A standard cultural or behavioural training course for Japan can be useful. However, long-term success does not depend on whether individual rules of conduct are known, but rather on whether the right measures are implemented consistently within your organisation and tailored to the Japanese IT market.

Therefore, I teach you the essential knowledge about Japan in a practical way, and precisely when it is relevant to your current situation. This means you don’t end up with a stockpile of theoretical knowledge, but rather experience that you can put into practice straight away.

If you would also like specific cultural or behavioural training, I would be happy to help you find suitable providers.

Perhaps. Sometimes it actually works very well.

In practice, however, initiatives in Japan rarely fail because no one is taking responsibility. They fail because differing expectations, priorities and interests are not brought to light or remain unresolved.

A German VP of Sales brings sales experience to the table. A Japanese Country Manager knows the local market. Both are valuable. Nevertheless, conflicts often arise between sales, product management, professional services, support, partners and management.

There is another factor to consider: in Japan, trust is not built on titles or organisational charts. It is built through ongoing communication, an understanding of expectations, and the ability to identify and resolve misunderstandings at an early stage.

Many Japanese country managers are selected primarily on the basis of their English language skills. Many European executives do not speak Japanese. As a result, communication often remains indirect and important messages are lost.

The Navigator does not replace either the VP of Sales or the Country Manager. It ensures that everyone involved is working towards the same goals, that decisions remain transparent, and that important actions do not get lost amidst competing priorities.

Whether you can succeed in Japan depends above all on your willingness to take the market seriously and adapt to its specific demands. With the right preparation, risks can be significantly reduced and many common pitfalls avoided.

My aim is not to make your expansion into Japan more complicated, but to avoid unnecessary detours. Together, we will focus on the measures that are actually relevant to your business – not on theoretical ideals.

The greatest risk associated with expanding into Japan is not single investments, but rather investing at the wrong time. Many companies spend money on partners, localisation or projects before the necessary conditions have been put in place.

That is precisely why my programme consists of three stages that build on one another:

• Japan IT Business Assessment – provides clarity on risks, priorities and necessary measures.

• Japan IT Business Navigator – helps you to implement the identified measures in a structured and controlled manner.

• Japan IT Business Impact – provides additional operational support only when it is actually needed.

You stay in control of your investments at all times, prioritise actions and decide for yourself when it makes sense to take the next step.

Of course not.

That’s exactly what the silver version is for.

You can start with a modest investment and expand the partnership later on. Any payments you’ve already made can be credited towards an upgrade. I’d be happy to explain the details to you during our initial consultation.

This is how you can reduce your risk whilst retaining full flexibility.

The Navigator has been deliberately designed in such a way that the relevant specialist departments can be specifically integrated.

Depending on the current focus, staff from, for example, Sales, Professional Services, Support, Product Management, Development, Legal or Management may take part.

For the regular sparring sessions, I recommend 1–2 participants per department concerned. This ensures that the sessions remain productive and that decisions can be prepared or taken straight away.

A total of up to 10 participants can take part in the quarterly workshops. This ensures that all relevant stakeholders can be involved without the discussion losing any of its efficiency.

I do not mediate between opinions, but between different expectations:

Resistance often stems not from rejection, but from a lack of understanding of the other side’s expectations. That is why I make a point of involving the staff concerned in the change process and highlighting conflicting objectives.

If your teams understand why Japanese customers have certain requirements and what the consequences of these are, many reservations will disappear of their own accord. The remaining resistance can then be addressed in a much more targeted manner.

Management support remains a key factor for success in this regard. My role is to foster understanding, clear up misunderstandings and ensure that all those involved are working towards a common goal.

The SPoC service is particularly helpful when key customers, partners or projects in Japan require regular coordination and you recognize communication breakdowns with a noticeable impact on your business or customer satisfaction .

With the SPoC service, you can establish a dedicated point of contact between your Japanese customers and partners and your organisation.

– For Japanese customers the SPoC service creates a direct anchor of trust (“Japanese”)

– For those responsible for delivery it stabilises and speeds up communication.

– For your management and executives it reduces the risk of escalation, increases transparency and provides additional security in critical customer relationships.

The Navigator is designed to support with guidance during implementation. The aim is to enable structured planning, prioritisation and embedding of your measures within the organisation. Operational project work, development services or the takeover of line management responsibilities are not part of the programme. For specific operational support, please use Japan IT Business Impact .

The SPoC service should not be confused with a traditional support helpline. Integrating it into your support system is therefore only advisable in specific cases.

An example from normal work days:
It takes too long to process a ticket, or no response is received. Partners or customers then contact me directly – via email, messenger or telephone, and not via a support tool – quoting the ticket number or the name of the contact person.

Should you be interested in setting up a support team in or for Japan (in Japanese), I would of course be happy to assist you on an advisory basis through the Japan IT-Business Navigator, or via the Japan IT-Business Impact service for on-the-ground operational support (e.g. training).

Most of the services offered by the Japan IT Business Navigator are provided online. This means there are no additional travel or event costs.

Additional costs may only be incurred if on-site appointments are expressly agreed. This applies in particular to the annual strategy day for the VIP package.

All travel, accommodation and event costs will be agreed upon in advance and set out transparently in the quotation.