Insights & Guides
Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.
Japan Market Entry Budget: What IOR, EOR, and ACP Actually Cost in Year One (2026)
Most companies planning a Japan launch reach the "which structure" decision before they reach the finance team. By the time a CFO or controller gets asked to approve the plan, the question has...
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...
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...
Japan ACP for Vietnamese Manufacturers: Naming Your Own Company as Importer of Record Under CPTPP and RCEP (2026 Guide)
Vietnamese manufacturers exporting to Japan are frequently routed through a Japan-based trading company or intermediary that appears as the importer of record on the customs declaration. That...
Japan ACP for Mexican Manufacturers: Non-Resident Importer Setup Under CPTPP (2026)
A Mexican manufacturer of automotive parts, industrial components, agricultural or food products, or electronics assemblies typically already has a Japan-side distributor in place before it ever...
Incoterms Do Not Decide Who Is Japan's Importer of Record: DDP, DAP, FOB, EXW, and CIF Against IOR and ACP Structures (2026)
A foreign manufacturer negotiating a Japan sale settles on an Incoterm, often DDP because it sounds like the simplest promise to a Japan buyer, and assumes the customs and importer question is now...
Japan ACP for Canadian Manufacturers: Non-Resident Importer Setup Under CPTPP (2026)
A Canadian manufacturer researching preferential access into Japan will often start by searching for a "Canada-Japan trade agreement," expecting to find a bilateral instrument similar to what the...
Japan IOR for Alcohol and Beverage Brands in 2026: The Liquor Sales License Layer Most Import Guides Miss
Wine, spirits, beer, and sake importers researching how to bring product into Japan typically find guidance on customs clearance and, if the brand has read closely, on the Food Sanitation Act...