COSTS

BAD NEWS: Japan is an expensive place to do business.

GOOD NEWS: Your margins will be much higher in Japan: expect to double your prices and still be CHEAP.

LANGUAGE ISSUES

BAD NEWS: Don't believe what others may tell you. Your catalogs and mail pieces MUST be in Japanese or they will never go beyond the tiny population of 5-6 million who currently shop by catalog from overseas. Do you want to pass up the remaining 120 million?

GOOD NEWS: It is often enough to have a bilingual copywriter rewrite your current copy and to change the black-plate of your book.

JAPANESE TRANSLATION

Japanese is an expensive language to translate.
Rates range from $30 to $120 per standard page (standard page = 250 English words or 400 Japanese characters).

But beware: high rates have brought in a lot of unqualified pseudo translators who turn out incomprehensible gibberish. Don't try economizing, or you will very likely have to redo it. As a rule of thumb, if the cost is below $70 per standard page, it is probably hock. Stay away.

NOTE! Translation is most likely NOT what you want! We have found that even the best translators tend to generate poor-selling copy.
The Japanese buy differently from the Americans:

• they pay attention to different product attributes, and
• they expect to be addressed in a particular way

Usually, none of this is in your English original. And if it is not there, the translator will have no way of putting it in. You will get a better copy, and probably save money, too, by using a copywriter instead of a translator. (see below)

JAPANESE COPYWRITING

By far the best way to generate your Japanese copy is to use a professional Japanese copywriter who is also fluent in English and therefore understands you as well as the Japanese consumer.
This is not only the best and often the cheapest way to go.
The copywriter will be able to understand your concept/image/voice and either reproduce them in Japanese or propose changes if he thinks they are necessary. A copywriter routinely SELLS through his/her work while your translator has probably not sold a button in his life!
A copy writer often costs you as little per page as a professional translation. Japanese copywriting ranges from $200 to $450 per page, only a little higher than US costs, and LESS than the combined costs of US copywriting + translation.

JAPANESE COPY MANIPULATION

Japanese writing can only be handled in an operating systems capable of handling two-bite fonts (such as Japanese Kanji and Kana). These are expensive. You will NOT be able to do this in-house without significant investment in hardware/ software and hiring your own native graphic designers. Don't try scanning the kanji and treating them as images. While it may work for a few large characters, it cannot handle large bodies of text at all.

When generating a Japanese black-plate for your US catalog, simply give your electronic files to your Japanese graphic-designer and have the designer manipulate your catalog and layout your Japanese copy using their Japanese version of your preferred graphic software (Japanese versions of both QuarkXpress and PageMaker exist).

Copyfitting can cost anywhere between $20 and $200 per page.

COLOR SEPARATIONS

Separations of electronic files including Japanese fonts usually cost about $200 per page.

PRODUCT SELECTION

Be very careful with product selection. Some US hits flop in Japan for very simple reasons: they are too large for Japanese houses (or people), use wrong power, have steering wheels on the wrong side, encounter competition from unexpected quarters, have unexpected bad cultural connotations. Research. A little research can cost a lot less than a failed test.

PRODUCT PRICING

It is crucial to price yourself right from day one.
DON'T UNDER PRICE: Low prices may turn off your customers (they will think you are CHEAP rather than GOOD VALUE).
DON'T OVERPRICE: The Japanese have learned to expect lower prices from US catalogs.

NOTE: DON'T start with a US catalog with US prices and then move up to a Japanese catalog with higher prices. You will lose your customers' confidence. They will think you are ripping them off.

Suggested formula: double your US prices but offer free shipping.

If you cannot give prices in Japanese yen, most of the time it will be OK to quote prices in US dollars. Many Japanese know the day's exchange rate and can figure out what it means in Japanese yen.

MEDIA BUYING

BAD NEWS

• Japanese media are expensive: cpm and cpt costs vary from 2 to 8 times the usual US rates.
• Japanese media are hard to buy for new-comers, especially those in the mail order business. (Mail order business is still considered a bit "disrespectable" in Japan).
• Publishers/broadcasters are often inflexible in what they will or will not accept.
• Most transactions are NOT transparent. Often you're offered a price with no rate explanation or commission structure. Often all you can do is take it or leave it.
• Expect VERY LONG lead-times. For instance, book monthly magazines 2-3 months in advance.
• Don't expect to get an agency discount by buying through your in-house agency. Most of the time, in order to qualify for discount you must be a registered Japanese ad agency.
• THERE IS NO RELIABLE "STANDARD RATES OF MEDIA" OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER. Very few media are subject to anything like circulation or audience audits.

GOOD NEWS
Many publishers, especially daily papers, offer special discount rates for mail order companies. However, don't expect to see such offers until you have been around for some time or have a readily recognizable, established international brand name (and therefore are perceived as a desirable customer).

SHIPPING TO JAPAN

Shipping rates anywhere from $4 to $12 per pound will deliver your product to Japan reliably and between 3 and 12 business days. Shop UPS, TNT (Fastmail), USPS, Airborne Express, FedEx, DHL. They all have competitive rates. RATES ARE NEGOTIABLE. Haggle.

TELEMARKETING

In-bound telemarketing is available. However, there are very few blending operations. Typically, client is expected to pay $20-25 per hour of operator time regardless of the number of calls, PLUS telephony costs, PLUS any set-up costs. Typically, the set up costs will be equal to first-month's projected fees. EXPENSIVE!

Some foreign mail order companies are ganging together to build their own tele centers as a way to beat the gouging. More news soon. NOTE: There is hope. Recent over-investment in telemarketing facilities has created competitve price pressures. More and more reasonably priced telemarketing services are becoming available weekly.

PAYMENT PROCESSING

Relatively few customers carry credit cards. Of those who do, 50% have ONLY the JCB card (a Japanese credit card company). Other popular cards in the order of popularity are: VISA, AmEx, MC, Diners' Club. The preferred method of payment in Japan is postal transfer or electronic transfer between bank accounts (using the ATM machine).

NOTE: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT IN JAPAN through which to clear such payments UNLESS YOU ARE A JAPANESE CORPORATION OR HAVE A JAPANESE SUBSIDIARY. It is possible to clear such payments through third parties at the approximate cost of 5% of transaction. We clear payments for some of our customers through our Japanese subsidiary.

LIST AVAILABILITY AND BROKERAGE

There are no clear guidelines for list trading. As a result, most businesses are afraid to trade fearing that they may be found violating privacy laws. It is possible to identify and obtain certain lists through "hush deals". There is no reason why they should be "hush", but until the Japanese government establishes clear guidelines for list trading, list owners will prefer to remain anonymous. Don't expect to see much in terms of provenance... Instead, try experimenting with smaller quantities. Lists, where available, cost $200-500/M.

ALLIANCES

Certain forms of alliances and tie-ups are commonly practiced with magazines, credit card issuers, utility companies, etc. etc. These "one projects' duration" ventures allow the mail order company access to the partner's mailing list WITHOUT the appearance of a transaction involving sale or rental of the mailing list. We arrange such tie-ups regularly.

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