Enter the Japanese market with evidence, not guesswork.
UDX helps international companies test, launch, and grow in Japan — market-fit research, Japanese AI & search visibility, and digital launch execution. Fully remote, in English, by a bilingual team on the ground in Japan.
Why Japan — and why it’s hard
Japan is one of the world’s largest consumer and B2B markets. It is also one of the hardest to read from the outside.
The information you need — competitor moves, channel economics, buyer expectations, what AI assistants tell Japanese buyers about your category — lives almost entirely in Japanese. Translation tools give you the words. They don’t give you the answer.
Start with the evidence →What usually goes wrong
- ✓Entering on gut feel, then discovering the price point or channel doesn’t work
- ✓A machine-translated website that Japanese buyers quietly close
- ✓Invisible in Japanese search — and in the AI answers Japanese buyers increasingly rely on
- ✓Hiring a local agency that reports only in Japanese, leaving you unable to steer
Three ways to de-risk your Japan entry
Productized, fixed-fee, and delivered entirely remotely. Start small, scale when the evidence says go.
Japan AI Visibility Snapshot
What Japanese AI assistants say about your brand — score, competitors, Perception Notes. USD 299, 2 business days.
Japan Market-Fit Report
An evidence-based answer to “will your product sell in Japan?” Demand signals, competitors, pricing, channels, and a 90-day action plan — researched in Japanese, delivered in English.
Japanese AI Visibility Audit
When Japanese buyers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity about your category — in Japanese — are you in the answer? We measure it with 40+ real prompts, score you against competitors, and hand you the fix.
Japan Digital Launch
Launch in Japan without opening an office. Native Japanese landing page, analytics, Japanese SEO & AI-search foundations, and inquiry handling — with monthly reporting in English.
Everything happens remotely, in writing, in English
No meetings required — time zones never slow the work down.
01
Tell us your goal
Send an inquiry. We reply in English within one business day (JST).
02
Scope & fixed quote
A short written questionnaire, then a fixed-fee proposal — no meeting required. USD invoicing, card or wire.
03
We work in Japanese
Bilingual analysts research, build, and measure using Japanese-language sources and tools.
04
You decide in English
English deliverables with a recorded video walkthrough, so your team can act on the findings immediately.
We don’t guess what Japan thinks.
We read it.
Data tells you whether your brand appears in Japanese search results, AI answers, and reviews. It doesn’t tell you how a Japanese buyer reads it — whether a mention signals “established brand,” “unknown import,” or “proceed with caution.”
That reading is our home-field advantage. UDX’s core business is running digital strategy for Japanese companies, inside the Japanese market, every day. When we research your category, you get the evidence in Japanese and what it actually means to the people you’re selling to.
Every deliverable pairs the original Japanese source with a native read — so you’re never acting on a translation alone.
What the data shows
“Your brand appears in 2 of 8 AI answers, described as “海外ブランド” (an overseas brand).”
What a Japanese buyer hears
“No official Japanese presence, probably parallel-imported, unclear warranty — safer to pick the brand with a Japanese site and Japanese support.”
What that means you should do
“Before spending on ads, establish the trust signals Japanese buyers check first: a native Japanese page, visible support terms, and machine-readable brand facts AI can cite.”
Why UDX
We run this playbook every day — in both directions
A bilingual team on the ground in Japan
Offices in Fukuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, and Morioka. We read the sources, run the tools, and talk to the market in Japanese — and report to you in English.
19 years of cross-border execution
UDX is part of the PROVENANS Group. Our sister company PROVE has supported 2,000+ cross-border projects across 60+ countries since 2007.
Fixed fees, productized scope
No discovery retainers, no open-ended consulting. You know the price, the timeline, and the deliverable before you commit.
We practice what we audit
Our AI-visibility methodology comes from our own research — including a 2026 study of 3,709 listed Japanese companies’ AI-search readiness — and from running the same optimizations on our own properties.
Common questions
Do we need a Japanese entity or office to work with you?
No. All three services are designed for companies exploring or entering Japan from abroad. If and when you need local incorporation or distribution partners, we can point you to the right next step through our group network.
Is everything really remote?
Yes — and written-first. Everything runs over email, short questionnaires, and recorded video walkthroughs, all in English, so time zones never block progress and there are no mandatory meetings. Our team is based in Japan (JST) and covers all the Japanese-language work — you never need to be here.
How do we pay?
USD invoicing, payable by credit card (Stripe) or international bank transfer. Fixed-fee services are billed on order; retainers are billed monthly.
What makes UDX different from other Japan-entry consultancies?
Most Japan-entry advice is produced from outside Japan, working from translated sources. Our core business is running digital marketing for Japanese companies inside this market — so every deliverable pairs the original Japanese evidence with the insider read: what it actually signals to Japanese buyers, distributors, and retailers.
Who actually does the work?
UDX’s own bilingual team in Japan — the same analysts and marketers who run overseas digital strategy for Japanese companies. We don’t outsource the research or the Japanese copywriting.
What if the report says Japan isn’t a fit?
Then you just saved a year and a six-figure budget. The Market-Fit Report gives a clear go / no-go / not-yet verdict with reasons. About a third of assessments end in “not yet, and here’s what would have to change.”
Can you also help Japanese companies go the other way?
Yes — that’s the other half of our practice. UDX runs overseas digital strategy for Japan-based companies on our Japanese site. Both directions use the same cross-border playbook.
First step
Find out if Japan is your next market.
Start with a USD 2,500 Market-Fit Report, or just send us your question — free. Either way, you’ll hear back in writing within one business day.