"How to Build Trust in Japan"… Expert Tips from a 'Japan Specialist' Who Spent 18 Years at Fujitsu

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"If you suddenly take out your phone during a meeting in Japan and try to use a translator to converse, while this might be seen as 'working hard' in Korea, Japanese people will think, 'What is this person doing?' and trust will plummet instantly."

Im Sang-wook, COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Channel Corporation's Japan Branch, which operates the enterprise business messenger 'Channel Talk', stated, "In Korea, there is a tendency to believe that showing passion as a startup will earn recognition, but Japan is a harsh business society."

COO Im Sang-wook is a seasoned 'Japan specialist' in the Japanese IT industry. After majoring in Biotechnology and Business Administration at Yonsei University, he joined Fujitsu, one of Japan's leading IT conglomerates, where he worked for 18 years.

After leaving Fujitsu, he served as Asia-wide Partner at US-based PE firm Zenon Partners for about five years. In 2023, he founded the IT consulting company 'Nihonium' to support domestic and international startups in entering the Japanese market. He joined Channel Corporation last March.

Having witnessed numerous companies' ventures into Japan up close, his advice on 'how to build trust locally' is condensed into four points. The first and most crucial factor is language. However, he emphasizes that it is not merely conversational ability, but 'properly prepared Japanese' that matters.

COO Im noted, "Many companies rely solely on automatic translation, use outsourced translations where the translator is unknown, or send emails with raw machine translation." He added, "Whether a company has properly prepared its materials in Japanese becomes the first criterion for judging whether the company is ready for business."

The second point concerns attitude. COO Im stated, "If a person coming to make a business proposal appears unprepared, they lose trust." He explained, "Actions that appear as passion in Korea can actually become negative factors in Japan."

The third point is the market entry method. While most IT solution companies focus on direct sales, his diagnosis is that Japan is a market where agency partnerships and alliances are particularly important.

COO Im said, "While you may focus on direct sales initially, scaling up requires understanding Japanese corporate psychology and forming partnerships with major agencies." He added, "To do business in Japan, negotiations must be conducted from the perspective of 'What can we offer them to open their doors?'"

In fact, since joining Channel Corporation, he has put the most effort into strengthening partnerships. COO Im remarked, "Based on negotiation know-how with large corporations accumulated during his time at Fujitsu, they have formed an alliance with SoftBank group companies." He noted that initiatives like Rakuten integration, which were previously rejected, are now progressing to the point of yielding results.

The final point is the level of localization completion. He cited 'not looking like a Korean company' as Channel Corporation's Japan branch's greatest competitive advantage. This involves conducting all internal communications exclusively in Japanese and deliberately not highlighting that it is a Korean company.

COO Im stated, "We perform thorough Japanese proofreading and localization so that clients feel they are working with a Japanese company." He added, "We must deploy personnel proficient in Japanese to create an impression of being a prepared business partner for partners and customers."

These methodologies lead to the vision he aims to achieve at Channel Corporation. COO Im said, "No matter how much we say this is necessary for success in Japan, there are people who do not listen." He added, "I joined Channel Talk to prove it directly."

Channel Corporation entered the Japanese market shortly after its incorporation in 2014. Currently, about 20% of total revenue comes from Japan, with local clients reaching 25,000. Last year's sales in Japan grew by approximately 50% compared to the previous year, and this year's target is to achieve 15 billion won.

COO Im stated, "The development headquarters should remain in Korea where good engineers are available, while Japan should handle Operational Excellence (efficiency of on-site operations)." He added, "The goal is to build an organization capable of global operations based on this foundation."

Channel Corporation is positioning Japan as a key hub for its global expansion. The plan is to develop in Korea, prove monetization in Japan, and then expand globally. This strategy aims to increase sales volume in Japan, which has a larger population and economic scale than Korea.

COO Im emphasized, "While many Korean companies challenge entry into Japan, few can truly claim success. I aim to directly demonstrate 'at the very least, this is how it must be done.'" He added, "I hope Channel Corporation becomes the ultimate result of that proof."

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