01
Japanese Company Verification
Find out whether a Japanese company is what it claims to be, before you contract or pay.
from $290
See details →
07 · Onmitsu Japan Desk
Japan Supplier Sourcing & Contact
You already buy Japanese goods — often through a proxy or auction service — and you want to know whether you could buy from a Japanese wholesaler, distributor or maker instead. We check the companies, find the right contact, ask in Japanese whether they take new overseas accounts, and tell you plainly what they said.
$490 for one named company Single engagement no monthly contract
Why this exists
For overseas businesses that buy from Japan regularly and want to know whether a direct or wholesale route exists.
Proxy and auction services are a good way to buy from Japan, and for many purchases they remain the right one. As volume grows, some buyers want to know whether a Japanese wholesaler, distributor or maker would sell to them directly. Finding the answer usually means reading Japanese company pages, working out who handles trade enquiries, and asking in Japanese.
That is the work we do. We do not buy, hold or ship goods, and we are not a proxy or auction service. We find out, in Japanese, whether a supplier route exists for you, and we report what the companies said — including when the answer is no.
How it works
What we do, step by step
- Scope. You tell us the company (or the product category), what you buy and roughly how much. We confirm in writing which company we will contact, what we will ask, the price and the delivery date.
- Company check. The company's Japanese name, corporate number and registered address; the department or form that handles trade enquiries; and any published wholesale terms, minimum orders or distributor lists.
- First contact in Japanese. We write the enquiry in Japanese, introducing your business as agreed. You see the Japanese text and an English translation before anything is sent. We send it by email or the company's web form and, if needed, follow up once. Phone calls are not included; if a call is needed, we agree it with you first.
- Report in English. What we did and whether the company replied, with any reply translated; what we confirmed from public sources; what we could not confirm; and the routes that remain (for example an authorised distributor or exporter the company points to).
We do not negotiate prices, place orders, make payments, arrange export shipping, inspect goods or give legal or customs advice. No commission on any deal you close.
Pricing
What it costs
Quoted and invoiced in USD or JPY. One-off engagements; no retainer or minimum term. The 10 business days start once we have the information we need, the scope is agreed and you have approved the Japanese message. If your request does not fit a tier, we quote it before doing any work.
Named Supplier Contact
$490
approx. ¥73,000 · one Japanese company
Report within 10 business days once we have the information we need, the scope is agreed and the Japanese message is approved
- One Japanese company that you name
- Basic company check: Japanese name, corporate number, registered address
- Published trading terms and any stated policy on overseas trade
- First contact in Japanese by email or web form, using a message you approve
- One follow-up if needed. Email or web form only; a phone call is agreed with you first
- English report: what we did, what we confirmed, and whether the company replied
- A reply that arrives within 14 days after the report is passed on to you (without further research or negotiation)
- A second or further company is quoted separately
- No reply, agreement, wholesale price or supply quantity is guaranteed
Supplier Search
Quoted
based on scope and research time
Timeline agreed in writing
- You give us a product category instead of company names
- We look for candidate Japanese suppliers
- Number of candidates and contacts agreed before we start
- A second or further named company is also quoted separately
Initial Guidance
Free
no obligation
A first reply to your enquiry
- Tell us what you buy now and how
- We suggest which route or service may fit
- Where a public service or your current proxy service fits better, we may point you to it
- Does not include detailed research or contacting companies
Questions
About this service
Will this get me wholesale prices?
Not necessarily. We can find out whether a company sells to overseas businesses and on what terms it states. Some Japanese suppliers sell only to domestic accounts or through specific distributors, and limited or brand-managed products may not be available at all. We report what we find; we cannot guarantee a reply, a yes, a wholesale price or supply quantities.
Is this a proxy buying service?
No. We do not buy, hold, pay for or ship goods. If you need items bought and forwarded, a proxy or forwarding service is the right tool, and we will tell you when that is the better fit.
How is this different from Buyer & Distributor Discovery?
Buyer & Distributor Discovery is for companies that want to sell into Japan: we find Japanese buyers for their products. Supplier Sourcing & Contact is the other direction: you want to buy from Japan, and we look into Japanese suppliers for you.
Can you look into secondhand or vintage suppliers?
Yes, as long as they are businesses. Where a supplier deals in used goods, we note the secondhand dealer licence information it publishes, if any. A licence is not a guarantee of authenticity or grading; it is part of a system aimed at preventing trade in stolen goods.
Do you contact companies in your name or mine?
We write as Onmitsu Japan Desk, from our own address, and introduce your business as agreed in the scope. We are not your legal agent and do not sign or commit to anything for you. You approve the Japanese message, with an English translation, before we send it.
Also available
Other things you can hire us for
03
On-the-Ground Representation
We physically go where you cannot, and report back with evidence.
from $490
See details →05
Japan Market Research
Japanese-language sources, read and turned into something you can act on.
from $390
See details →Start a request
Tell us what you need done in Japan.
You do not need a polished brief. A company name, a product, or a question is enough to get a scope and a price back.
How we reply
By email, during our working hours. Our hours are 09:00–18:00 JST, Monday to Friday — that is UTC+9, with no daylight saving.
Office
Altair Akihabara 708, 1-8-4 Kanda-Sakumacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0025, Japan
Email
Phone
+81 3-6319-2800 — answered in Japanese first. Email is faster if you write in English.
Confidentiality
We will sign your NDA before you send anything sensitive. Just say so in the message and we will send it back the same day.