Hiring Strategy for Japan:
Building a Team That Wins—and Avoiding the Traps

In Japan, market entry outcomes hinge on who you hire first and in what sequence. Hiring is GTM design—not back office. This paper lays out a pragmatic order of early hires, the competencies that matter in Japan, an interview system you can run tomorrow, and the recurring failure patterns to avoid. Start lean, hire a bridge with technical credibility, prove value with paid PoCs, then scale into support/solutions—and only then into sales leadership.