How we work: three stages from a first conversation to a mandate

Most of the companies that write to us have the same first question, whether they build rockets, run airlines or own a sports property: is Japan worth our time now, and if so, how do we start without wasting a year? This note describes how we answer it. The method has three stages, and each ends with a decision that is yours to take.

Stage one: the initial consultation. It costs nothing and it is not a sales meeting. We ask what you make or own, what you have already tried in Japan, who has said yes or no, and what a good outcome would look like in two years. In return we tell you plainly what we think: whether the market is ready for you, which kind of Japanese counterpart (an industrial partner, a customer, a public programme, an operator) matters first, and whether we are the right people to help. About a third of these conversations end with our advice to wait or to go elsewhere. That is the point of having them.

Stage two: the scoping study. If the first conversation suggests there is a case, we propose a scoping study for a fixed fee, usually four to six weeks. It answers three questions in writing: who your partners, customers and relevant public programmes could be; in what order and manner they should be approached; and what it would cost, in time and money, to find out whether they will say yes. The report ends with a recommendation, and one of the possible recommendations is not to proceed. We are paid for the study, not for the answer, so we have no reason to soften it.

Stage three: the Japan Desk and mandates. When a project is defined, two forms of work follow. A quarterly Japan Desk retainer gives you representation between visits: we arrange and attend meetings in Japanese, handle the follow-up, and report monthly. Feasibility or execution mandates cover a defined piece of work, such as a consortium design, a public-programme application or the coordination of a financing process up to the point at which the institutions and principals decide. Fees are quoted per engagement after the initial consultation.

What we do not do. We are a strategic consultancy and business-matching firm. We do not buy, sell, broker or solicit investment in securities, we do not negotiate the economic terms of a financing on your behalf, and we do not hold client funds. Where a project leads to financing or investment, the terms are negotiated by you and the institutions concerned, and the transaction is executed by licensed institutions. Saying this early saves everyone time.

Why the sequence matters in Japan. Japanese counterparts decide slowly and, once decided, rarely reverse. An approach in the wrong order, to the wrong person, or before your own facts are in order, is remembered. The scoping study exists to prevent that. It is the least expensive part of the process and the one that most often changes the plan.

If you would like to start, write to us through the contact page. We reply within two business days, in English or Japanese.