Japan market entry · Digital agency in Japan
Enter Japan without
hiring a local team.
Test real demand in Japan with localized landing pages, paid campaigns across the right platforms, conversion tracking, and weekly reporting in plain English.
Based in Fukuoka & Tokyo · 100+ companies supported · Reporting in English
Get your free Japan opportunity brief
Why Japan, why now
A market too big to ignore.
Japan is the world's fourth-largest economy and one of its most valuable digital markets — yet most foreign companies never test it properly.
Here's why now. The yen sits at around ¥160 to the dollar, its weakest level in almost 40 years. For a foreign company, that makes advertising in Japan — and the cost of winning each customer — far cheaper than it is at home in dollar or euro terms. A budget that barely moves the needle in your market can fund a serious push here. Right now, every dollar buys more reach in Japan than it has in decades.
Demand is strong. The talent gap is wide.
About 60% of foreign-affiliated firms say they plan to expand in Japan, and almost as many say local sales and marketing talent is hard to hire. That's why demand keeps rising for an outside partner who knows the Japanese market and reports back to headquarters in English.
Sources: IMF (2025); Japan national census (2025); Dentsu “Advertising Expenditures in Japan” (2025); JETRO survey of foreign-affiliated companies in Japan (2025).
Overseas companies are winning in Japan.
Global SaaS companies have turned Japan into a major market — here's what they've said publicly:
Figma doubled its Japanese user base from 2020 to 2021, then invested in a Japan office, a Japanese product interface, website, and support.
Miro opened a Tokyo hub and reached adoption across major Japanese enterprises, including TOPIX 100 companies.
Braze Japan grew from fewer than 10 customers to 45, while Japan-customer MAUs expanded from 23M to 100M.
Zendesk turned Japan into one of its top 10 global markets, with 2,000+ local customers and close to 50% YoY revenue growth.
HubSpot Japan ranked among the company's top five markets globally by revenue growth, supported by a local ecosystem of around 160 partners.
Box is used by 22,000+ companies in Japan, including 85% of Nikkei 225 companies.
Canva doubled its growth in Japan, with over 170M designs created and a new Shibuya office supporting one of its fastest-growing markets.
Notion made Japan one of its leading markets, with daily active users growing 4x before launching Japanese localization and support.
New Relic calls Japan a critical, fast-growing market and has held the No.1 observability market-share position there for seven years.
Insider's Japan business has grown steadily, with larger deal sizes and long-term contracts making Japan increasingly important to HQ.
Examples drawn from the companies' own public announcements and JETRO case studies. These companies are not LOads clients, and their results are independent of LOads.
How we work together
We don't sell translation.
We sell results.
Until recently, this work needed a rare mix: a fluent bilingual who was also a seasoned marketer. AI has removed the language barrier, so that's no longer the bottleneck — and we can take it on for you. We sell results, not translation.
Real-time translation in your meetings
We join your online meetings with real-time translation, so every detail and nuance lands clearly in both English and Japanese.
Fast replies on Slack or Teams
Add us to your Slack or Microsoft Teams. We reply within one business day, so working with us feels like having an in-house partner.
The problem
Most companies validate Japan the
slow, expensive way.
The usual path is to hire a local team or set up an entity first, then hope demand appears. That's months of cost before you have a single data point. We flip the order: we prove that Japanese buyers are searching for what you sell — and that they convert — before you commit to headcount or incorporation.
Japan plays by its own rules.
Japanese business runs on invisible walls: unwritten conventions, trust that's earned slowly, and decisions made in their own way. Consumers and companies alike pull back from anything that feels foreign or hard to read in their language. Winning here isn't about translating your message — it's about fitting how Japan actually evaluates, trusts, and buys.
We work like part of your team.
A typical agency sells you single tactics, like ad operations. We take on as much as you want — how to sell in Japan, which strategy and tactics to use, day-to-day operations, and even customer support.
We turn down what won't sell in Japan.
We start with a pre-engagement consultation. We assess up front whether your product can be shaped for the Japanese market, take on only what we're confident we can sell, and help you check legal and regulatory risk. Your free pre-consultation includes a Japan market report and one strategy meeting.
Who we are
A Japanese digital team that runs the work, not just the plan.
LOads is a digital marketing team based in Fukuoka and Tokyo. For Japanese companies we run paid media, SEO, analytics, and conversion optimization day to day — and we've supported 100+ businesses, from venture-stage products to listed enterprises.
For overseas companies, we put those same operators to work on your Japan test. The people who set the strategy also build the pages, run the ads, and read the data — no hand-off to a junior team, and no translation layer between you and what actually happens in market.
The offer
The Japan Demand Validation Sprint
A fixed-price, evidence-first test of whether Japan is worth a deeper investment — run by LOads' bilingual founder, reporting to your HQ in plain English.
What's included
- Keyword and competitor research in Japanese
- A Japanese landing page built to convert
- Ad account setup and campaign management across the right platforms
- Conversion tracking (GA4 / GTM) tied to real outcomes
- Ad copy localized for Japan — not translated
- Weekly performance reports in plain English
- Bilingual follow-up after inbound meetings
- A go / wait / pivot decision report
Supported media & more
We handle strategy, campaign design, and ongoing optimization across the platforms below — and others as your needs grow.
Optional add-ons
Local sales support
We represent you in Japanese sales meetings and handle local negotiation and follow-up on your behalf — bridging the gap until you build your own team.
Local and offline advertising
Beyond paid search, we coordinate Japan-specific offline media: billboards, train and station advertising, and other local placements.
Process
How a validation works
Research and setup
We map your category in Japan — demand, competitors, and the highest-intent search queries — then build the Japanese landing page and wire up conversion tracking.
Launch
We launch tightly scoped paid campaigns on the platforms where your buyers actually are — search, social, and more — with tight targeting, so no budget is wasted on irrelevant traffic.
Optimize
We read the data daily, cut what loses, and double down on the queries that bring qualified inquiries. You get a weekly report in English.
Decision report
You receive a clear, evidence-based call: is Japan worth a deeper investment, and if so, where should you focus first?
Proof
Results from our work in Japan.
A few examples of what we've delivered for companies competing in the Japanese market.
Rebuilt the landing page and meeting funnel
Lead volume stayed flat, but qualified meetings nearly doubled after we redesigned the first view, the value proposition, and the path to a sales conversation.
Fixed GA4 and the demo-signup funnel
We rebuilt a broken, person-dependent measurement setup, then removed the form friction that turned out to be the real bottleneck.
Turned owned media into a lead engine
A high-traffic blog that never converted became a real pipeline source after we reprioritized content around buying intent and rebuilt the conversion paths.
Selected results from LOads engagements in the Japanese market. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes.
Pricing
Programs & pricing
You pay a fixed monthly fee, billed in advance. The ad budget is paid directly from your own ad accounts, so you keep full ownership and visibility.
90-Day Demand Validation
180-Day Demand Validation
Full Japan Market Support
Figures shown in USD; invoiced in Japanese yen at the prevailing rate.
Who you work with
You work directly with the founder.
At LOads, the person supporting you on the front line is the founder himself. You work directly with Kosuke Tsunawaki, founder & CEO — not a rotating account manager. With 14+ years in digital marketing across paid media, SEO, analytics, and data activation, he has personally supported 100+ companies, from venture-stage products to listed enterprises. Based in Fukuoka and Tokyo.
FAQ
Common questions
Do we need a Japanese entity or a local hire before we start?
No — that's the whole point. The validation tests real Japanese demand before you incorporate or hire locally, so you invest on evidence instead of assumptions.
Who pays for the advertising budget?
You do, directly from your own ad accounts, so you keep full ownership and visibility. We charge a fixed setup fee and a monthly management fee, billed in advance.
What language do you report in?
All client-facing reporting, strategy, and communication is in plain business English. We use Japanese only where it has to be — landing pages, ad copy, and local follow-up.
How quickly can we start?
Most engagements begin within one to two weeks of our intro call, once we have your product information and access to your ad accounts.
Which industries do you work with?
SaaS, cybersecurity, AI, industrial, beauty, and ecommerce companies evaluating Japan are a strong fit. If you sell to Japanese businesses or consumers, we can usually help you test it.
Test Japan with evidence.
No local entity. No new hire. Just a clear go / wait / pivot call.
Get your free brief→