Japan Market Entry Insights from our Bridging Borders conversation with Mie Kitano, Japan Representative & Partner, Synfiny Advisors Idea in Brief The problem. Foreign companies routinely pass over strong Japanese partners, or negotiate them down, and later discover the capability was there all...

Japan Market Entry Insights from our Bridging Borders conversation with Paul Chapman, Founder & CEO of Moneytree Idea in Brief The problem. Foreign companies routinely spend a year or more in Japan generating meetings, pilots, and announcements — genuine activity — and then find that none of...

Japan Market Entry Insights from our Bridging Borders conversation with Daisuke Sakai, Co-Founder of teamLab Idea in BriefThe problem. Foreign companies entering Japan are trained to treat time as an enemy — to raise capital, hire sales, and force early traction. In Japan, that instinct often destroys...

I recently sat down with Yoshiaki Ito, former CEO of Sony Pictures Japan, to talk about leadership, transformation, and what it really takes to drive change inside a large Japanese organization. Sony Pictures Japan is not a startup. It is a complex, global business operating inside one of the most...

Japan Market Entry Insights from a conversation with Christina Ahmadjian, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University and Outside Director at Asahi Group Holdings, Sumitomo Electric Industries, NGK Spark Plug, and NEC Idea in BriefThe Problem — Most foreign companies still approach Japan as the...

Japan Market Entry The North Star Principle: What Japan’s Market Actually Demands From Foreign Leaders Insights drawn from Ken Shibusawa, CEO of Shibusawa & Company and descendant of Eiichi Shibusawa, Japan’s father of capitalism Every year, capable foreign companies enter Japan with...

Japan Market Entry Your Japan Market Entry Needs an Ikigai — Not an ROI Target Your Japan Market Entry Needs an Ikigai — Not an ROI Target Insights from a conversation with Keiichi Aritomo, 23-year management consulting veteran and financial sector leader in Japan Idea in BriefThe Problem — Most...