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Public sample · Tier 1 deliverable shape

Japan Readiness Checklist

Applied to a generic US SaaS — to give you the shape of what a Tier 1 Japan Market Snapshot delivers. The real deliverable goes 10x deeper with your competitors, your prospects, and your regulatory exposure.

Generic example used: "A US-based B2B SaaS, ~$2M ARR, Series A, productivity / dev-tool category, considering Japan in 2026."

1. Localization checklist (5 items)

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Translation tone: Hire a JP copywriter (NOT a translator) for the LP. Translation-tone reads as "spam / scam" to JP buyers within 2 seconds. Budget: ~$1,500 one-time, not $80 of API.
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Kanji density per buyer age: Tools for 20s = lighter kanji + more katakana. Tools for 40s+ = more kanji + 漢語 vocabulary. Your current LP likely defaults to 20s register.
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Pricing display: Show ¥ not $. JP B2B buyers will not mentally convert. ¥9,800 reads consumer; ¥49,800/月 reads B2B. Anchor zones matter.
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Invoice support (請求書 / seikyuusho): JP companies expense via invoice, not credit card. Stripe Invoicing or manual invoice required. Without it, "I want to buy but accounting won't let me."
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Fiscal year alignment: Most JP companies start fiscal year April. Budget conversations happen Jan-Feb. If you pitch in November, the buying decision waits 5 months.

2. Regulatory snapshot (3 high-priority risks)

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個人情報保護法 (privacy law, 2026 update): Email collection + "we may use this for AI training" requires explicit opt-in checkbox per use case. Fine: up to ¥1M per violation. Implication: Update privacy policy + add granular consent UI before JP launch.
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景表法 (unfair marketing law): "Best AI in the world" / "Fastest in market" claims must be backed by public data. JP regulators are more active than FTC. Implication: Replace superlatives with concrete benchmarks before JP LP launch.
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Subscription auto-renewal disclosure: JP consumer protection requires explicit re-confirmation before renewal for B2C. Less strict for B2B but still applies if SMB single-seat. Implication: Audit your renewal flow against JP requirements.

3. Competitor landscape (5 JP players, generic dev-tool category)

In the real Tier 1 deliverable, this section lists 10 actual competitors with: product URL, JP HQ city, public pricing if any, employee count band, recent news. Below is the shape, not your competitors.

  • Competitor A — Established JP dev-tool, 100-300 employees, dominant in 大手 (large enterprise). Pricing on request only.
  • Competitor B — Mid-market SaaS, 10-50 employees, transparent ¥-pricing, strong on Qiita.
  • Competitor C — Recently funded ($10M Series A in 2025), aggressive Twitter/X marketing, freemium model.
  • Competitor D — Foreign player with JP support office, premium pricing, weak in SMB.
  • Competitor E — Open-source alternative with paid hosting tier, popular on Zenn.

4. Pilot prospect candidates (5, generic shapes)

In the real Tier 1, each row has: company name, business description, why-fit reasoning, public contact path, intro warmth (cold / warm via X / warm via mutual). Below is the shape.

  • Prospect 1 — JP SMB dev-tool buyer, ~50 engineers, currently uses Competitor B. Why-fit: Public RFP from 2025 Q4 indicated dissatisfaction. Path: founder@X DM.
  • Prospect 2 — JP-headquartered global SaaS, ~200 engineers. Why-fit: Recent EN-language hires suggest internationalization push. Path: head of dev experience on LinkedIn.
  • Prospect 3 — Mid-stage JP startup, post-Series B. Why-fit: Public tech-stack mentions on Qiita. Path: CTO public email.
  • Prospect 4 — Japanese subsidiary of US company. Why-fit: Foreign-friendly procurement, weak vendor lock-in. Path: warm intro via mutual investor.
  • Prospect 5 — JP gov-adjacent or 大手 with innovation budget. Why-fit: Public DX initiative announcement. Path: cold via formal inquiry form (lower hit rate).

What the real Tier 1 deliverable gives you (vs this sample)

  • Your real competitor names, not generic shapes
  • Your real regulatory exposure for your specific product category
  • 5 real JP prospect companies with contact paths researched, not generic
  • Pricing strategy recommendation calibrated to your product
  • 30-min walkthrough Loom (so you can ask questions async)
  • Async response window during the 2-week engagement
See Tier 1 / 2 / 3 pricing →

Fixed scope · Fixed price · 2-week turnaround starting at $2,500