Insights & Guides
Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.
Japan Import Compliance Mistakes That Get Non-Resident Importers Flagged (2026)
Most foreign companies that get flagged by Japan Customs (税関) did not do anything dramatic. They repeated a small procedural inconsistency across several shipments until a pattern formed, and the...
How Long Does It Take to Set Up an IOR in Japan? The Realistic Timeline (2026)
Before a company commits to an Importer of Record (IOR) arrangement in Japan, the question that actually determines whether the deal moves forward is rarely price. It is timing: how long from the...
Japan Importer of Record (IOR) for Foreign Textile Suppliers: Raw Fabric, Yarn, and Industrial Inputs Feeding Japanese Manufacturing
A textile mill shipping raw fabric rolls to a Japanese garment factory, a yarn spinner supplying an industrial thread buyer, or a chemical supplier feeding dye and finishing inputs to a...
Importing Agricultural Equipment into Japan: The IOR and ACP Decision for Foreign Manufacturers
A foreign manufacturer of tractors, harvesters, irrigation systems, greenhouse equipment, agricultural drones, or soil and crop sensors approaching the Japan market faces two questions that are...
Does Hiring in Japan Through an EOR Create Permanent Establishment Risk for Foreign Companies?
A foreign company hires its first Japan-based employee through an Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement instead of setting up a Japan entity. The immediate question from the CFO or general counsel...
Sample Shipments and Small-Batch Imports to Japan: Do You Need a Full IOR, or Something Lighter? (2026)
A foreign manufacturer testing the Japan market rarely starts with a container. It starts with a handful of product samples for a prospective distributor, a small trial order for a pilot customer,...
What Happens If Your Japan IOR Provider Shuts Down? Continuity Risk, Customs Exposure, and Contingency Planning (2026)
Foreign companies evaluating an Importer of Record (IOR) provider in Japan spend most of their diligence time on price, turnaround, and product coverage. Almost none of them ask what happens to...
Does EOR Include a Work Visa? What Employer of Record Actually Covers for Foreign Hires in Japan (2026)
Most companies evaluating Employer of Record (EOR) in Japan ask the wrong first question. They ask "can EOR get my employee a work visa," when the more useful question is "which of these two very...
Japan ACP for Swiss Manufacturers: Non-Resident Importer Setup Under the Japan-Switzerland Economic Partnership Agreement (2026)
Switzerland sits outside the European Union, and Swiss manufacturers exporting to Japan, whether precision instruments, pharmaceuticals, watches, or specialty machinery, do not qualify for...
Why Sending an Employee to Japan on a Business Visa Instead of EOR Creates Compliance Risk (2026)
A foreign company needs someone doing real work in Japan, on a client site, closing a sale, running technical support, or standing up an early sales function, and does not yet have a Japan entity....