We interviewed a wonderful foreign entrepreneur!

At the end of last month, FREA sat down with an American business owner who is currently based out of his Tokyo, Japan office and discussed his array of experiences with doing business in Japan. We spoke at length regarding his past and current struggles with establishing and running a company within Japan, as well as his thoughts about how the Japanese market differs from Western markets.

Although only recently formally incorporated in Japan, our interviewee’s company had in fact been doing business with Japanese companies for well over 15 years, acting as a supplier to numerous established brands. He selected Tokyo, Japan as the location for opening his Asia-wide sales office, citing the prestigious image of the region as one of the key deciding factors.

Consistent with the experiences of many other foreign entrepreneurs, the process of business registration was frustratingly time-consuming (clocking in at a total of 6 months), even with the enlisting of specialized support services. Japan as a country has many strict requirements when it comes to stablishing essential logistics such as bank accounts and phone service, which as a result must be delicately prepared in a specific order.

Beyond the complex initial legal paperwork, our interviewee also vocalized an ongoing difficulty with finding local bilingual staff to hire who could meet the skillset demands of the company, which is another common obstacle shared by internationally-minded companies in Japan, both domestic and foreign.

One notable aspect that may come as a given to Japanese nationals but unexpected to foreigners: our interviewee pointed out the immense importance of long-standing relationships forged between businesses (and respective company individuals, too!) in Japan. In stark contrast to the less hierarchical western business scene, consumers and companies alike are unlikely to naturally gravitate to a new source simply because their product or services are inherently better. Our interviewee graciously credited an existing business contact who was able to initially introduce them to their current business clients in Japan, as well as speak favorably on their behalf during their office leasing search. This also highlights the integral need for providing network-building assistance when it comes to supporting foreign ventures newly arriving to Japan.

Perhaps most surprising was our interviewee’s keen focus on the desire for more “lifestyle”-related transitional support for foreigners relocating to Japan. Simple insights such as which train lines tend to be more/less congested, and the mysterious process of how to pay for utility bills at a local convenience store—details that are such an integral part of standard life in Japan that they may commonly be overlooked as points potentially needing orientation. Although the availability of bilingual real estate agencies has gradually increased over the years, detailed hands-on, walkthrough-type services for foreign expats following move-in (especially those with little-to-no Japanese ability) seemingly remain something to be desired.

Despite all of these various struggles, our interviewee enthusiastically maintained that Japan is very much an incredibly attractive place of interest among foreign entrepreneurs and businesses, if a somewhat notoriously difficult market to break into. We at FREA are very grateful to our interviewee for speaking with us so candidly and offering valuable insights on the perspective of a foreign business owner active in Japan. We are hopeful that through our new business-support program being taken on by KEIKYU Accelerator this spring, we will be able to effectively resolve or alleviate many of these difficulties and enable foreign entrepreneurs around the world to realize their full potential in Japan.

(To maintain the confidentiality of our interviewee and associated business clients all names and detailed industry specifics have been omitted.)