Challenge
Left to a distributor, the reasons Japanese customers do not buy never reach head office. Head office concludes the Japan team is not working, replaces people, and relationships reset to zero.
4. OVERSEAS → JAPAN | ALREADY IN JAPAN
Decide whether to continue, change or withdraw from your Japan business in as few as 12 weeks, from how customers respond
Decide partway to the three-year wall. Revisit the winning path → revisit the distributor → meet customers directly → decide.
THE 3-YEAR WALL
For foreign companies entering Japan, year three is the wall
About 70% withdraw or sharply downsize within three years. The cause is rarely the product or the market; it is the gap between head-office expectations and Japanese business practice. A B2B deal in Japan takes 6-18 months, against 60-90 days at home.
Months 1-6
Optimism
- "Japan is a big market. Let's figure it out as we go."
- Hire from a CV, rely on translation alone, apply home-market speed to Japan
Months 6-12
Questions
- "Why is Japan so slow? Nothing is moving."
- "We'll consider it" is misread as positive. Head office starts to doubt the Japan team
Years 1-2
Confusion
- "Let's replace the Japan team."
- Replacing people resets relationships to zero; 12-18 months of work disappears
Years 2-3
Withdrawal
- "Japan is just too different."
- JPY 100-500 million in direct costs, plus the trust of introducers and the path to re-entry
WHY NOT WITH REM
With REM, the decision comes before the wall
The 30% that succeed share three things: a three-year commitment, hiring through relationships, and measuring relationship progress before revenue. REM's 12 weeks (as few as 12) is the period in which those three years are designed.
The first hire
Why companies hit the wall
Chosen from a CV. Deals in Japan are won on relationships and trust; a person without a network cannot even reach the door, however hard they work
How REM works
REM's team, with relationships and standing in Japan, works under your business card from week one
Speed
Why companies hit the wall
Home-market speed is applied to Japan. Revenue is demanded within 12 months and Japan is judged "slow". The more you push, the more trust you lose
How REM works
In 12 weeks we collect meetings and candid feedback, then build the three-year plan on real numbers
When people change
Why companies hit the wall
Relationships belong to individuals, not the company. When the person changes, 12-18 months are lost
How REM works
Relationships are held by a team and handed over to you with records and know-how. A change of person does not stop the work
| Why companies hit the wall | How REM works | |
|---|---|---|
| The first hire | Chosen from a CV. Deals in Japan are won on relationships and trust; a person without a network cannot even reach the door, however hard they work | REM's team, with relationships and standing in Japan, works under your business card from week one |
| Speed | Home-market speed is applied to Japan. Revenue is demanded within 12 months and Japan is judged "slow". The more you push, the more trust you lose | In 12 weeks we collect meetings and candid feedback, then build the three-year plan on real numbers |
| When people change | Relationships belong to individuals, not the company. When the person changes, 12-18 months are lost | Relationships are held by a team and handed over to you with records and know-how. A change of person does not stop the work |
Source: Incredible Consulting K.K., 2025 (50+ market entries observed by the firm; not official statistics)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
From a distributor-run Japan business to a management decision in as few as 12 weeks
REM's approach
REM members who know Japan work as your Japan team, bypass the distributor to meet customers and collect first-hand information, and clear the way to a decision on whether to continue, change or withdraw.
What you have after 12 weeks
Direct meetings with customers outside the distributor, candid feedback heard in Japanese, and the real picture of the distributor: the material to decide whether to continue, change or withdraw.
THE WALL
For foreign companies in Japan, the top barrier is finding people
Obstacles to doing business in Japan (JETRO 2016, n=197, dated)
- 48.2%
- Difficulty securing people
- 42.3%
- Difficulty communicating in foreign languages
- 38.2%
- High business costs
- 37.5%
- Complex administrative procedures and licensing
- 37%
- The distinctiveness of doing business in Japan
- 25.5%
- cite "securing people" as the top item to improve (FY2022, n=1,348)
Source: JETRO survey on foreign-affiliated companies, 2016 (n=197, top two of four ratings; dated) / same, FY2022 (March 2023, n=1,348, "items most in need of improvement")
THE APPROACH
Revisit the current distributor and customers from the winning path
Re-examine the distributor and existing customers, and rethink the targets from the strategy your company can win with in Japan. Secondary information is gathered with AI, first-hand information face to face, and the decision is made after meeting the buyers.
01
Does the winning path still hold?
Look back at what Japanese customers valued and what produced revenue, and update the winning path for the future.
02
Is the current distributor the right one?
Lay the numbers, contracts, distributor and team out on one page and find where things are stuck. From the Japanese industry's structure and market conditions, identify the industries and buyers to approach, and find customers beyond the distributor.
03
Meet customers directly
Bypassing the distributor, REM meets customers and partner candidates directly as your Japan representative, and records the reasons they do not buy.
04
Management decision (redesign)
Decide whether to continue, change or withdraw on first-hand information. If continuing, design the combination of distributor and direct sales.
WHY REM
Rather than replacing the country manager, make REM part of your team
Trust in Japan
Replace the country manager
Built from zero
Make REM part of your team
Starts from doors that are already open: local governments, large companies and industry networks
Time to a meeting
Replace the country manager
Long
Make REM part of your team
REM members who know Japan meet in person as your Japan representative, under your business card
Expertise
Replace the country manager
One person's worth
Make REM part of your team
Specialists assembled per project (regulation, industry). Know-how is handed over to your Japan team
When people change
Replace the country manager
Relationships vanish; a year or more to recover
Make REM part of your team
Relationships are held by a team. Records remain and the work does not stop
Cost
Replace the country manager
Fixed costs come first
Make REM part of your team
Monthly. You decide after 12 weeks whether to continue
| Replace the country manager | Make REM part of your team | |
|---|---|---|
| Trust in Japan | Built from zero | Starts from doors that are already open: local governments, large companies and industry networks |
| Time to a meeting | Long | REM members who know Japan meet in person as your Japan representative, under your business card |
| Expertise | One person's worth | Specialists assembled per project (regulation, industry). Know-how is handed over to your Japan team |
| When people change | Relationships vanish; a year or more to recover | Relationships are held by a team. Records remain and the work does not stop |
| Cost | Fixed costs come first | Monthly. You decide after 12 weeks whether to continue |
Source: Top obstacle in Japan is "difficulty securing people", 48.2% (JETRO 2016, n=197, dated) / 12-18 months lost when the representative changes (Incredible Consulting 2025, the firm's observation) / five subsidiaries: REM track record
12 WEEKS
The 12 weeks (as few as 12): identify → meet → decide
Meet the buyers before hiring or incorporating. Your side provides a decision maker at two regular meetings a month, one point of contact, and your materials and pricing.
Weeks 1-4 (typically 2)
Identify
- Update the winning path in a short sentence
- Lay numbers, contracts, distributor and team out on one page and find where things stop
- Agree the list of people to meet, the definition of a meeting and the target count
Weeks 5-10
Meet
- Bypassing the distributor, REM meets customers as your Japan team
- Reactions and reasons for not buying are recorded in a form that reaches head office
- The initial strategy is corrected against reality and updated
Weeks 11-12
Decide
- Continue, change or withdraw, decided by your management as a whole
- Continue or change: design the combination of distributor and direct sales
- Withdraw: a procedure to stop in a way you can restart from
FEES
Fees: monthly retainer + success fee
From USD 4,000 / month (excl. tax) + success fee
As few as 12 weeks of work. Specialist time is quoted per project. The success fee is set by the number of qualified meetings; the definition of a meeting and the target count are agreed with you in weeks 1-4. No fixed cost for hiring or incorporation is committed up front.
Success fee earned (for a target of 10 meetings)
- 0-3 meetings: 0%
- 4 meetings: 25%
- 5 meetings: 50%
- 6-9 meetings: 60-90%
- 10 or more: 100%
For a different target, the same ratios apply. Results are measured by the progress of meetings, partnerships and contracts; we do not guarantee revenue.
The first step is a free 30-minute call
1) Free 30-minute call (online) → 2) We summarize your situation and candidate markets on one page → 3) We propose a plan and quote for as few as 12 weeks