If you have a project in mind or want guidance on growing your business in Japan, get in touch with your details and any questions about consulting, import assistance, or logistics. A member of the ABC team will reply personally to help you plan your next steps.
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+81 (0)3-5847-1146Have a project in mind or need advice about expanding in Japan? Send us your details and any questions about consulting, import support, or logistics. The ABC team will respond personally to guide your next steps.
A Better Communication Co., Ltd. 17-15 Nihonbashi Koami-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0016, JAPAN
What is A Better Communication (ABC)?
A Better Communication (ABC) is a team of Japan market specialists supporting international brands growth with consulting, import services, and logistics inside Japan.
What services does ABC offer?
ABC offers Japan market consulting, Japan import support, and Japan logistics and fulfilment services. All for the purpose of growing your brand awareness and sales in Japan.
Do you only support businesses outside Japan?
ABC mainly supports international brands entering Japan, but we also work with companies already operating in Japan, improving their operation with our bi-lingual consulting and local partners and services.
What are the challenges when expanding to Japan?
Japan can be complex due to strict compliance standards, very specific import rules, and high expectations around delivery and reliability, in addition to differences in language and business common sense.
Can ABC support us long-term after launch?
Yes, ABC aims to support long-term growth in Japan through ongoing import, suitable logistics support and consulting when needed. Some of our clients, though, have reached a growth stage where they shifted to a complete in- house process and didn’t need our direct services. We were happy to see them go and we are still in contact, sharing knowledge and referrals.
Do you work with multiple product categories?
Yes, ABC supports multiple categories including cosmetics, which requires special license, food, beverage, daily goods, and other regulated product types. Some require registration and some are simpler.
What types of companies do you work with?
ABC works with international brands that want to grow in Japan and need expert support and creative solutions across consulting, import, and logistics.
Do you work with cosmetics brands entering Japan?
Yes, ABC supports cosmetics brands entering Japan and has extensive experience in that field. ABC has the licenses needed to complete the compliance steps needed for importing and selling cosmetics, including the needed tests, labelling, documentation and certifications.
Do you support food and beverage imports into Japan?
Yes, ABC supports food and beverage imports into Japan, including testing and labelling, food import permits, documentation and preparation steps based on various category requirements. As well as tariff and taxes support.
Can ABC help businesses already operating in Japan?
Yes, ABC supports businesses already in Japan by understanding and improving operations, finding and fixing communication issues, negotiations and strategy correction, and strengthening the import and logistics setup to achieve better costs and efficiency.
Do you work with UK, European, and US brands?
Yes, ABC commonly supports UK, European, and US brands that are expanding into Japan. Our team is based in Japan as well as Europe which helps us with quicker response time to clients all over the globe.
Do you support regulated product categories?
Yes, ABC supports regulated products where correct paperwork, testing, or preparation is required before import and sale. In some cases the category definitions are different across borders and necessary adjustments are needed.
How does ABC support brands entering Japan?
ABC helps international brands grow in Japan by combining clear consulting for various unique opportunities and challenges each brand presents, with practical import, logistics and after care.
What is the first step to importing products into Japan?
The first step to importing products into Japan is defining the product correctly and confirming the requirements for that category, as well as understanding the opportunity in the market.
Do all products need testing to be imported into Japan?
Not all products need testing to be imported into Japan, but some categories require checks depending on safety and regulations. It can be a basic test or a laboratory examination.
Do we need Japanese labelling for our products?
Japanese labelling may be required depending on the product category, and ABC supports labelling creation and preparation workflows to add it to the product when needed.
Can ABC support both import and fulfilment in Japan?
Yes, ABC supports both import and fulfilment in Japan, including clearance, warehousing, and shipping operations, both B2B and B2C.
Can ABC help if our Japan operation is already running?
Yes, ABC can help improve an existing Japan operation by identifying issues and strengthening the process, as well as find suitable partners and initiate local activities.
What is Japan market consulting?
Japan market consulting helps international brands plan and execute growth in Japan with the right strategy, structure, and local insight. Starting with the planning and moving to execution.
Can ABC help us enter Japan for the first time?
Yes, ABC helps brands enter Japan by advising on the right steps and supporting the process through consulting, import, and logistics. With options such as market research and real time Pop up sales.
Can ABC help us fix slow growth in Japan?
Yes, ABC helps fix slow growth in Japan by identifying operational gaps, mentality differences, and by improving communication and execution.
Does ABC support go-to-market planning for Japan?
Yes, ABC supports go-to-market planning for Japan including market readiness, brand positioning, channel planning, and overall strategy and detailed product import flow.
Can ABC support negotiation with Japanese partners?
Yes, ABC supports negotiation with Japanese partners by helping align expectations, bridging the mentality gap and keep partnerships moving forward with win-win-win solutions.
Is consulting separate from import and logistics services?
Consulting can be separate, but ABC often supports consulting alongside import and logistics for end-to-end delivery and smoother operation.
What is included in a Japan import service?
ABC import support typically includes product definition according to the Japanese law, compliance planning that can be completely different from the country of origin, documentation guidance that will be in Japanese, coordination of required checks and lab examinations, and support through customs and the tax handling.
Can ABC help us import cosmetics into Japan?
Yes, with the special needed license, ABC helps brands import cosmetics into Japan, by supporting the compliance and import process required for cosmetics.
Can ABC help us import food and beverages into Japan?
Yes, ABC helps brands import food and beverage into Japan by supporting the required documentation and preparation steps, including communications with the quarantine office and the needed lab examinations.
How do we know if our product can be imported into Japan?
To confirm if your product can be imported into Japan, ABC reviews the product category and checks Japan’s requirements before shipment. ABC will also share the relevant taxes applied so you can better evaluate your opportunity.
Do we need a Japanese company to import into Japan?
Some categories require specific structures or compliance steps, and ABC can guide what is needed for your product. With cosmetics and food, a local Japanese importer is required, though in many other cases, ABC can support you being your own importer without having a local company.
Can ABC coordinate customs clearance in Japan?
Yes, ABC supports customs clearance in Japan through coordination and compliance preparation, for shipments arriving both by air or sea.
What is included in Japan's logistics and fulfilment services?
ABC provides Japan logistics and fulfilment services for international brands that need reliable storage, order processing, and delivery inside Japan controlled in their own language.
Can ABC store our products in Japan?
Yes, ABC can store your products in Japan using logistics setups suited to your category and operational needs. With various options that fit your requirements and budget.
Can ABC handle labelling and repacking in Japan?
Yes, ABC can handle the design, creation, labelling and repacking in Japan depending on what your product category requires.
Do you support both B2B and B2C fulfilment in Japan?
Yes, ABC supports both B2B and B2C fulfilment in Japan including shipping workflows across Japan in a speedy and a reliable manner.
Can you support fulfilment for marketplaces like Amazon Japan?
Yes, ABC can support fulfilment for marketplaces like Amazon Japan, Rakuten and more, depending on your operational setup and your goals.
How do we monitor stock levels in Japan?
Stock levels in Japan are monitored through reporting and inventory tracking according to your needs. It can be with reports or real life views with a WMS or integration with your system.
