Most foreign companies don’t fail in Japan because the market is closed. They fail because they arrive with the playbook that worked in their last three markets — and Japan quietly filters out the unprepared. The Japan Market Entry Playbook is a short, current, no-nonsense guide written to keep you on the right side of that filter.
→ Get it on Google Play Books (2026 Edition)
Who this book is for
Founders, executives, and market-entry teams seriously considering Japan — especially B2B companies, though most of it applies more broadly. If you’re past “should we look at Japan?” and into “how do we actually do this without burning a year and a budget,” this is written for you.
It is deliberately short. You can read it in one sitting. The goal is not to document every rule in exhaustive detail, but to show you where the landmines are before you step on them.
What’s inside
Five focused chapters and a practical checklist:
- Before you commit. The market realities nobody puts in the pitch deck, how to verify demand before your first wire transfer, and how to choose consciously among the four entry models — cross-border, distributor, partnership, and your own entity.
- The administrative gauntlet. KK vs GK, banking realities for new foreign-owned entities, and the October 2025 Business Manager visa overhaul that raised the capital requirement sixfold — plus the support programs and startup-visa routes that remain wide open and underused.
- People and partners. Why hiring for English fluency instead of network is a classic mistake, how to avoid handing a nationwide exclusive to the first enthusiastic distributor, and how to tell a real channel from a press-release “partnership.”
- Selling to Japanese buyers. How a Japanese B2B decision actually gets made, how to read the soft “no,” and why discounting your way in can damage your credibility in a market that reads price as a quality signal.
- The first twelve months. A realistic 90-day plan, the leading indicators that actually predict success in Japan (first-year revenue isn’t one of them), and how to decide — in advance — whether to persist, retreat to a cheaper model, or stop.
The book closes with a 20-question quick checklist to pressure-test your plan with your advisors.
Why this guide is different
Most books on doing business in Japan are either decades old or heavy on cultural theory. This one is built for 2026 and built around decisions, not anecdotes. It reflects two perspectives most market-entry guides never combine: the view from inside a Japanese trading company, deciding which foreign products and vendors get taken on — and the view from the buyer’s seat at Japanese firms, being sold to by foreign vendors. Both seats teach things no market report can.
One honest note: this is an orientation, not professional advice. Rules — especially around visas, tax, and entities — change frequently, and the book is explicit about where you must verify the current details with qualified advisors in Japan.
Get the book
The Japan Market Entry Playbook (2026 Edition) is available now on Google Play Books, readable on any phone, tablet, or computer.
▶ Read it on Google Play Books
Want a person, not just a book?
If your company is weighing a Japan entry and you’d like someone experienced on the ground to pressure-test your plan, that’s exactly what Japan Gateway is for. I help foreign B2B companies navigate the same decisions this book describes — from entry model to first hire to first deal.