China Asean Philippines Import Online Trading with Ecommerce102
Doing Business with Japan
1. Doing business in Asia －
Avoiding the pitfalls in
JAPAN
Anita Byrnes
Decision Japan
IIB Sydney group
2. About Anita Byrnes
• Fluent in spoken and written Japanese
• Degree in Economics and Asian Studies
• Previous career as a translator, systems engineer and analyst
• 20 years in Japan 1986-2007 as an entrepreneur
• Founded Decision Japan, a software distributor
– Localization, sales and support of technical software for Japanese
corporates
– Various niche markets, including AEC
• On behalf of software developers including Australian cos.
– Formation Design Systems / XP Software / Creative Engineering/ Vibro-
Acoustic Sciences
– Successful trade sale to Japanese software company 2007
• Now an independent consultant with special expertise in Japan
3. Japan – Basic facts
• 127 million people (10th most populous)
• Land mass the size of California
• 73% of the land is forest or mountainous and
otherwise not suitable for agriculture
• GDP is world’s 3rd largest
• Median disposable household income Yen 463,447
(approx. $6000A) on gross income of Yen 562,094
($7000) per month – July 10; + bonus 2 times/yr
4. Japan – Regional markets
• Japan is a collection of regional markets
5. Japan: Demographics
• Absolute decline in population started 2007
– Most rapidly aging population in the world BUT healthy and
wealthy
• Opportunities:
– aged care,
– financial and travel services,
– pharmaceuticals,
– lifestyle products etc
• Rate of savings has been consistently high (30%)
– Women control purse strings
6. Consumer market
• Japan is the 2nd largest consumer market in the world
• Japanese consumers are sophisticated and well ー heeled. . .
and have more choices than ever before
• Australian companies have had success with:
– Food
– Wine and beverages
– Restaurants
– Educational services
– Office services /office furniture
– Financial services
– Software
7. Japanese consumers
• Consumer market segmentation
– ‘Silvers’ – 25m people
– Baby boomers – 6.9m
– ‘Junior baby boomers’ – 7.9m
– Parasite singles – 10m young people
– Fuyo-so – wealthy with savings 10m – 10 bn yen
• 1.51 million people have financial assets of above US$1 million
• represents 53.9% of + US$1 million assets in the Asia region cf
China: 14.8%
8. Tech market
• Level playing field
– No tariffs/duties on many products incl. software
– Engineers have similar needs worldwide
– But localization is important
• Market is big
– Niches can be good business
9. Pitfalls for the unwary
• Business process in Japan
– Formality
– Punctuality 、 reliability
– Introduction of company and key people
• Namecards
• Corporate and product literature
• Cautions
– Clear communication
• YES is not necessarily ‘I agree’, it can be ‘I hear you’
• Written follow-up
– Make sure you are prepared for success
• Modify product packaging if required
• Can ramp up production to demand
10. Services : Your business friend for Japan
• Market entry services
– Distributor/partner search and negotiation
– Business and company set-up
– Localization of product, including software
– Introduction to my network
• Market research
– Access Japanese sources/translation
– Strategy advice
• Translation
– Websites, marketing materials and product documentation
