Japan Grants & Subsidy Advisory
Japan runs a dense system of public subsidies for market entry, new products, exhibitions, digital adoption and R&D — and most foreign-affiliated companies never claim any of it, usually because the programmes, the paperwork and the deadlines are all in Japanese. We work out what you are actually eligible for and run the application.
Eligibility mapping
A short review of your entity, headcount, age and plans against the programmes that exist, so you get a shortlist of what you can realistically win — not a brochure of everything that theoretically exists.
Foreign-company support
JETRO Invest Japan and its business support centres provide temporary office space, expert consultations and subsidy navigation for foreign-affiliated firms — non-cash support most companies entering Japan never use.
SME and product subsidies
Once you have a Japanese entity, the SME programmes open up: small-business sustaining subsidies that cover marketing, web and exhibitions, and manufacturing subsidies for new products, prototypes and tooling.
Deep-tech and R&D routes
NEDO programmes for early-stage deep tech, joint industry-academia R&D schemes, and the Osaka prefectural and municipal programmes — several of which do not require venture funding and are open to pre-revenue companies.
The application itself
Business plans, budgets and the required forms, prepared in Japanese and filed through the right portal. Most programmes are lost on presentation and documentation rather than on the merits of the project.
Deadlines and rounds
These schemes run in rounds, merge, change rates and close without much notice. We track which round is open, what changed, and whether it is worth waiting for the next one.
How we work together
Eligibility mapping is a small fixed-fee piece — often the only thing you need, and it tells you quickly whether there is anything worth chasing. Where we then run an application, that is scoped per programme. We do not promise outcomes: these are competitive schemes with published criteria and real rejection rates, and any adviser who guarantees an award is describing something other than how they work.
Tell us what you are building or launching in Japan, and we will tell you whether public money exists for it.