Japan Market Test — $1,000 to Test Demand

The problem with testing Japan

Most companies spend months and serious money deciding whether Japan is worth entering. Flights, translators, a booth at a trade show. And at the end of it, often still no clear answer.

There’s a faster way to get one. Japan’s biggest industry exhibitions publish exhibitor lists, and the companies on those lists are actively looking for products, partners, and suppliers. We’re on the ground in Osaka. So instead of guessing at demand from your desk, you can have us go and ask.

The usual approach

$5K+ Flights & hotels
for a Japan trip

+

$15K+ Trade show booth
& setup costs

vs

Japan Market Test

$1,000 Clear answers from
10 Japanese companies

The Process

How it works

Pick your targets

Choose an upcoming Osaka exhibition relevant to your industry, or tell us the type of Japanese company you want to reach. We build a list of up to 10 target companies, working from the official exhibitor list where the organizer publishes one. You approve the list before any outreach starts.

We make contact

Our team approaches each company in Japanese, introduces your business, and investigates their level of interest in working with you, whether as a distributor, partner, or customer.

You get the full picture

At the end of the engagement you receive a Business Matching Summary Report covering every company we contacted:

How interested each company is in working with you, and why
Specific feedback on collaboration opportunities they see
Key insights from the conversations, including how Japanese buyers in your sector reacted to your offer
Where interest was low, the real reasons: pricing, fit, timing, or concerns about working with an overseas supplier

Either answer is worth having

If companies are interested, you’ve found your first warm contacts in Japan, and we’ll arrange the next step for you: formal introductions, online meetings, or business matching calls.

If they’re hesitant, you’ve learned that for $1,000 instead of the cost of a full market entry attempt. And you’ll know why, so you can decide whether to adjust your offer or focus elsewhere. A clear answer from 10 relevant Japanese companies beats months of guessing in either direction.

When the test shows real demand, our 8-week Japan market entry program takes you from validated interest to active sales conversations on the ground. Learn about the program →

On the Ground

Who’s behind this

Dana Wang

Founder, Japan Launchpad · Based in Osaka

Japan Launchpad is based in Osaka, in the Kansai region: 16 million people, a strong manufacturing base, and major strengths in healthcare, AI, and robotics. All outreach is done by our team in Japanese, in person where it counts. Japanese companies expect face-to-face contact, and that’s exactly what a website and an email campaign can’t give you from overseas.

We work with embassies and national trade offices that bring overseas companies to Japan, and we built this service after months of conversations with them. What kept coming up was the need for a concrete, low-cost first step their companies could take before committing to full market entry.

Exhibitions

Upcoming Osaka exhibitions we cover

We run market tests around the major shows in the Kansai region. Coming up:

Interpets Osaka

June 19–21

Pet care, retail, consumer products. Around 400 exhibitors with strong international participation.

RETAILTECH Osaka

July 2–3

Retail tech, AI, POS, digital marketing. Draws senior retail executives, CIOs, and logistics companies.

Japan International Franchise Show Osaka

July 2–3

Franchise and business expansion. Runs alongside RETAILTECH.

Security Show Osaka

July 2–3

Cybersecurity, surveillance, physical security. Attended by security managers, government officials, and system integrators.

Architecture + Construction Materials Osaka

July 2–3

Construction, building materials, PropTech.

Maintenance Resilience Osaka

July 15–17

Manufacturing, infrastructure, drones, automation. Around 450 exhibiting companies and 40,000 visitors.

EdgeTech+ West

July 23–24

Semiconductors, IoT, AI, edge computing.

Your industry isn’t listed? Tell us anyway. New exhibitions are announced throughout the year and we can also build target lists outside of trade shows.

What’s Included

Everything in the market test

Target companies Up to 10

Service area Osaka / Kansai region, Japan

Deliverable Business Matching Summary Report

Follow-up Introductions and meeting coordination for interested companies (add-on)

Price USD 1,000

Book your market test

3 spots available. We keep it small so every client gets proper attention on the ground.

FAQ

Common questions

Overseas businesses considering Japan who want evidence before committing. Most of our clients are B2B companies in healthcare, AI, robotics, and industrial technology, but the market test works for any sector with a relevant Osaka exhibition.

We’re based here, and for most industries it’s the better testing ground: lower costs than Tokyo, easier access to decision-makers, and a dense manufacturing and enterprise base. For fundraising-focused work, Tokyo matters more, and we cover that through our network there.

We schedule a short scoping call to understand your product and goals, agree your 10 target companies, and confirm the timeline against the exhibition schedule.

It depends on the exhibition schedule, but most market tests complete within 4 to 6 weeks of confirming your target list.