies, two-tier IT distribution, system integrators, resellers — where the good partners are found, the three questions that separate a partner from a catalogue listing, and the contract terms that decide how the relationship ends.
Read article →
— All articles
Do You Need a Japanese Entity to Sell to Japanese Companies? Usually Not in Year One
Most foreign B2B companies can sign, invoice and support their first Japanese customers without a Japanese company. Here is when the entity genuinely becomes necessary, what the three routes cost, and the four practical frictions — consumption tax, withholding, vendor registration and the contract — that trip people up.
Read article → 14 min read
Speaking Engagement: Yuki Kishi to Speak at Ethereum Institutional Summit 2026 in Tokyo
On September 25, our CEO joins global institutional investors, Japanese financial institutions, and Ethereum ecosystem leaders at an invitation-only summit in Tokyo, speaking as Country Manager, Japan for Bitmine and MAVAN.
Read article → 2 min read
Autumn Is Japan's Real Budget Season. Your Q4 Pipeline Is Already Too Late.
Most Japanese companies fix next year's budget between October and December. If your deal is not a line item by then, it waits until the following April. Here is how the cycle actually works, and what to do this month.
Read article → 9 min read
We Launched in Japan but Sales Are Half of Other Regions — Why, and What to Do
Japan's enterprise sales cycle runs two to three times longer than the US or Europe because decisions are made bottom-up by consensus. Here is why your numbers look half-size after launch, and the four changes that fix it.
Read article → 5 min read
Why Your Japanese Pilot Never Became a Contract
The pilot succeeded. Everyone was impressed. Then the contract never came. In Japan, a strong pilot is rarely what turns into a deal, and assuming it will is where most foreign startups quietly lose a year.
Read article → 6 min read
The bilingual unicorn problem: why your Japan Country Manager search has failed for 6 months
Six months in, thirty profiles reviewed, and still no hire. The brief looks reasonable — until you understand how few people in Japan can actually meet it. Here's why the search keeps failing.
Read article → 5 min read
Why Japanese Buyers Go Quiet on Your Pitch Deck (and Why It Needs to Be 40% Longer)
Most foreign founders arrive in Tokyo with the same 12-slide deck they used in New York — and wonder why the room goes quiet. Here's what the Japan deck actually requires.
Read article → 5 min read
No Deals After 90 Days in Japan? Why That's Normal, and What Should Be Happening Instead
Foreign founders expect to start closing deals. In Japan, the first quarter is something else entirely — and that's by design.
Read article → 2 min read
How Much Does It Cost to Set Up in Japan in 2026? A Line-by-Line Budget After the ¥30M Visa Rule
Japan's October 2025 visa reform raised the minimum capital from ¥5M to ¥30M — a sixfold increase that rewrites every market-entry budget. Here's what the new math actually looks like.
Read article → 5 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Harassment Prevention Edition
Harassment prevention in Japan is no longer a soft issue — it's a legal requirement, a corporate governance priority, and increasingly, how companies evaluate partners.
Read article → 3 min read
What It Actually Takes to Build a Japan Business from Zero: Lessons from Three Country Managers
During SusHiTech Week in Tokyo, we hosted the Country Manager Meetup with FINOLAB. Three experienced operators shared what it actually takes to build a Japan business from scratch.
Read article → 3 min read
What a Japan Country Manager Really Costs: Why a $250k Salary Becomes $400k+
The $250k salary is what you see. The real annual cost — including search, benefits, and risk — usually crosses $400k. Here's what foreign companies underestimate.
Read article → 2 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Workplace Attire Edition
In Japan, appearance is closely tied to credibility. What may seem like a minor detail can significantly influence first impressions and long-term business relationships.
Read article → 3 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Dinner and Drinks Edition
In Japan, trust is built through shared experiences. The 飲み会 (nomikai) is one of the most powerful — and underestimated — environments where business relationships actually take shape.
Read article → 3 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Workplace Conversation Edition
In Japan, what isn't said explicitly can be just as important as what is. Mastering everyday workplace conversations is where lasting partnerships are actually built.
Read article → 2 min read
Why the First Meeting with a Japanese Company Never Closes Anything (and What It Is Actually For)
The first conversation in Japan is not where deals close — it's where trust begins. Success depends not on what you say, but how you say it.
Read article → 3 min read
Why Business Calls with Japanese Companies Feel Slow: Agendas, Silence, and the Decision That Happens Off the Call
In Japan, business calls are rarely casual. Agendas are pre-shared, silences are meaningful, and decisions almost never happen on the call itself.
Read article → 3 min read
Japan Market Entry Timeline: What Actually Happens in Months 1–12 (and When Deals Close)
How long does Japan market entry take? About twelve months from first introduction to first contract for a B2B company. Here is the month-by-month timeline — research, first meetings, the silent phase, pilots, contracts — and what to do in each.
Read article → 11 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Social Media Edition
Social media in Japan plays by different rules: LINE dominates, X stays influential, and 'SNS' communication is more subtle and reputation-driven than in Western markets.
Read article → 3 min read
Entering Japan? These 5 Mistakes Sink Most Foreign Startups in Year One
Most foreign startups that fail in Japan don't fail because the market rejected them. They fail because they walked in with the wrong assumptions and never corrected course.
Read article → 6 min read
Entering Japan as a Web3 Startup? What Founders Get Wrong About the FSA (and How to Use It)
Japan has one of the most clearly defined crypto regulatory regimes in the world. That's an advantage — if you read it correctly.
Read article → 2 min read
Meishi: How to Exchange Business Cards in Japan Without Losing the Deal Before It Starts
The meishi exchange is more than a formality — it's the official beginning of a business relationship. Get the details right, and the rest of the meeting flows.
Read article → 3 min read
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Before You Actually Start Doing Business in Japan
Before you officially launch operations in Japan, six things are worth understanding. Most are not about strategy or product — they're about how trust, decisions, and time actually work here.
Read article → 3 min read
The Impact of the Iran Conflict on the Japanese Market
Japan is geographically far from the Middle East, but economically tied to it through oil, the Strait of Hormuz, and global investor sentiment. Here's what rising tensions mean for the Japanese market.
Read article → 3 min read
Thought Leadership: CEO Yuki Kishi Discusses ESG & Sustainability at Japan's Second Association of Regional Banks (SARBLAB)
At the 29th SARBLAB seminar, our CEO presented on how regional banks can leverage ESG data not for compliance, but as a strategic asset — and how non-financial information becomes a 'medical record' of corporate health.
Read article → 2 min read
Our Japan Launch Isn't Working: Five Execution Pitfalls That Stall Foreign Companies
Entering Japan is often considered the 'holy grail' of global expansion. But foreign firms stumble early — not because their product is weak, but because of avoidable mistakes in execution. Here are five recurring pitfalls.
Read article → 2 min read
Full Circle at Cambridge: Discussing Japan Market Entry at the Cambridge Japan Forum 2025
Returning to the halls where he earned his MBA, our CEO joined JETRO and the AI unicorn Tractable for a 360-degree view of what it takes to enter Japan.
Read article → 1 min read
East Meets West in Lithuania: Debating the Future of Fintech at Future Finance Fest (3F)
Our CEO joined a global panel in Vilnius to debate regulators as 'Dream Makers,' the talent war, and what fintech actually looks like by 2030.
Read article → 1 min read
Global Fintech Pulse: Key Takeaways from UK Fintech Week & Money20/20 Europe
GenAI is becoming infrastructure. Digital assets are turning into legitimate financial instruments. ESG is shifting from idealism to profitability. Three macro-trends from London and Amsterdam.
Read article → 2 min read
From Tokyo to Dubai: Representing Japan at the Dubai Fintech Summit 2025
As the sole Japanese participant in the roundtables, our CEO brought a Tokyo perspective to two critical conversations: ethics in AI, and Japan's Green Transformation.
Read article → 1 min read
Speaking Engagement: Navigating the Japan Fintech Landscape at the British Embassy (Japan Fintech Week 2025)
At the British Embassy in Tokyo, our CEO addressed a delegation of UK fintech startups on the realities of Japan's bank-centric ecosystem — and why 'Trust-Market Fit' matters more than product-market fit.
Read article → 2 min read
Chaos & Innovation: Judging and Speaking at "CC-Pitch" (Japan Fintech Week Side Event)
On a 700-year-old Noh stage in Ginza, our CEO judged pitches from founders under 25 and joined a panel on how established leaders should accelerate — not gatekeep — the next generation.
Read article → 2 min read
— Market data
Industry snapshots we prepared for clients: market size, key players and where the openings are for a foreign entrant.