Working in Japan
If your team in Japan mentioned me.
Thank you for taking the time to check. This page explains who I am, what I would do on a Japan project, and what I would leave to specialists. It takes about three minutes to read.
Download a one-page summary (PDF) to share with your team.
Yuzuru Ishikawa is the founder of Globalcube. Based in New Zealand for more than 20 years, he helps businesses outside Japan work with Japanese partners and customers, in English and Japanese. He helped build a 12-location wellness business in New Zealand and leads business development for a Japanese home-cooking school with more than 100 instructors.
A bilingual bridge, based in New Zealand.
I am a native Japanese speaker and I have been based in New Zealand for more than 20 years. I work in both English and Japanese.
I advise business owners in Japan in Japanese, and I work inside businesses in New Zealand in English. On LinkedIn, about 7,700 people follow my work, most of them business leaders in Japan.
My network in Japan is mainly business owners and leaders across many industries, with particular depth in wellness, food and farming. Most of my work comes through introductions.
What I do on a Japan project
My role is to help both sides understand each other, and to turn a good conversation into a first step that can be measured.
Japan market understanding
Helping both sides understand each other: how Japanese customers and partners make decisions, what they need to hear before they say yes, and how to explain that clearly to head office.
Japan partner search
Looking for the right partners and customers in Japan, through my own network and through people I trust who have much wider networks. My introductions carry my name, so I only make one when I believe there is a real fit on both sides.
Market test in Japan
Turning a good conversation into a small pilot with clear roles, a timeline and the numbers that will show whether it is working. Particularly suited to service, wellness and food businesses.
Bilingual business development for your Japan team
Keeping communication moving between your team in Japan and your head office, in both languages, so that decisions do not stall in translation.
Clear about where my role ends.
Legal and regulatory work, licences, import and logistics are specialist fields. I do not take them on myself.
When a project needs them, I help you find the right people and work alongside them, so that the plan stays connected from the first conversation to delivery.
Work between Japan and other markets
I describe this work by type of business rather than by client name.
A New Zealand mānuka honey businessWith a Japanese partner, I chose a mānuka honey we could recommend with confidence. I looked after the New Zealand side, customer acquisition in Japan and finding franchise partners, reaching 16 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
A Japanese home-cooking schoolSmall-group classes where guests cook everyday Japanese dishes, the kind families eat at home, and then sit down to share the meal. More than 100 instructors.
Japanese content in EuropeHelping a partner in France bring Japanese content to audiences outside Japan.
A multi-location wellness businessSupporting 12 locations across New Zealand, built on a Japanese-inspired approach.
Small, honest first steps.
I start with one question: who are we trying to help?
In Japan, partners usually move after they trust the people involved, and they want to see that the plan will hold before they commit. I prefer small, honest first steps over big promises.
“I promise only what I can measure and deliver.”
Not only Japan projects. I also work one-to-one as an ongoing adviser to business owners, on growth, marketing and building new parts of a business.
If you would like to talk.
Send me a short message through the contact form and I will reply personally by email. Tell me what you are exploring in Japan and who you hope to serve there. A rough idea is fine.
