Japan market entry
Starting a Japan business.
Most foreign technology companies get one attempt at Japan. The first leadership hire decides how the next three years go.
- 70+Leaders appointed
- 2003In Japan executive search since
- ¥70MMedian cash package for a proven Japan builder
Where you are now
Two starting points.
Both need a leader first. What changes is the kind of leader and how fast you have to move.
01
No entity, or a paper entity
You are selling into Japan from Singapore or the US, or through a partner, and the numbers now say it is time to put someone on the ground.
- Decide what Japan is for before you pick the vehicle
- Hire the leader, then let them build the plan
- Budget for a full year before revenue lands
02
An entity with a small team
You have a GK or a KK and a handful of people, and the results are not what the plan said they would be.
- Work out whether it is the person, the plan or the product
- Replace or upgrade the leader before adding headcount
- Fix what headquarters believes about Japan
Sequence
The order things happen in.
Entries go wrong on order more often than on effort. This is the order we recommend.
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01
Decide what Japan is for
Revenue this year, or a base for the next five. The answer changes who you hire and what you pay.
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02
Pick the vehicle
An EOR to test, a GK to move quickly, a KK when large Japanese buyers and the public sector are the target.
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03
Hire the leader first
Not a sales rep and not an office manager. The person who writes the plan you do not have yet.
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04
Fund the first year
Salary, bonus, social insurance, office and the twelve months before revenue lands.
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05
Build behind them
The leader picks the first team. Very little good happens when headquarters picks it instead.
We only do executive search, so our part is steps three and five. For the first two we'll tell you what we have seen work, point you to the guides, and introduce you to the accountants, lawyers and setup firms we trust.
The first hire
Three kinds of Country Manager.
They cost different amounts and they are good at different things. Hiring the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake in a Japan entry.
Builder
Opens the market from nothing. Carries a number, hires the first team, and can sell in the room in Japanese. Scarce, and priced accordingly.
Right when there is no revenue yet
Translator
Runs a business that already exists and keeps it connected to headquarters. Strong on process, forecasting and internal politics.
Right when Japan is growing and HQ keeps being surprised
Caretaker
Holds a mature business steady. Cheaper, lower risk, and comfortable. Hired into an entry, this profile will spend your first year not building anything.
Wrong for an entry, almost always
Budget
What the leader costs.
Benchmarked across twenty-five senior Japan Country Manager and market builder profiles from our own search data. Cash on target earnings, base plus bonus.
- Median cash on target earnings
- ¥70.0M
- Middle half of the sample
- ¥60.0M to ¥72.5M
- Full observed range
- ¥50M to ¥100M
- Profiles at ¥70M or above
- 14 of 25
These are cash figures. On top of them you have statutory social insurance, equity, an office or a co-working budget, and the twelve months of running cost before Japan revenue arrives. A regional pay band set in Singapore will not reach these numbers, which is why so many Japan searches stall at offer stage.
The ¥70M question, with the full dataTrack record
Leaders we have placed in Japan.
Founding Country Managers and first go-to-market leaders for technology companies starting out or resetting in Japan. A few examples are below. Our track record page has more, with case studies and named references.
Examples from the completed track record of Murray Clarke, including work delivered at the firms he built before Aspiring Partners.
See our track recordAfter the first hire
Building the team behind them.
The leader should choose the first ten people. Our job is to find them and keep the process moving.
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Zero to one
The leader, and nobody else
One search, run properly, with a named target pool. Get this right and the next ten hires get easier and cheaper.
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One to ten
First sellers, first engineer, first partner manager
The leader sets the profile. We run the searches in parallel so the team lands inside one budget year rather than three.
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Ten to a hundred
A hiring engine, not a series of favours
Pipelines that stay warm between roles, benchmarks that are updated, and a bench for the roles you know are coming.
Our executive search practice finds the leaders. As the team grows, our recruitment outsourcing programmes can support ongoing hiring with embedded recruiters, our own technology and specialist partners where required. Explore recruitment outsourcing in Japan →
What goes wrong
Where Japan entries fail.
Five patterns we see repeatedly. None of them are about the product.
A Caretaker in a Builder job
The safe hire with the big-company logo. Twelve months later there is a plan deck, a partner meeting or two, and no pipeline.
A regional pay band
The budget is set in Singapore or the US and does not reach the Japan market rate. The search runs, the shortlist is strong, and every candidate declines at offer.
A four month process
Senior Japanese candidates are not running a job search. If the process drifts, they stop answering and stay where they are.
The entity before the strategy
A KK is set up because it sounds serious, then the plan turns out to need speed and a small team. The structure now constrains the hire.
A regional VP owning the search
Japan is one of eight countries on their list and the only one where the network does not transfer. The role stays open while the quarter is closed.
Questions
Common questions.
Do we need a KK, or will a GK do?
A GK is faster and cheaper to set up and is enough for most software companies in their first years. A KK carries more weight with large Japanese enterprises and the public sector, and some procurement teams will ask. An employer of record lets you test the market with one person before committing to either. The comparison guide sets out all three.
Can we start with a sales rep instead of a leader?
You can, and it usually costs a year. A rep will sell what they are given. Nobody is writing the plan, mapping the partners, or making the case for Japan back at headquarters. When the rep leaves, so does the market knowledge.
How long does a Country Manager search take?
Ten to fourteen weeks from brief to signed offer when the process holds. Most of the delay we see is on the client side: interview slots, panel additions, and approvals that were not lined up before the search started.
What if you cannot find the person?
We name the target pool before we start. If we cannot tell you who the realistic candidates are at your budget, we say so then rather than after you have paid a retainer.
Do you work outside Japan?
No. One market is what makes the network worth anything. For searches elsewhere in the region we can introduce you to partner firms we work with.
Other services
We only do executive search.
Setting up in Japan takes more than a leader. Most companies also need an entity, a bank account, payroll and a tax accountant, and often visas and an office, usually before the first hire starts.
We don't provide any of these. After more than twenty years in Tokyo we know the firms that do, and we're happy to introduce you to the ones we trust.
Entity setup
KK, GK, branch or representative office.
Local director and address
A resident representative director and a registered address while you hire.
Banking
Opening a corporate bank account in Japan.
Payroll
Monthly payroll and social insurance enrolment.
Bookkeeping and tax
Monthly books, tax filings and reporting to headquarters in English.
Work visas
For people you transfer in from overseas.
Employer of record
To employ your first person before you have an entity.
Office space
Serviced offices, virtual addresses and leases.
Tell us what you need and we'll put you in touch.
Ask for an introductionNext step
Talk to us about a Japan entry.
Forty-five minutes with the partner who would run the search. Bring the plan you have, even if it is rough, and we will tell you what the market will support.
If you are still deciding whether Japan is worth staffing this year, that is a useful conversation too, and it does not commit you to a search.