Insights & Guides
Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.
Japan IOR, EOR, and ACP: Frequently Asked Questions (2026)
This post collects the questions foreign companies ask most often when they first encounter IOR, EOR, and ACP as terms describing how to move goods into Japan or hire staff there without a Japan...
What Happens If You Import Into Japan Without an IOR or ACP (2026)
Some foreign companies never make a deliberate decision about how to structure their Japan imports. A freight forwarder offers to "handle everything," a distributor agrees to receive the goods on...
How Much Does ACP Cost in Japan? Setup, Per-Shipment, and Package Fees Explained (2026)
Non-resident manufacturers who have decided they want to remain the named importer on their own Japan customs declarations, rather than handing that role to an Importer of Record, almost always...
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)
If your Importer of Record (IOR) provider in Japan stops operating, becomes insolvent, or is acquired, your in-transit goods, your customs standing, and any pending consumption tax credit can be...