Launching in Japan
How foreign companies actually get started here: sales channels, agents, setting up a base.
- 01When Your Direct Team and Resellers Chase One Customer7 min
Set rules before your direct team and resellers in Japan collide: deal registration like Dell's 90 days, named accounts, rep pay, and no fixing resale prices.
- 02Your Price Decides What Kind of Sales Team You Need7 min
Cybozu raised kintone's smallest deal in Japan from 90,000 to 216,000 yen a year. Price bands decide your sales team, and your sales team rewrites your prices.
- 03Your Real Competitor Is Wherever the Customer's Budget Goes7 min
In Japan, 36.6% of sole proprietors keep books in spreadsheets or by hand, near the 40.9% using software. Map substitutes, tax accountants, SIers and inertia.
- 04Japan Hires Fewer Graduates. Mid-Career Talent Gets Pricier9 min
Major Japanese firms cutting graduate hiring now outnumber those expanding it, a first in five years. How much is AI, and why experienced hires will cost more.
- 05Why Foreign SaaS Stalls in Japan After Ten Customers9 min
Foreign SaaS in Japan wins ten customers fast, then stalls at the mainstream. Moore's chasm, JUAS budget data, ringi, and the sales team each side needs.
- 06Rengo Wants 6%. How to Budget Japan Pay for 20279 min
Rengo's 2027 shunto target is 6% including steps. 2026 actuals: 5.01% overall, 3.6% at 100-person firms. How a non-union Japan subsidiary splits the number.
- 07Commission-only sales teams in Japan: where the risk is7 min
Japan's regulator tied Prudential Life's misconduct partly to full-commission pay. What that means for foreign firms building a sales team in Japan.
- 08What it costs to let someone go in Japan7 min
Japan has no pay-to-dismiss rule, yet most disputes end in money: median 1.5 million yen at a labor tribunal, 3 million in court. Spend at hiring instead.
- 09A joint venture with a Japanese partner: shortcut or detour?6 min
BYD built its own entity, Chery joined a five-company JV, UBTech gave a listed firm 36-month exclusivity. Own entity, distributor or JV: pick by control.
- 10Why Chinese tea brands crowd into Korea and not Japan6 min
Mixue, Chabaidao, HeyTea and Chagee are all in Seoul. In Japan they open and close while Gong Cha grew from 57 to 244. The rival is a 150-yen bottle of tea.