36Kr Global Events | Japan Jo!nting: How Can Chinese Robots Enter the Japanese Market?

As the global robotics industry enters a period of explosive growth, the Japanese market has become a crucial and non - negligible battleground for Chinese robotics companies expanding overseas.

Japan's manufacturing and service industries have long faced a structural labor shortage. From factory automation and logistics and distribution to cleaning, catering, and elderly care, enterprises' real - world demand for robotics and AI solutions continues to grow. Meanwhile, Japanese society's acceptance of new technologies is significantly increasing, and more and more enterprises are actively exploring the possibility of collaborating with overseas innovative technologies.

However, the reality is also clear: Product advantages do not necessarily translate into market success. The unique business culture, complex channel structure, and high emphasis on stability and long - term trust in the Japanese market mean that even companies with competitive products often encounter bottlenecks when entering the Japanese market.

How can we understand the decision - making logic of Japanese customers? How can we build trust relationships with local agents? How can we bridge cultural and business practice differences and achieve a leap from "introduction" to "continuous orders"? These questions have become unavoidable challenges for Chinese robotics companies expanding into the Japanese market.

Against this backdrop, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), in collaboration with 36Kr Going Global and 36Kr Japan, will host an offline closed - door sharing session titled "Sino - Japanese Connection Japan Jo!nting: How Chinese Robotics Companies Can Enter the Japanese Market" in Shenzhen on March 12, with online live - streaming available. This event focuses on the real - world practices of robotics companies expanding into Japan. It will invite representatives of Japanese enterprises and agents, Chinese companies with in - depth experience in the Japanese market, and industry experts familiar with Sino - Japanese industrial collaboration to share practical experiences and methodologies from multiple perspectives, providing a highly valuable communication platform for robotics companies aspiring to enter the Japanese market.

If you are interested in the Japanese robotics market and wish to gain in - depth knowledge of Japanese agent culture and the local business ecosystem, please click "here" or scan the QR code below, fill out the form, and sign up for this event. We will screen the registration applications based on topic relevance. For users whose applications are approved, we will assign a dedicated person to contact them and share the event details. The registration for this event will close at 12:00 noon on March 11, 2026.

Event Information

• Time: 14:00 - 17:30, Thursday, March 12, 2025
• Location: Shenzhen (The specific participation method will be notified by the staff. Online live - streaming will also be available)
• Language: Chinese (Simultaneous translation will be provided for Japanese parts)

Guest Introduction

• Cheng Shisheng, President of IWITH ROBOTICS Co., Ltd.

Cheng Shisheng has previously worked at Foxconn and BYD and was one of the core early members of BYD's expansion into the Middle East and African markets. After starting his own business, he has long focused on the Japanese market. In 2017, he launched an AI service robot that qualified for the "Japanese government subsidy for advanced AI equipment applications". The cleaning robot successfully won the first order of 300 units from the FamilyMart Group, with a cumulative order of nearly 1,500 units. In 2024, he promoted the capital - level integration of his company with the Japanese listed company Kuramoto Seisakusho, achieving a reverse takeover listing.

• Ebina Yu, General Manager of Shin - I Consulting (Beijing) and Assistant to the General Representative of the Itochu Group in East Asia

Ebina Yu graduated from Keio University and joined Itochu Corporation in 1997. He has been responsible for the operation and management of manufacturing bases in multiple regions of China and later participated in the group's new business development, with rich experience in cross - border industrial collaboration. He has long been concerned about the cooperation model between the Chinese robotics industry and Japanese enterprises and has in - depth insights into how to establish a sustainable cooperation relationship between Sino - Japanese enterprises.

• Washima Kei, CEO of TRON Co., Ltd.

Washima Kei graduated from the University of Tokyo and founded TRON Co., Ltd. in 2024. By introducing innovative robotics solutions, the company supports the automation transformation of the Japanese manufacturing industry. The company acts as an agent for several global robotics manufacturers in Japan, including the humanoid and quadruped robot products of the Chinese brand LimX Dynamics, and has rich experience in implementing Sino - Japanese projects.

• Yan Shaohong, Head of Overseas Business and Brand Promotion Department of T - chef Tech

T - chef Tech focuses on intelligent cooking robots and integrated AI smart kitchen solutions. Its products have obtained multiple international authoritative certifications and are sold to overseas markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. Its intelligent cooking robot products have been applied in Japanese restaurants and corporate canteens, and the full - chain operation from product to local service has been verified.

• Qiu Dicong, Founder and CEO of Jacobi.ai

Jacobi.ai is committed to combining multi - modal robotics AI and cross - form motion control technology to create the robotics cloud brain J - Mind and the control system J - Box, enabling robots to autonomously perform various complex tasks in the open world and quickly enter various industries and scenarios such as supermarkets, restaurants, households, and elderly care services. Qiu Dicong conducted research on embodied intelligence at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and has previously worked at companies and research institutions such as PIX Moving, Ruqi Chuxing, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL), and DJI, with a profound technical and product background.

More guests will be announced later. Stay tuned.

Event Agenda

14:00–14:15 Opening Remarks by the Organizer and Introduction to JETRO's Investment Services in Japan

• JETRO Guangzhou Representative Office

14:15–14:45 Keynote Speech | From 0 to 1,500 Orders: The Practice of Chinese Robotics Products Entering the Japanese Market

• Cheng Shisheng, President of IWITH ROBOTICS Co., Ltd.

As a pioneer in the Japanese robotics market, Mr. Cheng Shisheng will share the real challenges that Chinese technology companies face when entering the Japanese market, as well as how to build product, channel, and trust systems for local operations, based on his own experience from starting a business to securing orders and then to capital integration.

14:45–15:10 Keynote Speech | Strategies for Addressing Japan's Labor Shortage: Insights into the Core Paths for Sino - Japanese Robotics Industry Cooperation through Introduction Examples

• Ebina Yu, General Manager of Shin - I Consulting (Beijing) and Assistant to the General Representative of the Itochu Group in East Asia

The world is entering a critical period of large - scale application of physical artificial intelligence, and its core proposition is to solve the labor problem with robotics technology. Mr. Ebina Yu will start from the Japanese industrial structure and enterprise decision - making logic to discuss how Chinese robotics companies can break through the traditional cognitive shackles of "introduction" and "implementation", break away from the inertial thinking of "tangible equipment delivery", build more sustainable cooperation value, and achieve long - term growth.

15:10–15:35 Keynote Speech | From the Perspective of Japanese Agents: The Real Demands and Cooperation Entry Points of Chinese Robotics in Japan

• Washima Kei, CEO of TRON Co., Ltd.

Based on his front - line agency experience, Mr. Washima Kei will interpret how Japanese enterprises select cooperation brands, the key elements in business communication, and the most common misunderstandings of Chinese enterprises, helping companies master practical skills for efficient cooperation with Japanese customers and agents.

15:35 - 15:50 Tea Break

15:50–16:35 Round - Table Discussion | Case Studies of Overseas - Expanding Enterprises: How Chinese Robotics Brands Can Effectively Enter the Japanese Market

• Yan Shaohong, Head of Overseas Business and Brand Promotion Department of T - chef Tech
• Qiu Dicong, Founder and CEO of Jacobi.ai
• Moderator: Wang Yingying, Partner of 36Kr Japan

What are the characteristics and difficulties of the Japanese market? How can we obtain the first orders from Japanese customers from scratch? How can B2B enterprises build a good reputation and form a "trust flywheel"? How can we break through in terms of products, localization, services, and channels? Wang Yingying, a partner of 36Kr Japan, will have a dialogue with representative enterprises expanding into Japan to analyze the practical paths for entering the Japanese market.

16:35 - 17:30 Free Networking

If you are interested in the Japanese robotics market and wish to gain in - depth knowledge of Japanese agent culture and the local business ecosystem, please click "here" or scan the QR code below, fill out the form, and sign up for this event. We will screen the registration applications based on topic relevance. For users whose applications are approved, we will assign a dedicated person to contact them and share the event details. The registration for this event will close at 12:00 noon on March 11, 2026.

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