How is UDX different from a localisation agency?

A localisation agency converts your text accurately into Japanese but makes no commercial judgement about whether the argument works on a Japanese buyer. UDX rebuilds the argument first - order, emphasis, objections, proof - then writes it, and takes responsibility for whether it converts. For high-volume translation once strategy is settled, a localisation agency is the better and cheaper choice.

How is UDX different from a Western consultancy's Japan desk?

A Japan desk produces strategy documents, usually from analysts working outside Japan from translated sources, and execution is a separate purchase at six figures. UDX is a Japanese company whose core business is running Japanese digital marketing for Japanese clients, and it delivers working assets rather than recommendations. For board-level M&A, regulatory or entity strategy, the consultancy is the right choice.

Why does UDX publish its prices when competitors do not?

UDX services are fixed-scope and range from USD 299 to USD 22,000, all published. In Japan-entry services almost everything is quoted on request, which allows the quote to be set to what the buyer appears able to pay. Published pricing removes that.

Does UDX use AI to produce its deliverables?

Yes, for collection and measurement, and UDX states this openly: it surveys thousands of Japanese websites and queries AI assistants across hundreds of Japanese-language prompts, a scale no analyst team could cover by hand. Interpretation is human work done in Japan, and every deliverable is reviewed and signed off by CEO Hideaki Mori.

When should a company not hire UDX?

When it needs physical presence in Japan such as trade shows or factory audits; when it needs a Japanese legal entity, visas or tax structuring, which are regulated professions; when its product category is blocked without reformulation or certification; when it needs a Japanese page to hit a deadline rather than to convert; or when its plan requires revenue from Japan within one quarter.

Why UDX

Everyone else describes a market they visit. We describe the one we sell in.

Japan-entry advice is usually produced from outside Japan, from translated sources, by people who do not have to live with being wrong. Our core business is running Japanese digital marketing for Japanese companies, inside Japan, every day. Your Japan entry is not a research assignment for us. It is our home market.

Six things that are true of us and rarely true together

We are a Japanese company, not a Japan desk

Four offices in Japan. Our revenue comes from Japanese clients buying Japanese-language marketing. When we tell you how a Japanese buyer reads your page, that is not a research finding — it is what we do for a living.

Our work is live and you can inspect it

Three Japanese businesses run their digital operation on our work. All are in our own group — we say so upfront — which means you can open them right now instead of reading a testimonial you cannot verify. See the work →

We publish primary research on Japan

We machine-surveyed all 3,709 domain-resolved listed companies in Japan for AI-search readiness, and published the methodology. Almost nobody in this field publishes anything checkable. Read it →

Our prices are on the website

USD 299 to USD 22,000, fixed scope, published. In Japan-entry services almost everything is “contact us for a quote,” which exists so the quote can be set to what you look like you can pay. Ours does not move.

Written-first, so time zones stop mattering

English questionnaires, written deliverables, recorded video walkthroughs. No standing calls at inconvenient hours. If you want to talk, we will — but nothing waits on a calendar.

Machines measure. People decide. Our CEO signs.

We automate collection at a scale no analyst team could match — thousands of sites, hundreds of Japanese prompts. Then a person in Japan interprets it, and Hideaki Mori signs the deliverable. Both halves are stated because both matter. Who signs →

Honestly compared with the alternatives

Each of these is genuinely the right answer for some companies. Here is where each one wins, and where it does not.

	UDX	Localisation agency	Western consultancy’s Japan desk	Hire locally / open an entity
Who reads the Japanese evidence	A team selling into Japan daily	Translators — accurate language, no commercial read	Analysts, often outside Japan, working from translations	Your own hire — excellent, once you can judge who to hire
What you actually receive	A decision, then working assets	Translated text you still have to deploy	Strategy documents; execution is a separate purchase	Everything — eventually
Typical cost	USD 299 – 22,000, published	Lowest — per word or per page	Highest — six figures is normal	Entity setup plus salary; a multi-year commitment
Time to something usable	2 days to 10 weeks	Fast, but it is only text	Months	6–12 months before output
You can steer it	Yes — everything reported in English	Nothing to steer	Yes	Often not — local agencies report in Japanese only
Where it genuinely wins	Deciding whether Japan works, and getting a first presence live	High-volume translation once strategy is settled	Board-level M&A, regulatory and entity strategy	Once Japan is proven and needs a permanent team

When you should not hire us

We would rather lose the sale than take a project that cannot work. If any of these describe you, say so and we will point you elsewhere — at no charge.

You need boots on the ground. Trade show stands, factory audits, in-person distributor negotiation — that is not what we do.
You need a Japanese legal entity, visas or tax structuring. Those are regulated professions here. We will happily point you at the right specialists.
Your category is blocked before it starts. Some products cannot be sold in Japan without reformulation or certification. We will tell you in the first exchange, before you pay us anything.
You want a Japanese page by Friday for a deadline. A page written to hit a date rather than to convert is money burnt. A translation vendor will serve you better and cheaper.
You expect Japan to work in one quarter. It generally does not. If your plan needs revenue in 90 days, the honest answer is that Japan is the wrong market for that timeline.

How we take the risk off you

Start at USD 299

See how we think before you commit anything meaningful. Instant checkout, delivered in two business days.

Fees roll upward

Any research or smaller build is credited in full toward a larger build within 90 days. Starting small costs you nothing but time.

Nothing is locked in

Assets we build are yours. Ongoing management cancels on 30 days’ notice. No platform licence, no hostage data.

Ask us something hard.

Send the question you cannot get a straight answer to about Japan. You’ll get a written reply within one business day — free, and with no attempt to turn it into a call.

Ask us anything → See our live work