Already Running Events Back Home? Use Them to Find Partners in Japan

If you're already running events back home, there's a way to put that to use in Japan too.

Instead of sending your own event's press release to prospective customers, send it to the PR department of a company that could become a partner. Not a pitch — a straightforward "here's what we're doing, thought there might be something worth exploring together."

This has led to real alliances more often than I expected.

How It Works

Take a press release from an event you've already held back home, and send it to the PR department of a Japanese company working in an adjacent space, with a simple proposal: could we do something similar here, to raise awareness around the same theme?

If the two companies sit upstream and downstream of each other rather than competing, that opening can turn into a real partnership.

Why the PR Department

A sales team is usually looking for deals. A PR team is often looking for stories, themes and reasons to be part of a broader conversation. An event that has already happened — with a clear theme and a track record — gives them something concrete to react to, rather than an abstract proposal.

An Invitation, Not a Pitch

It's not a sales pitch. It's an invitation to build something together — and that shift in framing changes how it lands.

If finding the right partners in Japan is something you're working through, feel free to reach out.

Natsuki Suzuki is the founder of BANTO, which provides back-office support — accounting, HR and payroll, and administration — to overseas companies and their Japan entities. She spent 15 years in Europe and brings both sides of the cultural equation to every engagement.