International businesses often discuss Japan in broad cultural terms. A more useful commercial approach is to examine where the customer is being asked to take risk.

Foreign companies sometimes interpret a slow Japan launch as evidence that the market “does not understand” the product. That explanation can be comforting because it leaves the global model untouched.

JETRO’s interview with IKEA Japan emphasizes consumer research and understanding how people actually live. JETRO’s Insider Japan case identifies optimization of software and services for the Japanese market as a primary factor in business expansion.