Japan Launch & Implementation · For AI & SaaS teams
Your Japanese pilot.
Built for daily use.
I work between your product team and your Japanese customer: discovery in Japanese, requirements your engineers can use, integrations and user onboarding. You work directly with Tomoya Nishimura, with English reporting and remote delivery during Japan business hours.
WHO THIS IS FOR
A customer is ready.
Who runs the pilot?
Global AI and SaaS companies, typically 10 to 300 people, at the point where Japanese customers are interested but nobody on the Japanese side can take a pilot through to adoption.
- You have announced Japan, or launched a Japanese versionInterest is there; the first customers need someone who can work with them in Japanese.
- A Japanese company wants a PoC or pilotThe pilot needs scoping against their real workflow, not a generic demo.
- You are hiring Japanese sales, CS or solutions engineersThe work has started before the hire. I cover the implementation side in between.
- A partner or reseller is on board, but not implementationSomeone still has to connect the product to each customer's systems and train their users.
Best fit
Products that have to fit into existing work: AI agents, productivity and business AI, HR tech, EdTech, manufacturing software, BI and analytics, knowledge management, workflow and back-office SaaS. Especially where each customer needs Google Workspace, spreadsheets, APIs, approval flows or internal systems connected.
Less of a fit
Companies with a large Japan team already, or where a systems integrator or distributor handles implementation.
WHAT I DO
The work I take on.
My role is to understand how a Japanese company actually works, turn that into requirements your product and engineering team can act on, build what sits around your product, and get people using it.
- Customer discoveryInterviews in Japanese: the current workflow (as-is), approval and operation flow, data, and what the customer needs before they will roll it out.
- Pilot / PoC supportRequirements, as-is and to-be, pilot design and success criteria, shared with HQ in English and coordinated with your product and engineering team.
- Workflow designWhere your product sits in the customer's work: who does what, in which tool, with which approvals.
- Integration & automationAPI integration, Google Workspace, Apps Script, Make, web apps, spreadsheet workflows, data flows, approvals, notifications and reporting.
- Japanese onboardingGetting the customer's first users set up and working, online.
- DocumentationUser guides, FAQ and operating procedures in Japanese.
- TrainingOnline sessions and workshops, including AI training, built around the customer's real tasks.
- Ongoing operationsRequirements, issues, product feedback and further integrations, kept organized between HQ and the Japanese customer.
HOW IT WORKS
From discovery
to handover.
- 01DiscoverJapan readiness: the customer's workflow, integration and localization needs, written up for HQ.
- 02Design the pilotScope, to-be workflow and success criteria, agreed by both sides.
- 03Build & integrateThe connections and automation around your product.
- 04Onboard & trainJapanese guides, onboarding and training for the users.
- 05Operate & feed backIssues and feedback organized for your product team, as needed.
HOW I WORK WITH YOU
Remote delivery.
Japan business hours.
Delivery
Fully remote: online meetings with the customer, remote discovery and build, online onboarding and training, and project coordination with HQ.
Hours and language
Japan business hours (JST) with your customers. Calls with your team in your time zone. Japanese with the customer, English with you, written reports in English.
Role
An implementation and operations partner you use when you need one, not a full-time country manager. Engagements are scoped per pilot or per phase, at a fixed fee agreed in writing. You deal with me throughout; for larger builds I bring in engineers I work with and stay responsible for the result.
What I build
The integrations, automation and business tools around your product. Not large-scale development of your core product.
Not in the standard scope
On-site residency or regular visits, trade show attendance, field sales, hardware installation. For company registration, visas and tax, I map the sequence and join the meetings, but the paperwork is regulated work in Japan and goes to a licensed professional you engage directly.
Track record
The discovery, build and training work above is what I have done with more than 50 companies and organizations in Japan since 2024, and more than 1,000 people have taken my training. Doing it on behalf of a global product team is the newer part of my work.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Japan Market Entry Support.
If you are not at the pilot stage yet, these are scoped on request. They are a way into the work above, not a separate consulting practice.
- Japan readinessWhether your product, support and onboarding are ready for a Japanese customer: workflow fit, integrations, language, and the operation behind them.
- Operational localizationYour existing processes, documents and support adjusted to how Japanese customers and partners expect to be handled.
- Market-entry planningWhich customers and partners to start with, and in what order, based on where your product fits into Japanese work.
For products sold online to consumers, I can also review your Japanese storefront the way a Japanese buyer reads it, on request.
FAQ
Questions global teams ask first.
How is the fee set?
There are no package prices on this site. After a first conversation, I propose a scope for your pilot or phase and a fixed fee for that scope. Both are agreed in writing before work starts, and the fee only changes if the scope changes.
Do you need to be in Japan, or visit the customer?
No. The standard scope is fully remote: meetings, discovery, build, onboarding and training all run online, in Japan business hours.
Can you be our country manager?
No. I take the implementation side of your Japanese customers: discovery, pilot, integration, onboarding, training and follow-up. Sales targets and running a Japan entity stay with your team.
Will you build features in our product?
I build what sits around it: API integrations, automation, Google Workspace and Apps Script, small web apps and reporting. Changes to your core product stay with your engineering team; I write the requirements for them.
Do we need a Japanese company to work with you?
No. I work with companies based outside Japan and bill you directly.
What do you need from us to start?
A short note on the product, the Japanese customer or prospect, and where the pilot stands. A product demo account helps.
CONTACT
Tell me about your Japanese pilot.
A short note is enough: your product, the Japanese customer and where things stand. The initial consultation is free; a finished brief is not required. I reply within 24 hours, in English or Japanese.