Who We Are: The TokyoMate Story

Who We Are: The TokyoMate Story

It shouldn’t be harrowing to start a business in Japan. Too often, it is.

TokyoMate has built a platform that allows foreign business owners to conduct daily business with ease, directly enabling business growth, more time for oneself, and a better quality of life.

Our executive team utilizes 40 decades of combined experience doing business in Japan to create TokyoMate’s suite of services tailored to foreign business owners looking to breakthrough into Japan’s market.

How it began.

In Japan, it takes 11 days to start a business and 8 official procedures to get up and running—a foreboding hint of things to come for the foreign business owner.

After decades of navigating Japan’s challenging business landscape, a few serial technology entrepreneurs teamed up with like-minded investors to solve the largest problems they had collectively faced as foreigners doing business in Japan.

They were looking for…

• a faster way to break into Japan’s marketplace.
• an easier way to get Japanese business to-dos done.
• a simpler way to clear Japan’s language barriers.

A mission concept was born: Making it easier to live, work, and do business in Japan, designed by foreign entrepreneurs and founders—for foreign business owners and founders.

How it grew.

Founded in 2019, TokyoMate K.K.’s initial service was TokyoMate Mail, a first-of-its-kind tech solution to Japanese mail, allowing users to access their local mail from anywhere in the world.

Soon after, TokyoMate Assistant was launched: a fluently bilingual native Japanese virtual assistant service, styled after five-star hotel concierge support, to provide the foreign business owner with a ready-made staffing solution to their business needs for translation, social media, and more.

In 2021, TokyoMate’s third service was announced, TokyoMate Receptionist, a virtual receptionist service for foreign-owned businesses, with remote native Japanese bilingual staff who can receive, forward, and handle calls.

Where to next?

“Ideally, a full suite of services,” says David Gallagher, TokyoMate’s representative director, “accessible in TokyoMate’s online dashboard that cuts through the red tape and language obstacles of doing business in Japan.”

TokyoMate’s rapid launch of services is all about meeting the direct demand from foreign business owners. Stay tuned for a broader range of services coming soon.

In short, what we’re about.

We’re obsessed with customer service. We’re in love with technological solutions that push Japan into the future. Above all, we are whole-heartedly dedicated to making it easier for you to live, work, and do business in Japan. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at contact@tokyomate.jp