Drawing on decades of executive leadership in Japan, Japan Ability helps international companies successfully launch, grow, and transform their businesses.

Japan Ability helps global companies enter, transform, and grow in Japan.

Your hands-on execution partner in Japan

Why global companies often fail in Japan

Japan is attractive, but succeeding in the market is complex.

  • Direct to Japan

    Insufficient understanding of the Japanese market

  • Prioritising the wrong sales channels and misalignment across distributors, retail, and e-commerce

    Wrong channel strategy and priority

  • Misunderstanding the Japanese customer decision-making process

    Underestimating how decisions are made in Japan

  • Strong brand or product, but weak in-store execution and promotion

    Insufficient focus on local retail execution

  • Delays in building the local leadership and sales organization

    Delays in hiring and developing the right local talent

What’s needed is not another report, but

an execution-driven local partner.

Executive Partner

We go beyond consulting.
With hands-on executive experience, we work alongside you from strategy through execution—from market entry and turnaround to business management, P&L ownership, and alignment with global HQ.

  • Launchfrom market assessment to commercial execution in Japan
  • GrowRevenue growth, distribution, and marketing — turning an early foothold into sustainable commercial momentum.
  • LeadExecutive leadership, organization building, and hands-on business management in Japan

  • Japan Market Assessment

    90-day diagnostic 100-day action plan

  • Market Entry Support

    Marketing Strategy, Channel Development, Commercial Launch

  • Business Transformation Support

    Turnaround
    Commercial transformation
    Brand repositioning

  • Fractional Country Manager

    Executive Leadership, Alignment with Global HQ, P&L Ownership

CreatingMarkets.

TransformingBusinesses.

DeliveringResults.

Why Japan Ability

More than advice. Build businesses. Transform organizations. Deliver measurable results.

We combine hands-on operating experience with proven execution to solve complex business challenges and drive sustainable growth in Japan.

  • Identify What Really MattersIdentify the root causes across the market, organization, and people.
  • Design the Right StrategyJapan-specific strategies and actionable roadmaps built for execution.
  • Partner Through ExecutionHands-on collaboration with your team to drive execution and deliver results.
  • Deliver Sustainable GrowthDrive revenue and profit growth while strengthening brands, organizations, and long-term enterprise value.

Trust. Execution. Results.

A Network Built for Execution

Japan Ability provides access to a trusted network across the capabilities needed to launch, transform, and grow businesses in Japan—from distribution and retail to marketing, sales, PR, customer support, and specialist expertise.

  • AccelerateFaster market entry
  • ReduceLower execution risk
  • DriveSustained commercial growth

Our network

  • Distributors
  • Major retailers
  • E-commerce partners
  • Marketing agencies
  • PR & media
  • Sales partners
  • Customer support
  • Ambassadors & influencers

More than advice. Connect the Right Partners.
Execute with speed. Deliver results.

Services We Offer

What you get, the four solutions that deliver it, and the model we run them with.

Outcomes We Deliver

Concrete deliverables that turn strategy into action, across four solutions.

Deliverables

  • 01Priority account plan
  • 02Channel strategy
  • 03KPI dashboard
  • 0490-day action plan
  • 05Executive Performance Review

Solutions

  • LaunchEnter the Japan Market
  • TransformImprove Business Performance
  • GrowAccelerate Growth
  • Executive PartnerSupport Leadership and Execution
View Solutions

A practical
5-step engagement model

  1. 01 Assessment Current-state diagnosis / Issue identification
  2. 02 Design Strategy / Go-to-Market Design
  3. 03 Activate Distributor / Retail / Partner Development
  4. 04 Execute Commercial Execution / Organization / Performance Management
  5. 05 Scale Growth Model Expansion

We do not stop at reports.
We go beyond strategy and recommendations. We support execution, performance management, and on-the-ground business building.

The Business Leader Behind Japan Ability

Business transformation is built through experience and execution.

Founder | Executive Partner

Sho Yoshikawa

Sho Yoshikawa has built his career leading global businesses through Japan market entry, growth, transformation, and turnaround. His experience combines executive leadership, strategic thinking, and hands-on execution.

His experience spans country management, sales, marketing, branding, organization building, and business transformation, with a strong focus on turning strategy into action in the Japanese market.

His career includes leadership roles across Japan market entry, business growth, transformation, and turnaround at global companies including GoPro, Nike, Disney, Pure Fishing, Hill & Knowlton, Cricut, and Electronic Arts.

Through Japan Ability, Sho brings together experienced business leaders and specialist partners to build the right team for each client and each challenge.

That experience is the foundation of Japan Ability: combining strategy with on-the-ground execution to help global companies successfully enter, transform, and grow their businesses in Japan.

Sho Yoshikawa

Core Strengths

Strategy • Sales • Marketing • Brand • Organization • Execution

Integrated Business Transformation

  • LaunchBuild and launch new businesses
  • TransformTransform underperforming businesses
  • GrowAccelerate sustainable growth

Leadership Journey

  1. Disney Senior Product Marketing Manager
  2. Nike Marketing PR • Corporate Manager
  3. EA Vice President, Sales & Marketing
  4. Hill & Knowlton President & CEO
  5. GoPro Managing Director & Sales Director, Japan & Korea
  6. Pure Fishing President & Country Manager
  7. Cricut Country Manager
  8. Japan Ability Founder | Executive Partner

Executive leadership established since Hill & Knowlton. The experiences before that laid the foundation.

Read the Experience

Selected Achievements

Business transformation distilled into 6 numbers explorer the story behind each one.

  • REVENUE ENGINEERED US$50M+

    Revenue growth delivered across engagements

    See the numbers
  • CATEGORY LEADER 85%

    Built GoPro into a leading market position in Japan

    GoPro case
  • RED TO BLACK 2

    Too loss-making business is returned to profitability after 6 and 4 consective years of losses.

    Hill & Knowlton case
  • BUSINESS SCALE US$160M+

    P&L Responsibility as President / Country Head

    See the numbers

Industries We Serve

We help global companies enter and grow in Japan, drawing on deep experience across consumer markets, retail, branding, and development.

  • Consumer Products

    From market entry to nationwide retail distribution for consumer brands and products.

    GoPro · Cricut

  • FMCG

    Channel strategy and retail execution for fast-moving categories.

    Distribution · Trade marketing

  • Home Appliances

    Deep relationships with Japan’s major electronics retailers.

    Yodobashi · Bic Camera · Yamada etc

  • Sporting and Outdoor Goods

    Across sports and outdoor markets.

    Nike · Pure Fishing

  • Entertainment

    IP-driven business development across games, video, and content.

    Disney · Electronic Arts

  • Communications

    Business Transformation, Brand Strategy, and Corporate Communications

    Hill + Knowlton

  • Your Industry?

    The principles of successful market entry, growth, and transformation apply across industries.

    Contact us

Business Transformation,
Case by Case

Seven brands, seven different business challenges—from market entry and growth to transformation and turnaround.

View all Experience