How to prepare for entering the Japanese market?

Join us at our event "How to prepare for entering the Japanese market?", an essential coaching seminar for Estonian technology companies looking to expand their reach into Japan.

This session, organized under the FINESTJAPAN project, will provide you with valuable insights into the Japanese business environment, cultural nuances, and strategic planning necessary for successful market entry.

AGENDA

8:30 Welcoming words & project objectives and plans
Presenter: Anu Puusaag, FINESTJAPAN Project Manager and Head of Digital Technologies at Tehnopol

8:45 Japanese business culture and social code – Japanese society and social code.

• Overview of Japan economy
• How is Japan planning to keep its future competitiveness and growth within spectrum of Green Transformation?

Presenter: Ciriot, online from Japan

9:15 Sales and marketing in Japan: common practices:

• Business culture in Japan
• Communications with Japanese businesspeople
• How to reach a business contract with Japanese: Best practices

Presenter: Ciriot, online from Japan

9:45 Necessary elements for a market-entry in Japan

• Typical market-entry models.
• Business establishment: why and how?

Presenter: Ciriot, online from Japan

10:15 Coffee break

10:30 Preparations for meeting prospective Japanese business partners.

• Necessary information from your company for Japanese counterparts.
• Q&A ~ 30 mins

Presenter: Ciriot, online from Japan

11:30 Coffee break

11:45 FINESTJAPAN project overview and opportunities to Estonian companies
Presenter: Anu Puusaag, FINESTJAPAN Project Manager and Head of Digital Technologies at Tehnopol

12:00 Export strategy and value proposition on Japanese and other distant markets

• Practical use-cases

Presenter: Patrick Gerber, FINESTJAPAN mentor

12:20 Round-table discussion, Q&A

13:00 End of the day

CIRIOT Inc. supports committed Finnish and Estonian companies in achieving sales in Japan. Ciriot Inc. works together with FINESTJAPAN companies throughout 2025 to open sales and distributions channels in Japan. Ciriot is a Japanese-Finnish growth business development consultancy established in 2016. Ciriot helps companies with finding and opening new partnerships for strategic business growth, market-entry, and sales. Ciriot services include also growth funding, new local business establishment, and R&D partnerships. Ciriot operates mainly in and between Japan and EU markets, services provided for both directions.
http://www.ciriot.com

Patrick Gerber is an experienced mentor advising Estonian companies. Patrick has cooperated with Tehnopol for a long time and has advised tech and startup companies on their export strategies and activities, creating value propositions, etc. Patrick will support Estonian companies in creating their Japanese market-related activities and preparing for their new market entry. Each company accepted to the FINESTJAPAN project will get approximately 8 mentoring hours to work with Patrick Gerber.

FINESTJAPAN project aims to create for Finnish and Estonian SMEs new business deals in Japanese markets.
Project partners: Green Net Finland (FIN) and Tehnopol Science and Business Park (EST)
Project website: https://centralbaltic.eu/project/finestjapan/
Project is funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme.