Wie können chinesische Unternehmen, die sich an das Verdienen von Quickmoneys gewöhnt haben, den japanischen Markt erfolgreich erschließen?

Since last year, Nancy, who often travels between China and Japan, has noticed that there are significantly more business people on flights from Shanghai to Tokyo. From Tokyo to Osaka, there are not only a constant stream of tourists, but also more Chinese enterprises are pouring in.

The changes don't stop there. A few years ago, every time Nancy returned to China from Japan, her suitcase would always be filled with beauty products and snacks. Now when going to Japan, she has to remember to bring a few Anker power banks, the latest 360 - degree cameras from Insta360, or DJI drones. The latest products of these brands are popular "souvenir gifts" among Japanese friends.

Judging from the actual foreign trade data, in 2023, China's export volume to Japan reached $157.52 billion, accounting for nearly 1/4 of Japan's total imports. Japan is also China's second - largest export destination.

For brands aiming for globalization, Japan is an unavoidable "treasure market" - with long - term potential but extremely high entry barriers. "Chinese enterprises are used to making quick money. So the challenge lies not in whether the products are good or not, but in having the patience to make long - term in - depth efforts. Once they gain a foothold, they can enjoy substantial returns for a long time," said Song Yixuan, who studied and worked in Japan for many years and has served as the person - in - charge of the Japanese market and the director of new retail in Japan for several Chinese companies.

1. Driving force of growing demand: The "side effects" of aging, the rise of e - commerce, and economic recovery

Prime Particle is a cross - border direct - to - consumer (DTC) eyewear platform that was launched in the United States and Japan in early 2024. "Initially, our focus was on the United States. There was no DTC brand in the Japanese eyewear industry, and the consumption habits of the Japanese are relatively fixed, so they may not easily accept new things. Especially when it comes to buying glasses online, users need to fill in optometry information, which the older group may not be able to complete." said Sun Jingxuan, the founder of Prime Particle.

However, to his surprise, according to the actual data, the average customer acquisition cost of online advertising in Japan is lower than that in the United States, and one - third of the sales come from users aged 30 - 60. This group also has a higher and more stable repurchase rate. Sun Jingxuan said, "Later, we continuously tilted our budget towards Japan. After the Sino - US tariff issue emerged, Japan became our primary market."

Prime Particle's performance in Japan that exceeded expectations reflects two major characteristics of the Japanese consumer market. One is the huge demand gap behind the "silver economy." Data from the Cabinet Office of Japan shows that in 2023, the proportion of people aged 65 and above in Japan reached 29.1%. The large elderly population not only needs to buy reading glasses regularly but also has a demand for home medical facilities, smart home products, and other aging - friendly products. The labor shortage problem caused by the aging population has also led to a greater demand for unmanned and automated products in the production and service sectors.

These market gaps that Japanese enterprises have failed to fill in a timely manner have become opportunities for Chinese brands. We have reported that PIX Moving launched an unmanned product, Robobus, to address the shortage of public bus drivers in rural Japan due to aging; Iwith Robotics launched an intelligent cleaning robot and an aging - friendly interaction system in response to the shortage of cleaning staff in Japanese convenience stores.

Two is the rise of online channels. Japan has always been known for its developed offline consumption, and its e - commerce development level lags behind that of the United States and China. It was not until 2020, when the global pandemic "boosted" the accelerated development of the global e - commerce market, that Japan was no exception.

A report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan in 2021 shows that in 2020, the scale of B2C e - commerce in the goods sales category increased by 21.71% year - on - year to 12.233 trillion yen. Japan's well - developed logistics infrastructure also provides support for the rapid growth of e - commerce. Except for islands such as Hokkaido and Okinawa, logistics and delivery in other regions can basically be achieved the next day. Statista predicts that the online shopping penetration rate in Japan will reach 89% in 2025.

Under this trend, Chinese cross - border e - commerce platforms have entered Japan one after another in search of new market growth points. Since 2020, SHEIN, Temu, TikTok Shop, TAO launched by Alibaba, and JD.com have successively launched their Japanese sites. In January 2024, the number of Temu users in Japan exceeded 15 million; in September, the number of SHEIN users in Japan reached 8.04 million, exceeding the online user scale of Uniqlo (6.48 million) in the same period.

It is still difficult to judge whether these platforms can maintain high growth rates in Japan. However, it is clear that quickly attracting a large number of users in a short period of time has met the long - ignored but always existing demand of Japanese society for low - priced goods.

This demand has been further magnified as Japan emerges from the "lost 30 years" and its economy gradually recovers. The rapid rise in prices, as a by - product of economic growth, has caused great pain to the Japanese people. Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan shows that in June 2025, Japan's core consumer price index (CPI, excluding fresh food) increased by 3.3% year - on - year, and the growth rate has remained above 3% for the seventh consecutive month. Coupled with the surge in foreign tourists, there was even a phenomenon of people scrambling for rice in Japan.

This change in the consumption ecosystem is undoubtedly beneficial to Chinese high - cost - performance products. Relying on the supply - chain advantage, Chinese brands have taken advantage of the opportunity to quickly enter the Japanese market through the "lighter" online channels.

For example, Prime Particle borrowed the "SHEIN" model. Through big data and AI technology, it integrated the resources of a large number of small and medium - sized factories in China. By combining the front - end order demand, it scheduled and allocated the upstream inventory and spare production capacity, enabling the platform to have more than 5,000 SKUs and maintain a weekly new product launch volume of more than 600. The price is only half of that of the leading offline brands in Japan.

The main product of the hair removal device brand Ulike is priced at around 40,000 yen on the Japanese Rakuten platform, much lower than Japanese brands such as Yaman (whose prices are generally between 50,000 and 80,000 yen). It topped the category sales list within less than two years of entering Rakuten.

2. Demanding but loyal users, enterprises need to exchange patience for trust

"Japan is a very special place. If enterprises only want to copy past experiences, they are likely to be rejected," Song Yixuan found that many enterprises that came to her for advice on Japanese business were used to the mindset of making quick money and hoped to see clear returns within one or two years. "This logic doesn't work in Japan."

For a long time in the past, Japan was an exporter of consumer products and advanced lifestyles. Like the European and American markets, its domestic market was highly mature. Moreover, the social gap between the rich and the poor is relatively small, and the middle class is the main force in consumption, generally having high requirements for product quality, design details, and service experience.

"Some enterprises think that as long as a product sells well in China, they can simply move it to the Japanese market with just a new packaging. This extensive approach to going global may work in other markets, but Japanese consumers don't quite accept it," Song Yixuan said. When many merchants sell products to Japan, the Japanese translations on the outer packaging and instructions are not authentic enough, or the Japanese font design does not meet local conventions. "Japanese consumers are very sensitive to these details, and there are still many negative reviews on e - commerce platforms."

Zhang Jian also deeply felt the Japanese market's extreme pursuit of details. He is the operation manager of Eisen Smart, a smart pet products company. "For the same product, the requirements for filling in product information before it is launched in Japan are much higher than in other regions. After placing an order, Japanese distributors especially emphasize that the appearance should be delicate and repeatedly confirm the functional details."

Some merchants, seeing the global brand effect of "Made in Japan," came up with an "alternative" way to go global. That is, they entrust local small and medium - sized enterprises in Japan to produce cosmetics or daily necessities, then label them as "Made in Japan" and sell them back to China or export them to Southeast Asian countries. In Song Yixuan's view, this approach is obviously not a long - term solution and essentially reflects a lack of confidence in their own supply chain and brand power.

"Japan is indeed a difficult market to break into, but on the other hand, Japanese consumers are very loyal. Once they develop trust in a brand, they will follow it steadily," Song Yixuan said.

Moreover, Japanese consumers' pursuit of high - quality products also means they are willing to accept a higher unit price, bringing higher profit returns to enterprises. Zhang Jian gave an example: "A pet drying box product we developed last year has a price acceptance range of 600 - 1,000 yuan in China, but it can be sold for 2,000 yuan in Japan. So we firmly believe that by doing a good job in quality in Japan, our brand can develop well."

3. From the "first - in - charge employee" to the "three - person - four - leg" model. Weaving a local business relationship network

The trust culture is not only reflected between brands and Japanese consumers but also serves as the cornerstone for enterprises to establish cooperation with Japanese customers. "Our experience is that Japanese business culture attaches great importance to trust. Once a trust relationship is established, Japanese customers will not easily break it and are willing to cooperate with you in the long term," said Cao Kuangning, the vice - president of PIX Moving. Building a trust relationship requires spending a long time in the early stage and making great efforts to deeply cultivate the Japanese market.

The key to deeply cultivating the Japanese market lies in gradually integrating into the local business ecosystem and re - weaving a relationship network based on local employees, partners, and investors. "Although brands can quickly boost sales through e - commerce channels, they will find it extremely difficult when further expanding offline channels," Zhang Jian introduced. Japan's distribution system is relatively closed, and enterprises must rely on local trading companies or retail giants to open up the distribution network.

Enterprises also encounter similar implicit "local circle" barriers when seeking financing in Japan. Pang Shouguo, a business manager at Daoxin Asset, once shared that although the financing cost is extremely low under Japan's long - term low - interest - rate environment, it is actually very difficult for foreign enterprises to apply for loan quotas and preferential interest rates from official institutions. "They need to find local service institutions to build a framework; otherwise, it is difficult to enjoy this financial support, and they may not even be able to open an account."

The Japanese VC field is also relatively closed. "Many VC investors can't even speak English. It's only because we have local partners in Japan that we can get in touch with many institutions. Otherwise, communication alone would be very difficult," Sun Jingxuan said.

Therefore, finding a local "first - in - charge employee" or partner in Japan has become a breakthrough for Chinese enterprises to integrate into local channels and gain the trust of customers, or they can refer to the "three - person - four - leg" model formed by Japanese enterprises in their overseas expansion in the past to form a deeper interest - binding relationship.

The "three - person - four - leg" model refers to a joint - venture company formed by a Japanese manufacturer going global, a local enterprise, and a Japanese trading company. By binding the interests of multiple parties, while leveraging their respective capabilities, they can coordinate consistently in the decision - making process, thereby gaining stronger competitiveness in the market. Although under the "three - person - four - leg" model, enterprises need to coordinate the interests of multiple parties, which may slow down the profit - making speed, it is beneficial for enterprises to take root locally and achieve long - term and stable operation.

Lin Xuefeng once introduced the large - scale overseas expansion wave of Japanese enterprises forty years ago in an article. He wrote, "The localization of multinational enterprises means re - weaving a local interpersonal network. This non - business connection can form an economic community that permeates everywhere and is intertwined in multiple lines. And this structure is very difficult to break apart." The establishment of an economic community is also crucial for Chinese enterprises going global in Japan at present.