Get your product into the shape
Japanese buyers will actually buy.
An operator-led partner for Japan market entry — exclusive distribution or sole agency.
Makuake validation, then scale-up on Amazon Japan, Rakuten & Yahoo! Shopping.
32 years in Japan's automotive industry · Operating on Amazon Japan & Rakuten since 2011.
Free initial assessment within 2 weeks. English & Japanese OK.
Japan market launch, end to end.
We work as your exclusive distributor or sole agent in Japan, run Makuake validation pilots to test demand, and scale into long-running Amazon Japan & Rakuten operations. Field-tested standards from 32 years in Japan's automotive supply chain, applied to consumer-product selection and improvement.
Exclusive distribution or sole agency
Terms and risk-sharing are matched to your product. Long-term Japan presence is the goal, not a one-off launch.
Validate on Makuake → Scale on Amazon Japan & Rakuten
A small Makuake pilot tells us how Japanese buyers actually respond. Winners go on to Amazon Japan and Rakuten as ongoing SKUs.
Japan-specific adaptation
Packaging, manuals, and product pages — rebuilt for Japanese customers, not just translated. We change what the product looks like, says, and ships in.
Regulatory compliance
PMD Act (pharmaceuticals & medical devices), PSE certification, Food Sanitation Act, Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act, and similar regimes.
E-commerce operations
Day-to-day listing, advertising, customer service, and review-response on Amazon Japan and Rakuten. The pages stay alive once they ship.
Product improvement & OEM
Detailed, on-the-ground execution: working directly with Chinese OEM suppliers in Japanese and English, and reshaping the product itself to match Japanese expectations.
VAROX co-launch (for selected products)
If you'd rather focus on product and let us own the brand presence in Japan, we also operate a small private-label called VAROX. Selection, quality standards, and store-front are shared. We only co-launch products that fit VAROX's "long-lasting daily-use" point of view, so it's by mutual fit — not a default route.
What's different about selling in Japan.
If you've sold on Amazon US or Kickstarter, Japan looks similar from the outside — and breaks in unexpected places. Here's the short version of what actually matters.
What is Makuake?
Japan's leading "shōhinka" (first-launch) crowdfunding platform. It's not really fundraising — it's how Japanese buyers discover new products. Strong launches translate directly into Amazon Japan and Rakuten demand later.
Review culture on Amazon Japan
Japanese reviewers describe defects in microscopic detail. A 4.2-star product in the US can be 3.4 in Japan over packaging dents and translation quirks. We design packaging, manuals, and CS scripts with this in mind.
Yakkihō (薬機法) basics
The Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act governs anything that claims a health effect — cosmetics, supplements, devices. Copy that's fine in the US can be illegal in Japan. We adjust both the certification path and the marketing copy.
PSE & product certification
Any electrical product needs a PSE mark before customs will release it. Food contact items, baby products, and several other categories have their own regimes. We map your product to the right path before pilot, not after.
Cross-border IP & trademarks
Japan is a first-to-file trademark country. We check whether your brand name is already registered (or being squatted) and advise on filing before launch — not after a successful Makuake when it's expensive to fix.
Long-tail support after launch
Japanese customers expect support in Japanese, in Japan business hours, with Japanese return logic. Without this, a strong launch fades within 90 days. Operations are where the long-term margin actually lives.
Five steps into Japan.
Step by step. No big upfront bets — we validate first, then scale. Free initial assessment within 2 weeks.
Product review & intake
We review samples, specs, and current sales. We assess fit with the Japanese market.
~2–3 weeks
Japan market validation
Competitive pricing, regulation, margin, and continuity — assessed against our internal selection bar.
~3–4 weeks
Makuake test launch
After we sign as your exclusive distributor, we run a Makuake pilot — page, promotion, fulfillment included.
~2–3 months
Scale on Amazon Japan & Rakuten
Pilot winners move to Amazon Japan and Rakuten. Listings, ads, and customer support — run by us.
~1–2 mo setup
Long-term run & iterate
Pricing, promotion, and product improvement are tuned from sales data. Reviews, inventory, and new SKUs — ongoing.
Ongoing
What overseas brands usually ask first.
What happens after my Makuake campaign ends?
We don't stop. Pilot winners move straight onto Amazon Japan and Rakuten as ongoing listings, run day-to-day by us. The Makuake number matters less than the post-pilot run-rate — we design for the second 12 months, not just the launch week.
How do you handle cross-border IP?
Japan is a first-to-file country. We check your brand name and key assets against the Japanese trademark database during intake, advise on filing before pilot, and add brand-name protection clauses to the distribution agreement. We've seen squat-style filings ruin successful Makuake launches — we want this resolved upfront.
What if the product fails in Japan?
Some launches do fail — usually for reasons that show up in market validation (Step 02). If the pilot reveals the product doesn't fit, we write up what we saw, what we'd change, and whether a different category or positioning could work. We'd rather tell you that early than push you into Amazon Japan with the wrong product.
Do you take inventory risk?
Depends on the deal. In many cases we purchase wholesale and absorb the inventory and operational risk — which reduces your exposure significantly. Total risk-sharing is tailored to product and contract type; not zero, but meaningfully reduced compared with you running Japan operations yourself.
Is there a setup fee or initial cost?
Initial assessment and discovery calls are free. In most cases we purchase at wholesale and earn the spread; you're not paying us a setup fee. Specific structure depends on the product and contract — we walk through it during intake.
Send us your product info ― free initial assessment within 2 weeks.
English & Japanese OK. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you why and what we'd suggest instead.
Email us your product infoOr use the structured form on our Japanese site (English supported).