Our approach, transparently

The problem

The problem we focus on

Japan faces a generational ownership cliff. In a 2017 estimate still widely cited, the SME Agency projected that by around 2025 roughly 2.45 million SME owners would be 70 or older, and that about half — roughly 1.27 million — had no successor identified. Many of these businesses are profitable, employ loyal staff, and hold decades of accumulated know-how. When no successor appears, the default outcome is closure — not sale. That is the gap between Japan's succession reality and the capital and operators, often foreign, who would gladly continue these businesses. Bridging it in English, accurately, is our entire focus.

The model

Our model, in three phases

1. 01 — Now

   Content authority

   Deep, practical guides and a regular brief grounded in regional understanding and publicly available research. In this phase we make no claim of proprietary deal inventory — anyone telling you otherwise at this stage of a cross-border niche is overselling.

2. 02

   Selective partnerships

   We are formalizing relationships with one or two local Japanese deal practitioners with real sourcing relationships and closing experience. We supply qualified, well-prepared buyer demand; partners supply local trust and process capability. Economics are agreed in writing and transparent to all parties.

3. 03 — Earned

   Facilitated processes

   Only after credibility and demand are proven do we move into facilitated introductions and deal support — bilingual coordination, FEFTA guidance, process management. We expand capacity only with proven demand, never ahead of it.

Ethics

Our ethics, in plain terms

• Source discipline

  Where we cite figures, we prefer primary sources such as METI and the SME Agency — and we say so. Where we estimate, we label the estimate.

• No fabricated deal examples

  Case patterns we publish are anonymized or drawn from information we believe is appropriate to share, and identified as such.

• Confidentiality first

  Partner and seller information is handled carefully. Warm introductions happen with consent, not by broadcasting.

• No over-promising

  We will tell you when a path is slow, expensive, or unlikely. Serious buyers prefer that; so do we.

Audience

Who this is for

Foreign search funds, independent sponsors, small private equity, family offices, and experienced operators — plus the advisors and practitioners who serve them. If you're researching Japanese succession seriously, our goal is simple: by the end of a session here you should understand the real landscape better than after reading anything else in English, and know exactly how to take a confident next step.