Insights & Guides
Practical knowledge on Japan market entry — from company setup and visas to trade logistics and branding.
Japan ACP for Australian and New Zealand Manufacturers: Non-Resident Importer Setup Under JAEPA and CPTPP (2026)
Australian and New Zealand manufacturers exporting to Japan have long relied on Japanese trading companies or distributors as the named importer on Japan customs declarations. Following a Japan...
Japan IOR vs ACP: Who Bears Product Liability When Your Product Causes Harm in Japan (2026)
Most discussions of IOR and ACP focus on the customs mechanics: who is named on the import declaration, how JCT recovery works, and what happens when a shipment is held for inspection. Those are...
Japan IOR Returns and Reverse Logistics: How to Handle Goods Exported Back from Japan (2026)
Returns are the scenario that almost every company running Japan imports fails to plan for until the first one happens. When a Japan customer returns goods, when a warranty replacement requires...
Japan IOR and ACP for Indian Manufacturers: Market Entry via the India-Japan CEPA (2026 Guide)
India-Japan bilateral trade has grown consistently over the past decade. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA, 包括的経済連携協定) between India and Japan, in effect since August 2011,...
Japan ACP for Taiwan Manufacturers: How to Import as Non-Resident Without Setting Up a KK (2026)
Taiwan is one of Japan's largest trade partners in electronics, semiconductors, precision machinery, and industrial components. For decades, the standard market-entry path for Taiwan manufacturers...
Japan ACP as a Permanent Import Strategy: When to Stay Non-Resident and When to Incorporate (2026)
Most foreign companies treating Japan as a serious market arrive with a default assumption baked in: "We'll use ACP for now, then incorporate once we're ready." That framing is almost always the...
Japan Import Consumption Tax Recovery Guide: How Non-Resident IOR and ACP Importers Claim Input Tax Credits
Companies importing goods into Japan pay consumption tax at the border. For many, that tax never comes back. Whether it does, and how, depends entirely on the import structure chosen and whether...
Japan ACP for Southeast Asian Manufacturers: Staying Named as Importer on Japan Customs Declarations Without a Japan Entity (2026)
Southeast Asian manufacturers exporting to Japan through Japanese trading companies or distributors as nominal importers are running the same compliance problem that the October 2023 Japan Customs...
Japan IOR and ACP for US Manufacturers: How to Import to Japan Without a Japan Entity (2026 Guide)
US manufacturers exporting to Japan through Japanese distributors or trading companies as nominal importers are carrying customs exposure that has been explicitly non-compliant since the October...
Japan ACP for European Manufacturers: How to Use EU-Japan EPA Tariff Preferences Without a Japan Entity
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (commonly known as JEEPA) eliminated or significantly reduced import tariff rates on a wide range of European manufactured goods entering Japan....