Japan market entry · FinTech & B2B SaaS

Your fractional Country Manager for Japan.

You’re serious about Japan — but not ready to hire a full-time local executive, and a six-figure consultancy is overkill. I embed as your part-time Country Manager and actually move the market forward: strategy, localization, partnerships, and staying clear of Japan’s regulatory landmines.

20 years bilingual · Based in Japan · Regulated-industry operator · Own product grown in Japan
🗺️ Book a Japan Market Scan → See the packages →
Hiraki assistant mascot holding a megaphone
Who this is for

Built for foreign FinTech & B2B SaaS

This works best when Japan is a real priority — but the timing or the numbers don’t justify a full-time local hire yet.

💳
B2B FinTech SaaS
Payments, accounting, compliance tooling, trading infrastructure — license-light categories that overlap with what I already know deeply.
📄
Registered & registering firms
Remittance and crypto-asset operators pursuing JFSA registration, where regulatory judgment is worth the most.
📊
FinTech-adjacent platforms
Market data, charting tools, and education platforms that sell to the same Japanese audience.
One honest boundary: I don’t act as an outsourced “solicitor” for unregistered offshore brokers targeting Japanese retail. That crosses into unregistered solicitation under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Everywhere else, I keep you moving fast and safe.
What you get

Four jobs, one operator

A Country Manager isn’t a translator or a consultant with a slide deck. It’s someone who owns these four areas and reports on real progress.

01
🎯
Market strategy
Decide whether and how to enter — and stop guessing from the outside.
Includes
  • Entry go / no-go call, grounded in the real market
  • Competitive landscape in Japanese, not translated brochures
  • Pricing and packaging for Japanese buyers
  • Sequencing: what to do first, second, and not yet
02
📝
Localization oversight
Your Japanese should sell and build trust — not just be understandable. Backed by the full Hiraki Localization toolkit.
Includes
  • Sales-ready Japanese for site, product, and collateral
  • QA on any existing or vendor / AI translation
  • Tone and terminology that a Japanese buyer trusts
  • UI and help-center copy review
03
🤝
Partner development
Distribution in Japan runs on relationships. I open and manage the channels — something I do in my own business every week.
Includes
  • Media, affiliate, and reseller outreach in Japanese
  • Partnership negotiation and follow-through
  • Introductions warmed up, not cold-listed
  • Ongoing relationship management
04
⚖️
Regulatory navigation
Keep your marketing and go-to-market clear of the mistakes that get foreign firms fined or shut out.
Includes
  • 景表法 (misleading representation) review of claims
  • 金商法 (Financial Instruments & Exchange Act) awareness
  • Guardrails for ads, landing pages, and partner copy
  • A clear line on what you can and can’t say
Note This is practical operating guidance, not a substitute for licensed legal counsel — and I’ll tell you exactly when you need a lawyer.
Packages

Start small. Scale when it’s working.

Most engagements begin with a Market Scan, then convert into a fractional retainer once the direction is clear.

Entry point
🔍
Japan Market Scan
Two weeks to a clear answer: is Japan worth it, and if so, what do you do first?
$1,500–2,500
One-time · ~2 weeks
  • Market & competitor read in Japanese
  • Localization gap check on your current site
  • Regulatory flags on your claims
  • Prioritized entry plan — delivered as a report
Book a Market Scan
Most popular
The core
🧭
Fractional Country Manager
Your embedded Japan operator. Weekly cadence, real execution across all four areas.
$3,000–5,000/mo
6-month minimum · 5–10 hrs/week
  • Weekly working session + async progress
  • Strategy, localization, partnerships, regulation
  • Hands-on execution, not just advice
  • A single owner for your Japan market
Talk about a retainer
Fast launch
🚀
Launch Sprint
A focused three-month push to get you live in Japan with early distribution in place.
$8,000–15,000
Fixed scope · ~3 months
  • Site & product Japanese localization
  • Go-to-market and messaging built out
  • Two to three partnerships opened
  • Milestone-based, outcome-oriented scope
Scope a Sprint
First client rate available for a company willing to be a named case study.
Why Hiraki

A practitioner, not a slide deck

The rare combination this job actually needs: bilingual, in a regulated industry, having grown a foreign product in Japan myself.

Most “Japan entry” advice comes from people who have never had to make a foreign product actually work here. I run my own venture, Kingfin — taking an overseas product to a Japanese audience while staying inside 景表法 and financial-marketing rules. I’ve closed partnerships and manage live affiliate and media relationships in Japanese every week.

So when I advise on your Japan market, it isn’t theory. It’s the same playbook I’m running on myself — the same distribution channels, the same regulatory lines, the same localization standards behind Hiraki Localization’s QA work.

🇯🇵
Bilingual & based in Japan
Native-level Japanese and fluent English — the market read and your team, without a middle layer.
💼
A real case study
Kingfin is a live example of growing a foreign product in Japan — not a hypothetical from a consulting deck.
✅
Regulated-industry instinct
I already operate where the rules are strict, so I know where the landmines are before you step on them.
How it works

Three steps to moving forward

01
Scan
We start with a 2-week Japan Market Scan. You get a clear go / no-go and a prioritized plan — with no obligation to continue.
02
Embed
If it’s a go, I step in as your fractional Country Manager on a weekly cadence — or we run a fixed Launch Sprint to get you live fast.
03
Grow
Localization is tightened, partnerships open, and the market moves — with one accountable owner reporting real progress.
FAQ

Common questions

What is a fractional Country Manager?

A part-time, embedded operator who runs your Japan market for a fraction of a full-time hire — usually 5–10 hours a week. Senior, bilingual, regulated-industry judgment without the cost of a local executive.

Who is this for?

Foreign FinTech and B2B SaaS entering Japan — payments, accounting, compliance tooling, trading infrastructure, market data, and adjacent platforms. Best when Japan is a priority but a full-time local hire isn’t justified yet.

Do we work in English?

Yes. Everything between your team and me is in fluent English. The Japanese is for your buyers and partners — not for our calls.

How do we start, and what does it cost?

Most engagements begin with a 2-week Japan Market Scan (from $1,500). From there, a fractional retainer runs $3,000–5,000/month (6-month minimum), or a Launch Sprint runs $8,000–15,000 over three months.

How do you handle Japanese financial regulation?

Regulatory navigation is one of the four core areas. I keep your marketing clear of common 景表法 and 金商法 pitfalls, and I don’t act as an unregistered solicitor for financial products. When you need a licensed lawyer, I’ll say so.

Start with a Market Scan.

Know in two weeks whether Japan is worth it — and exactly what to do first.

🗺️ Book a Japan Market Scan → New to Japan? Start here →