Vol. 6 Japan Entry FAQs: What Teams Ask (and What Actually Works)

“Why FAQs?” Because there’s no one-size-fits-all Japan strategy

Q: Why did you decide to structure this paper around FAQs rather than a traditional framework or playbook?

A: Japan has become more open, and now all kinds of companies are entering—everything from tiny startups to massive global firms. Every industry is different, every region is different, and each company’s constraints are different. So an FAQ approach is often more useful than pretending there’s one right sequence for everyone.

Q: What’s the #1 question you hear most often from teams entering Japan?

A: Hiring. People ask me constantly: “Do you know anybody I could hire?” It’s hard to find the right bilingual talent, and it becomes a bottleneck immediately.

Under-promise and over-deliver is not a slogan—it’s operational discipline

Q: Why does “under-promise and over-deliver” work so well in Japan?

A: Because precision signals respect. In Japan, timelines, formatting, and “doing exactly what you said you would do” are foundational. If you promise 50 questions in a survey and deliver 49, you’ve created a real trust problem—even if that feels minor elsewhere.

But the flip side is powerful: deliver exactly what you committed to, then add something thoughtful. If you do the 50 and say, “We added one more question because we realized it mattered,” people love it. It shows you’re not just executing—you’re thinking on the customer’s behalf.

Q: What’s a simple example of “under-promise” wording that works well in Japan?

A: Add a small bonus without turning it into a negotiation. For example: “You’re an important customer” or “You’re our first customer in Japan, so we’re including this package.” Japanese clients often have fixed budgets—so instead of trying to bargain, find a way to make them feel meaningfully supported within the constraints.

When decisions stall due to internal approvals (ringi), how do you keep things moving?

Q: In Japan, decisions can stall because of internal approvals (ringi). When that happens, how should foreign companies move things forward without damaging trust?

A: Decision-making in Japan tends to be more consensus-based, and there’s also a stronger sense of hierarchy—so it’s less common for one person to give you a quick yes/no on the spot. I think it helps to remember that the meeting usually isn’t the decision. The meeting is input for the internal discussion that happens afterward.

What works best is making it easy for your counterpart to take your proposal inside the organization. Concretely, send a short written follow-up right after the meeting: what you’re proposing, what exactly you’ll deliver, the timeline, and what you need from them next. If your story and scope are vague, people can’t circulate it internally, and the process stalls. If it’s clear and precise, the internal conversation moves faster because everyone is reacting to the same facts, not interpreting what you “probably meant.”

“Commit in writing” means building materials the whole team can scrutinize

Q: When you say “scope tightly and commit in writing,” what does that look like in real deals?

A: Look at how Japanese teams make slides. They’re busy, detailed, and data-heavy. When you give a proposal or contract to a Japanese stakeholder, it’s not just for that person—it will be circulated internally and discussed by a group. You need to have everything down in writing so the entire team can align without ambiguity.

A practical implication: minimalistic “Steve Jobs–style” decks often do not land well in Japan. Japanese buyers expect substance, detail, and the ability to reference specifics later.

The fastest way to repair trust is to surface the problem immediately

Q: What are the most common ways foreign companies unintentionally break trust?

A: It’s often the “small misses”: being late, giving unclear instructions, sending people to the wrong place, or being sloppy about follow-through. Even logistical errors—like someone going to the wrong building or the wrong train station—create friction and uncertainty.

Q: What’s the fastest way to repair trust when a mistake happens?

A: Call immediately and explain. Customers may be annoyed, but they appreciate being told right away. Marc gave the example of a major snowstorm that stopped trains in Nagoya: he contacted the customer immediately, explained what happened, and worked the situation transparently rather than letting it drift.

The “plastic food display” analogy: deliver what you showed, down to the details

Q: Why is Japan’s plastic food display analogy so relevant to business relationships?

A: In Japan, the “sample” and the “real thing” match. That expectation carries into business: what you present upfront is what you’re expected to deliver. The more you match the sample—quality, format, completeness—the more credible you become.

Q: If you had to pick one “quick win” detail to fix first, what would it be?

A: Page numbers in your slides. Japanese decks can run long, and meetings often reference “Slide 36” or “that point on page X.” If your materials don’t support fast navigation, it creates confusion and slows decision-making.

Contract, Pricing & Payment Pitfalls

Q: What are the common friction points around pricing, contract terms, and payment terms in Japan—and how do you avoid them?

A: The biggest friction point is misalignment—what the customer thinks they’re buying versus what you think you’re selling. If your proposal is too high-level and doesn’t spell out scope, deliverables, and assumptions, ambiguity grows and approvals slow down.
Pricing stalls are often budget-driven rather than “hard negotiation.” Instead of fighting a discount battle, it’s usually more effective to structure a package that fits the customer’s budget and still feels like a win—sometimes with a small added element rather than a straight discount.
Finally, procurement realities can block contracting and payment even when the business side agrees—invoice formats, vendor registration, internal approval steps. The fix is simple: ask early what they need and follow their process, so you don’t get late-stage surprises.

Momentum: the anchor client reduces perceived risk faster than anything else

Q: Why is landing a first “anchor client” so critical in Japan?

A: Because it creates immediate reassurance. Japan is risk-sensitive; a credible first customer signals, “This vendor is safe.” Ideally, your anchor is a well-known brand—Marc’s shorthand example is Toyota-level recognition—because it reduces friction across the market.

Q: Brand recognition vs. industry credibility—which matters more?

A: Brand recognition is extremely helpful. If you can’t get a giant brand early, then be deliberate: pick a credible name in the exact industry you want to penetrate next, and build a tight sequence of adjacent proof points.

Packaging the win: avoid “negative advertising,” secure permission, and keep it usable

Q: What does a strong, usable reference look like in Japan?

A: Be careful, and be respectful. Japan tends to dislike “negative advertising”—references framed around attacking competitors can backfire culturally. Also, be mindful that copyright and usage rules can differ; get explicit permission before using logos, names, or quotes in a public-facing way.

Q: What’s the minimum?

A: At a minimum, permission to use the logo is a meaningful starting point. More is better—quotes, outcomes, and clear use cases—but “usable” starts with what you’re allowed to show.

“Inside marketing”: how accounts can expand without you “selling” again

Q: How is “inside marketing” different from upsell or account expansion?

A: Large Japanese companies have many internal groups. If one department loves your product—and you’ve been detailed, on time, and consistently exceeded expectations—department heads may mention it in internal leadership meetings. That can trigger organic introductions across divisions.
I call this one of my “secret weapons”: internal recommendations can make business “explode” inside a single enterprise, sometimes even propagating from Japan to overseas HQ functions.

Q: What’s the right moment to ask for an internal introduction?

A: Timing matters. The best moment is after you’ve delivered and the customer is happy—often around renewal—or in relationship-heavy settings like a business dinner/nomikai. These asks are frequently made toward the end of the evening, once trust is already established.