Let Servcorp take care of all the troublesome procedures for establishing a business - Nikkei entrepreneur who started a business in Japan

Servcorp's strength lies not only in our fully functional workspace, but also in our ability to support your business operations with our professional secretarial services. For example, some of our bilingual staff, fluent in English and Chinese, can help you expand your business across borders and support the launch of new projects.

We’ve interviewed Mr. Tadao Mitani of Mitani Business Partners Co., Ltd., a company based in South America, about why he chose Servcorp to start his business in Japan.

Creating a joint project with the Chilean government with plans to import wine and other products in the near future

Tell us about your company...

Mitani Business Partners was established in June 2020. Its parent company, Mitani Holdings, is expanding services in the real estate and travel industry for Japanese expatriates in Chile, Mexico, and Peru. The company is a family-owned business and I’ve been working in Japan for the past two years. While considering new business opportunities in Japan, we’ve had the chance to work together with the Chilean government on a new project. The project is aiming to sell processed foods handled by small to medium-sized companies in Chile on the Japanese E-Commerce marketplace. Currently we sell around 15 to 16 different products on websites like PayPay Mall and Amazon. Our plan to increase the number of products with support from the Chilean government and at the same time we are considering exporting products from Japan to South America.

What kind of products do you sell?

Our company sells honey, quinoa, and black truffle. We’re also in the middle of getting a license to import wine and pisco, a type of distilled liquor. From Japan we are considering exporting seasonings and furniture. I’ve also opened a ramen restaurant with one of my brothers in Chile and it’s going well. Onigiri made with furikake is also a big hit over there.

What kind of business opportunities do you see for Japan and South America?

For example, American Sunkist is the largest company for importing lemons in the Japanese market. The second is a Chilean company. Chile is also the number one importer of Sea Urchins in Japan. And although there is a strong impression that Norway is a huge importer for Salmon, surprisingly Chile also imports a similar amount. I believe that we should focus not only on goods, but also on increasing the number of people traveling between the two countries, which could lead to real business exchange and create more business opportunities.

Difficulties in establishing a company in Japan where digitalization is lagging

Was it difficult to set up a company in Japan?

I can speak Japanese, but my reading and writing skills are limited. I had a hard time negotiating with lawyers and banks. Servcorp staff and google translate really helped me. I was surprised when I was told that procedures in the tax office were not digitized and that everything was done manually (laughs). In South America, all personal data is shared through their national identification number system, which also serves as a proof of identification. You can establish a company from anywhere in the world using your identification password. You don't need a personal seal like we do here, so I always forget to carry it with me in Japan.

What were the most difficult and the best things about starting a business?

Instead of creating a company, it would have been better to just start with a sole proprietorship. Our company still needs lawyers and social workers even if we haven’t hired any employees yet. I’m in a situation where I’m just spending money, but being an established Kabushiki Kaisha, or joint-stock company carries more credibility and trust. Little by little our company is getting bigger and we are getting more work. By incorporating our business, procedures for the chamber of commerce, for example have been very smooth.

Running a company must be difficult?

Well, I don’t have a boss so it’s nice that I don’t have someone constantly telling me what to do (laughs) but then again, all the responsibility falls on me. I never go a day without worrying about taking responsibility in CSR and our employees.

I’ve been running this company for about 30 years now, so not getting enough sleep and stiff shoulders due to stress is normal. I’m constantly thinking about my employees, and I have endless worries about the company’s growth and continuation during this COVID pandemic.

But I’m happy because I’m doing what I like to do. You can do whatever you want, it all just depends on you. The harder you work, the bigger the company will be. It's the same as building strength by doing push-ups, the muscles will follow.

With Servcorp "it's such a relief that we can just hand over our work to them and entrust that they will get the job done."

Out of all the office providers, why did you choose Servcorp?

First, to start a business and rent an office you need a valid address in Japan. I was searching online and stumbled upon Servcorp’s homepage. That’s the first time I had ever heard of a Virtual Office. When I checked the locations, there was one near Tokyo Big Sight which is convenient, because our company usually introduces our products at different exhibitions and events on a weekly basis.

When we have clients that want to showcase their products at the exhibition, we don’t have trouble handling it since the office is close by. What Servcorp was offering was very attractive, so when I toured the office and listened to the services and conditions, I decided to sign the contract.

How are you utilizing the space in Servcorp?

I use the private office as well as the meeting rooms, and although we have receptionists and company assistants in Chile we do not have any in Japan. Servcorp helps cover and assist in those areas that we lack as well, which really helps.

Not only that, our dedicated secretary at Servcorp has supported our company by creating the logo design for our business cards and website. We've also asked our Servcorp secretary to take care of all the procedures necessary for setting up our internet banking. It’s such a relief that we can hand over our work to them and entrust that they will get the job done.

Who would you recommend Servcorp to?

I would recommend Servcorp especially for start-ups and those who are considering expanding their business from overseas. The staff can speak English and the company has a strong global network. For example, Servcorp has an office in New York, so we can have meetings in that location’s conference room.

Normally when you start a business, it takes time and money to rent an office, set up telephone lines, hire staff, and so on. I think Servcorp's services are effective in reducing costs and saving time. By leaving some time-consuming procedures to the Servcorp team, I think I've been able to shorten my workload by about half a year.

What do you think about the cost of using Servcorp?

Some people think that the virtual offices package is expensive, but I disagree. You should be able to figure that out by calculation. Waste of time = waste of money. The time it takes to complete a time-consuming task means we can’t focus on our actual business, so the loss is much greater.

Management is always thinking about how productivity can be increased, so if nothing is happening that’s a big loss. That’s why I feel that Servcorp's fee is overall affordable. I hope you open a location in Chile as well (laughs).