LinkedIn·Tuesday, 28 July 2026·29d ago

🇯🇵 How long does it take to find a business partner in Japan? Longer than most European SMEs expect 🙂 And that's often exactly how…

EU Business Hub - Japan and the Republic of Korea

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🇯🇵 How long does it take to find a business partner in Japan? Longer than most European SMEs expect 🙂 And that's often exactly how successful partnerships begin. Many companies enter the Japanese market expecting to find a distributor, customer or partner after a few meetings. But Japan tends to reward a different approach. Instead, the process often looks like this: 🔹 First meeting: getting to know each other 🔹 Second meeting: understanding technologies, capabilities and needs 🔹 Third meeting: involving additional stakeholders 🔹 Follow-up discussions: building trust and exploring potential collaboration 🔹 Commercial conversations: only after a relationship has been established This is why patience matters. Japanese companies often place significant value on reliability, long-term commitment and mutual trust. Building those foundations takes time, but it can also lead to strong and lasting business relationships. Over the years, we have seen many European SMEs use #EUBusinessHub business missions not only to generate leads, but to build relationships that later evolved into pilot projects, commercial agreements and long-term partnerships. Explore some of their success stories: https://lnkd.in/dq8mMGBq 📍 Looking to explore opportunities in Japan's semiconductor ecosystem? Applications are now open for the EU Business Hub @ Semicon Japan 2026 mission, where European SMEs and start-ups can connect with potential Japanese partners through tailored matchmaking, market intelligence and business support. Apply by 11 September 2026! https://lnkd.in/eAMapHtS