Insights & Guides
Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.
Japan Duty Drawback Guide: Recovering Customs Duty When Goods Are Re-Exported, Returned, or Destroyed Under IOR or ACP
Most guidance on Japanese customs duty focuses on the moment goods enter the country: what rate applies, how the HS classification is determined, and who pays. Less attention goes to the reverse...
How Currency Exchange Rate Movements Affect Your Japan IOR Customs Valuation and Cash Flow (2026)
Foreign manufacturers pricing a Japan shipment usually work in their own home currency, then treat the yen amount as a simple conversion detail. It is not simple, and it is not a detail. Customs...
Japan Customs Holidays and Business-Day Calendar: How Closures Affect Your IOR or ACP Shipment Timeline (2026)
A shipment that would normally clear customs in a day can sit for the better part of a week if it lands during the wrong stretch of the calendar. Foreign manufacturers planning a Japan launch, a...
Winding Down a Japan IOR or ACP Arrangement: What Happens When You Stop Selling in Japan (2026)
Every guide to entering Japan without an entity covers onboarding in detail. Almost none cover what happens when a company decides to stop. Whether the reason is a strategic pivot, a disappointing...
Does Japan EOR Cover Parental and Childcare Leave? What Foreign Employers Need to Know (2026)
A foreign company hiring its first employee in Japan through an EOR (Employer of Record) arrangement usually plans around salary, social insurance cost, and notice periods. Parental and childcare...
Who Insures the Goods During a Japan IOR Import? Cargo Insurance, Bailee Liability, and What's Actually Covered (2026)
Foreign manufacturers setting up an Importer of Record (IOR) arrangement in Japan usually ask about customs clearance timelines, duty rates, and consumption tax recovery first. Insurance comes up...
Japan IOR for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Equipment: Import Compliance for Green Energy Manufacturers (2026)
Japan has committed to hydrogen as a core pillar of its energy strategy, and foreign manufacturers of electrolyzers, fuel cell stacks, hydrogen storage vessels, and refueling station components...
How to Set Up an Importer of Record in Japan: The Complete Process (2026)
Once a company decides it needs an Importer of Record (IOR) in Japan, the next question is almost always practical: what actually has to happen, in what order, before the first shipment can clear...
Do You Need an IOR in Japan? The Signs You're Ready (2026)
Most foreign companies find their way to an Importer of Record (IOR) conversation for one of two reasons: a shipment already got stuck at Japan Customs, or someone on the team asked "wait, who is...
Japan IOR for HVAC, Climate Control, and Industrial Cooling Equipment: Import Compliance for Foreign Manufacturers (2026)
Foreign manufacturers of HVAC systems, industrial chillers, precision climate control units, and cooling systems for data centers, cleanrooms, and manufacturing facilities are shipping...