The United States seems to be an easy target for the world’s goods. We are a melting pot from countries the world over. Many business leaders from around the world can find some connection to the United States. Our trade rules are pretty simple, and we have an open government. So, when a business has a good product, the first thought is, “how do I export this to the United States?”. Conversely, many small businesses in the United States feels that if they can find a way to sell in the next state over they are seeing success.

In a recent article from The New Orleans Business News we can learn that small businesses are trying desperatly to add new sales but do not know where to start thinking about exporting.

“Although small businesses make up 97 percent of the country’s exporters, only 1 percent of the nation’s small businesses export.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., cited that statistic Tuesday to demonstrate that exporting offers an opportunity for small businesses to grow even as they are hammered by the recession.

“With cash registers not ringing like they used to, exporting has become a practical solution for small businesses looking to survive and grow,” Landrieu said.”

At Tokyo Trade Company, we are inviting you to think of the next State over at the same time please think of the market in Japan. We can show you how to find success in a new market with new money for your business!

We do not believe that this is Japan’s fault, rather American and European companies have been nervous about how to break in to the Japanese market.

Why is the trade difference so great??

At Tokyo Trade Company we believe there are many problems: lack of understanding the Japanese market because of government red tape, culture and the language. The greatest problem is the fear of all of these individual issues coupled with not knowing where to start.

Imagine if you could break in to a brand new market of 30,000,000 people without changing your product drastically? Imagine if this was just the Tokyo area market. Now imagine the rest of the 90,000,000 people that make up the rest of the consumer market in Japan. Did we mention that Japan is ranked third in purchasing power parity? What does all that mean, we can help you and your company look good by introducing you and your company to a new, consumer rich market.

Give your products a chance, send us an email about your product and let us do a complimentary product analysis and work with you on creating a market for your product. Click here to send us some information, we would love to help!

Until 1852 Japan was closed off from the rest of the world except in very few ports and limited their trade with the Dutch (theory goes that they were the only ones to try to understand Japanese). Since 1852 till today, Japan has been a case study in catching up to the rest of the world, soaking in knowledge and understanding of all types from all cultures and implementing those in to their own culture.

The country as a whole was very willing to call upon and pay the best and the brightest from around the world to teach them what they had been missing for almost four hundred years. From 1852 till 1894 the Japanese became one of the most advanced military countries in the world. It happened so quickly, and the country became so advanced that they shocked the world by beating China in the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895 and annexed much of Korea, China and Taiwan. Ten years later they beat the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

The only word for this is astonishing, a country closed off from the rest of the world and beating two of the largest empires in less than ten years. Japan continued to increase in size and in power until World War II.

Tokyo after the Tokyo Firebombings (most of the world did not think they could recover from WWII)

When Japan signed the peace treaty at the end of WWII, most countries and people felt that they were a flash in the pan and would not recover. Within thirty years, Japan was leading the world in production technologies, electronics and once again became the absorbant sponge of all things international.

Japan’s history is one of incredible pride in their country and their people, however they are always willing to bring the best from around the world and incorporate it in to their daily lives. Your product could be next!

Tokyo today (Shinjuku district)

There is a small town called Shimakappu located right in the middle of the northern island of Hokkaido. From January through February, during the coldest of winter, you can book a hotel room at the Alpha Resort Tomamu, in the exclusive Ice Hotel. This is not your ordinary run of the mill hotel without a heater, it is actually  entire guest rooms and amenity areas made of Ice.

The rooms are made of ice, the beds are made of ice and the chairs are made of ice. To top it off the temperatures can get below zero F (-20 degrees C). Do not worry, there are beautiful, world class ski hills to warm up on in the morning!

Why would anyone want to stay here, for the experience. The Japanese consumer loves to try new and fun products and ideas and love to tell about the experience. This is not an experience that is cheap either, the room costs roughly 15,000 yen ($156) per person per night. However, that does include a complimentary breakfast!

Do not count your product out as a possible success story in Japan without giving them a chance to experience it for themselves!

There are not a lot of currencies out there that are safer than the Japanese Yen. Since World War II, it has continued to strengthen and solidify itself as one of the top currencies of the world.

There is a lot of confidence that comes with doing business in Japan, one of the most important factors to consider is the stability of the government and it’s currency. As the yen gets stronger against the US dollar it helps not just your company, but it also helps decrease the trade deficit of the United States.

Right now the Yen is trading between 95 and 100 to a US Dollar. That means that the purchasing power of a Japanese consumer is stronger and they can buy goods at a discount versus an American consumer. In essence, your company’s goods are 29% cheaper to the Japanese today than they were just two years ago (June 18, 2007 – 123.87). That was without you giving up any margin, revenue or even changing your product.

Japan is the second largest individual country by GDP. Yes, they are still bigger than China with less than 10% of the population. Talk about individual buying power.

When you are thinking of market expansion, think Japan!

In these uncertain economic times, everyone is looking for a new market to introduce their products. Japan is a wonderful market that loves all things American. Did you know that some of the most popular eating-places in Japan are all American? McDonalds, Mr. Donuts, Denny’s, Coco’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and even Wendy’s has started popping up all over the country. In fact, it is a Christmas tradition to eat at KFC and many times you need a reservation to be sure to get a table! In the Roppongi district of Tokyo, you can find Sbarro’s pizza, Johnny Rockets, Hard Rock Cafe and just about every other American name that comes to mind.

From the outside looking in, Japan is a scary place to do business. Lots of government red tape, different culture and the marketing channels are very much different than what we are used to in North America and Europe. At Tokyo Trade Company, we break this down and give you the answers you need to be succesful in Japan. We can make it extremely affordable for you to do business in Japan without increasing your costs.

Send us some information about your company and we will put together a strategy for you to succeed in Japan.

Finding the right vendors for your product is important to us.  We are looking for the right partnerships with unique products that eager Japanese consumers are demanding.  We are exciting to see our portfolio of companies grow.  Look for more to come.