International Business

Practical playbooks for Europe ↔ East Asia expansion. Real costs, real timelines, real lessons.

13 articles

Best Japan Market Entry Consultants for European Companies (2026)

An honest comparison of Japan market-entry support for European companies: government programmes (JETRO, EU-Japan Centre), the Tokyo-based specialist consultancies that dominate English-language search, Big-4 practices, and EU-side corridor firms. When each is the right choice.

Jul 02, 2026

Patric Sawada

10 min read

japan market entry consultants

japan market entry

japan expansion consulting

+2 more

International Business

EU-Japan and Netherlands-Japan Business Statistics (2026)

A cite-ready reference of the key numbers on the Netherlands-Japan and EU-Japan business corridor: FDI stock, market-entry costs, cross-cultural training pricing, and the cultural-distance data most guides skip. Every figure sourced.

Jul 02, 2026

Patric Sawada

11 min read

japan business statistics

eu japan trade

netherlands japan investment

+3 more

International Business

The Familiarity Trap: Why Japan Looks Like Home and Costs European Companies Most

Japan looks familiar, same airports, same coffee chains, same slide decks, so European companies assume it works like home. That assumption is the most expensive mistake in market entry. Here is why the familiar surface misleads, and what to do instead.

doing business in japan

cross-cultural marketing

+3 more

International Business

Doing Business in Japan from France: A Corridor Guide for French Companies

A France-to-Japan corridor guide: where French relationship-led, hierarchical, debate-driven business culture meets Japanese expectations, why luxury, cosmetics, and F&B are a genuine FR-JP strength, and how to assess entry readiness.

Jun 23, 2026

Patric Sawada

18 min read

french companies japan

doing business in japan from france

france japan trade

+4 more

International Business

Doing Business in Japan from Germany: A Corridor Guide for German Operators

Germany is the EU's largest export economy and one of Japan's most active European trade partners. This guide maps the German business-culture starting point against Japanese expectations, where German operators stumble, sector angles for automotive, machinery and chemicals, and a practical entry-readiness plan.

Jun 23, 2026

Patric Sawada

19 min read

doing business in japan germany

german companies japan

Mittelstand japan entry

+5 more

International Business

EU SaaS in Japan: How Japanese Buyers Actually Decide to Buy Software

A market-and-culture guide for European SaaS founders selling into Japan. Why Japanese buyers expect different payment methods, a different pricing-page shape, and a different security signal, and how to read those expectations. The legal, tax, and certification detail is specialist work; this is the commercial and cultural layer.

saas market entry japan

saas pricing japan

+5 more

International Business

Ringi: The Japanese Approval Process European Sales Teams Keep Misreading

A practitioner guide to *ringi*, the Japanese internal approval system, written for European sales teams selling into Japanese B2B accounts. Covers the *ringi-sho* document, *hanko* stamp chain, reading the routing list, the relationship to *nemawashi*, and the document trail European sellers should be providing at each stage.

International Business

Yahoo!Japan vs Google for European Brands: A Per-Segment Decision Matrix

Yahoo!Japan's standalone search share has fallen to single digits on StatCounter, yet its portal, display network, and LY-ecosystem assets still carry meaningful budget weight. This guide gives a per-segment decision matrix for European brands deciding where to invest, covering B2B, SaaS-SMB, D2C-millennials, luxury, travel, pharma, and consumer-electronics.

Apr 30, 2026

Patric Sawada

18 min read

yahoo japan vs google

yahoo japan seo

yahoo japan display

+6 more

International Business

Japan Market Entry for European SMEs: A 3-Chapter Framework

How European SMEs actually enter the Japanese market, entry models, customer acquisition channels, and cross-cultural marketing, based on the Silkdrive × EU-Japan Centre webinar framework.

japan market entry sme

european smes japan

+5 more

International Business

The Netherlands-Japan Business Corridor: Why the Bilateral Relationship Matters for Your Company

The Netherlands is Japan's #1 EU investment partner and Japan's largest European investment destination. Here's what that $190B+ bilateral corridor means for Dutch and European companies.

Apr 26, 2026

Patric Sawada

14 min read

japan netherlands business

doing business in japan

japan market entry

+4 more

International Business

The Real Cost of Entering the Japanese Market

Budget breakdown for European companies: setup costs, marketing spend, timeline, and the hidden expenses most guides skip.

International Business

The Complete Guide to Japan Market Entry for European Companies [2026]

A comprehensive 2026 guide for European companies entering Japan: sector breakdowns, entry-mode taxonomy, EU-Japan EPA mechanics, GDPR-APPI adequacy, sales-cycle architecture, and the 12-month operational checklist.

International Business