Insights & Guides

Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.

What Job Title Can You Put on a Business Card at a Japan GK or KK? (2026)

August 7, 2026

6 min read

What Job Title Can You Put on a Business Card at a Japan GK or KK? (2026)

No Japanese statute requires a job title to appear on a business card (名刺) at all. The legal constraint runs the other way: which title you may print. A 合同会社 (GK) has no director seats, so its...

By Aplash
What Documents Prove Income Eligibility for Japan's J-Skip Visa? (2026)

August 7, 2026

6 min read

What Documents Prove Income Eligibility for Japan's J-Skip Visa? (2026)

Proving J-Skip income eligibility requires a coherent evidence package, typically an employment contract stating salary, corroborating tax or withholding records, and (where the applicant...

By Aplash
What Does Japan's 2028 Platform Tax Reform Mean for Foreign E-Commerce Sellers?

August 7, 2026

6 min read

What Does Japan's 2028 Platform Tax Reform Mean for Foreign E-Commerce Sellers?

Japan's Phase 2 platform tax reform, effective April 2028, makes e-commerce platform operators the Japan consumption tax (JCT) taxpayer for cross-border B2C goods sold to Japan consumers, and...

By Aplash
How Do You Upgrade from HSP-1 to HSP-2 in Japan? (2026)

August 7, 2026

6 min read

How Do You Upgrade from HSP-1 to HSP-2 in Japan? (2026)

HSP-1 holders qualify for HSP-2 after three years on HSP-1, or after just one year if their point score reaches 80 or more (against the 70-point threshold that qualifies for HSP-1 in the first...

By Aplash
Who Can Certify a Business Plan for Japan's Management Visa? (2026)

August 7, 2026

6 min read

Who Can Certify a Business Plan for Japan's Management Visa? (2026)

Only three categories of Japan-licensed professional may certify a Management Visa (経営・管理) business plan: a Certified Public Accountant (公認会計士), a Licensed Tax Accountant (税理士), or a Small and...

By Aplash
What Should a Japan-Market Brand Guideline Actually Include? (2026)

August 6, 2026

6 min read

What Should a Japan-Market Brand Guideline Actually Include? (2026)

A complete Japan-market brand guideline documents logo files in SVG, PNG, and EPS across black, white, accent-color, and reverse-out variants; color tokens with print and greyscale fallback...

By Aplash
How Do You Design One Website for Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese Without Three Layouts?

August 6, 2026

8 min read

How Do You Design One Website for Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese Without Three Layouts?

Build one layout system with shared structural rules (grid, spacing tokens, component library) and per-locale overrides for the things that genuinely differ by script: font pairing, text-expansion...

By Aplash
Why Do Japan B2B Brand Colors Need to Survive Greyscale Printing? (2026)

August 6, 2026

5 min read

Why Do Japan B2B Brand Colors Need to Survive Greyscale Printing? (2026)

Japan B2B brand colors need to survive greyscale printing because Japanese reviewers frequently print PDFs, decks, and one-pagers before a meeting rather than reading them on screen, and a palette...

By Aplash
How Do You Design a Pitch Deck or Sales Deck for Japanese B2B Buyers? (2026)

August 6, 2026

6 min read

How Do You Design a Pitch Deck or Sales Deck for Japanese B2B Buyers? (2026)

A pitch deck built for a Japan B2B audience needs denser slides, more supporting data per claim, and value-proposition language built for the reader rather than translated from an English...

By Aplash
How Should Foreign Companies Design Web Forms for Japanese Users? (2026)

August 6, 2026

6 min read

How Should Foreign Companies Design Web Forms for Japanese Users? (2026)

Foreign companies should place form field labels above each input rather than inline, format numbers with comma thousands separators, use ¥1,000 (symbol first) for prices or 1,000円 (symbol last)...

By Aplash