— 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.
— Latest
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.
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— All articles
Why your Japan launch deck needs to be 40% longer than your US one
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
Why your first 90 days in Japan don't look like sales
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
The Real Cost of Setting Up in Japan in 2026: A Line-by-Line Budget Breakdown for Startup CEOs
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 → 4 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.
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Inside Japan's Maritime Shipping Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
Japan's maritime sector is defined less by speed and more by structure and philosophy: long-term relationships over short-term profit. Slow to enter, but partnerships last.
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Japan Market Entry in Practice: Lessons from Country Managers Building from 0 to 1
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
The hidden cost of hiring a Japan Country Manager
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.
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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.
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Inside Japan's Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
From vending machines on every corner to category-defining functional drinks, Japan's non-alcoholic beverage market is one of the most sophisticated testing grounds in the world.
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Inside Japan's Confectionery Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
From centuries-old wagashi traditions to globally recognised snack brands, Japan's ¥10 trillion confectionery industry offers a blueprint for building emotionally resonant products.
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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.
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Inside Japan's Insurance Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
The world's second-largest insurance market is at a critical juncture — squeezed by aging demographics and low interest rates, but unlocking new opportunities through InsurTech and overseas expansion.
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
What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: First Conversation Edition
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.
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Inside Japan's Pharmaceutical Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
The world's third-largest pharma market — driven by an aging society, shaped by price revisions, and increasingly defined by biopharma innovation and open partnerships.
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What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: Business Call Edition
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
Inside Japan's Cosmetics Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
Japan's beauty market runs on trust, efficacy, and quiet prestige — not hype cycles. Shiseido, Kao, and KOSÉ lead a sector where heritage compounds and skincare is the engine.
Read article → 3 min read
Japan Market Entry Timeline: What to Expect in Your First 12 Months
'Japan moves slowly' is useless as advice — it tells you nothing about what month three actually looks like, or why month six feels like the deal died even when it didn't. Here's what to actually expect.
Read article → 8 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
Inside Japan's Convenience Stores: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
55,000 stores generating ¥11 trillion in annual sales. Japan's konbini are not corner shops — they're a hybrid of grocery, bank, and logistics hub that defines daily life.
Read article → 2 min read
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Foreign Startups Make When Entering Japan
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 → 5 min read
What foreign Web3 startups get wrong about Japan's FSA
Japan has one of the most clearly defined crypto regulatory regimes in the world. That's an advantage — if you read it correctly.
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What to Know Before Partnering with Japanese Companies: The Business Card (Meishi) Culture
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
Inside Japan's Food Manufacturing Industry: Market Size, Key Players, and Future Trends
Japan's food market is worth $380-435 billion, with food manufacturing producing $170 billion in goods annually. A market built on quality, traceability, and continuous innovation.
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.
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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
Five Common Pitfalls Foreign Companies Face in Japan — and How to Avoid Them
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.
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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.
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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.
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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