---
title: Launching in Japan | Nobu Sato
description: "How foreign companies actually get started here: sales channels, agents, setting up a base."
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---

[Nobu Sato](https://nobusato.jp/en?hsLang=en)

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# Launching in Japan

How foreign companies actually get started here: sales channels, agents, setting up a base.

1. 01[Open the repair center before you scale](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/open-the-repair-center-before-you-scale)5 min
   
   At five stores, Xiaomi opened an Akihabara service center before growing to ten. Japanese buyers ask who fixes it before buying. Repair is a sales cost.
2. 02[BYD's mini stores: another way to build a sales network in Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/byd-mini-stores-another-way-to-build-a-sales-network)5 min
   
   BYD's Japan sales points: 51 in 2024, 77 in 2026; the 100 target slipped twice. New micro stores show one or two cars in ex-convenience stores. Density wins.
3. 03[Chagee isn't in Japan yet. Osaka already has a shop that looks a lot like it](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/chagee-lookalike-in-osaka-trademark-first)5 min
   
   An Osaka tea shop opened in April 2026 with a logo close to Chagee's. Chagee has no store in Japan, and Japan is first-to-file. Register before you enter.
4. 04[Xiaomi's Japan stores are catching up with Apple's. Why the first one was in Saitama](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/why-xiaomi-opened-its-first-japan-store-in-saitama)5 min
   
   Apple has 11 stores in Japan, all downtown. Xiaomi opened its first in a suburban Saitama mall and had ten by July 2026, nine in malls. Who you sell to decides.
5. 05[The subsidy wall: the rules are not written for you](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/the-subsidy-wall-rules-are-not-written-for-you)5 min
   
   Nissan's Sakura gets a 580,000 yen subsidy; BYD's Racco gets 150,000. Japan scores a maker's contribution: chargers, technicians, supply. Read the sheet first.
6. 06[BYD built a car only for Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/byd-built-a-car-only-for-japan)5 min
   
   Three years of global models in Japan: 10,000 cars. In year four BYD launched a kei car built only for Japan: 1,000 orders in two weeks, 64% unlocked buyers.
7. 07[After you hire foreign staff in Japan, the hard part begins](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/after-you-hire-foreign-staff-the-hard-part)5 min
   
   In a 2025 survey, 55.8% of Japanese firms employing foreign workers struggle with training and 55.7% with communication. The hard part starts after the hire.
8. 08[Before HQ monitors the Japan team through software](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/before-hq-monitors-the-japan-team-remotely)5 min
   
   A meta-analysis of 23,000 people found no link between monitoring and performance. Before HQ installs software to watch the Japan team, define output first.
9. 09[Giving equity to Japan staff? Write the exit terms first](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/equity-for-japan-staff-write-the-exit-terms-first)5 min
   
   Three ex-employees say their last day fell days before an RSU vesting date, costing nearly $1 million. Write what happens to vesting on exit, in Japanese.
10. 10[When an employee reports a problem, how the Japan entity should respond](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/when-an-employee-reports-a-problem)6 min
    
    Three nurses reported abuse, then faced standby, dismissal and transfer. A 2026 court voided it all without finding retaliation. Reporter treatment is culture.

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## Writing about launching in Japan, in three languages.

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Nobu Sato

Writing about launching in Japan, in three languages.

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