Japanese Market

Japan's Digital Content Empire: How Financial Institutions Are Betting Big on Anime, Gaming, and Blockchain

Japan's Digital Content Empire: How Financial Institutions Are Betting Big on Anime, Gaming, and Blockchain

When people think of Japan's digital goods, they often think of consumers — the millions of Japanese users paying for SaaS subscriptions, AI tools, and mobile games. But there's another side to the story: Japan is also a formidable producer and exporter of digital goods, and its

Japan's Inbound Tourism Boom: 37 Million Visitors and What It Means for Cross-Border Business

Japan's Inbound Tourism Boom: 37 Million Visitors and What It Means for Cross-Border Business

Japan's inbound tourism market has staged one of the most dramatic recoveries in global travel history. After two years of near-zero international arrivals during the pandemic, foreign visitor numbers haven't just recovered — they've surpassed pre-COVID levels and show no signs of slowing down. For

ACP Explained: Why Every Foreign Company Importing to Japan Needs an Attorney for Customs Procedure

ACP Explained: Why Every Foreign Company Importing to Japan Needs an Attorney for Customs Procedure

If you want to import goods into Japan as a foreign company without a physical presence in the country, you need an ACP — an Attorney for Customs Procedure (税関事務管理人). There is no workaround, no alternative, and no way to skip this requirement. Without an ACP, your goods cannot clear Japanese

Selling TO Japan: 8 Product Categories Japanese Consumers Can't Get Domestically

Selling TO Japan: 8 Product Categories Japanese Consumers Can't Get Domestically

Most cross-border e-commerce content focuses on selling Japanese products to the world. But there's an equally compelling opportunity in the opposite direction: selling foreign products TO Japanese consumers. Japan is a $5 trillion economy with 125 million consumers who have money to spend and a well-documented appetite for

Japan's Digital Deficit: Why SaaS, AI, and Gaming Make Japan the Best Market for Digital Goods

Japan's Digital Deficit: Why SaaS, AI, and Gaming Make Japan the Best Market for Digital Goods

Japan has a digital goods problem — and for foreign companies selling software, games, AI tools, and SaaS products, that problem is actually a massive opportunity. For decades, the narrative of US-Japan trade was dominated by physical goods: Japanese cars flooding American highways, Japanese electronics filling American living rooms. The trade

PSE and PSC Certification: Why ACP Alone Won't Get Your Products into Japan

PSE and PSC Certification: Why ACP Alone Won't Get Your Products into Japan

If you're planning to sell physical products in Japan, having an Authorized Customs Procedure (ACP) arrangement is just the beginning. Many foreign companies discover — often too late — that Japan's product safety regulations require separate certifications that no customs procedure can replace. Two of the most critical

The Hidden Costs That Blindside Foreign Companies in Japan

The Hidden Costs That Blindside Foreign Companies in Japan

Japan is one of Asia's most coveted markets — a high-income, brand-conscious consumer base of 125 million people with a strong appetite for quality foreign products and services. Yet for every success story, there are dozens of foreign companies that entered Japan having budgeted $50,000 to $80,000