Sourcing from Japan: guides for overseas buyers
These guides are written from how HAM actually works with Japanese suppliers on behalf of overseas buyers. They cover the points that most often stall a first purchase from Japan: unanswered inquiries, parts that are no longer made, and order terms that were never confirmed.
They are general guidance, not a promise about any specific supplier, product, price, or lead time. Every case is confirmed with the supplier before we tell you what is possible.
Guides
Why Japanese suppliers do not reply to overseas inquiries, and how to write one that gets answered
What happens inside a Japanese manufacturer when your inquiry arrives, the five details that make it answerable, and what to do when there is still no reply.
Updated
Learn moreFinding discontinued or legacy parts for Japanese-made equipment: what to check first
How to identify the part precisely, where replacements can come from, what a Japanese maker will ask you, and the realistic options when the original is no longer made.
Updated
Learn moreBuying from Japan: MOQ, lead time, Incoterms, export documents, and certifications to confirm before you order
Minimum quantities, lead time and Japanese holiday periods, Incoterms, payment, export documents and export control, and certifications: what to settle before the first order.
Updated
Learn more
How HAM works with you
HAM LLC. is based in Nagoya, Japan. We handle your inquiry in English, confirm the item, specifications, quantity, and timing with you, and then approach Japanese suppliers in Japanese with a structured request.
We reply by the next business day. Responsibilities for sale, export, contracts, payment, and logistics are confirmed in advance for each transaction.
Hikaru Amishiki, Representative Member, HAM LLC.