Build Your Own Company!

A contract is a document that puts an agreement between two or more people in writing. Written agreements prevent misunderstandings later.

A website is your company's online signboard for the world to see. It's often the first thing customers and investors look at, so first impressions count.

A business plan answers 'What does this company do?', 'How does it make money?', and 'Where will it be in 3 years?' It's needed when convincing banks, investors, or adult partners.

A startup plan is the blueprint for bringing your company to life. It focuses on the very first steps: when, where, with whom, and what to start with.

Financial accounting is your company's record-keeper. By tracking revenue, expenses, and profit, you always know 'how much does the company have now' and 'where is money being overspent.'

Articles of Incorporation are your company's rulebook. They contain the company name, purpose, address, financial rules, and member rules — required when officially founding a company.

An invoice says 'I did this work — please pay [amount].' A receipt says 'I received [amount].' Every money transaction needs one of these.

Marketing is everything from making a great product to making sure people know about it, want it, and buy it. Social media, ads, word-of-mouth, and video are all marketing tools.

Stripe is an online payment service used by businesses worldwide. You can add credit card, bank transfer, and convenience-store payments to your site or app — and with AI help, even beginners can set it up.

Garoop has two professionals protecting the financial and legal side of your business. Tax accountant Koya Shimizu handles taxes and accounting; social insurance labor consultant Tomomi Suda handles hiring and employee benefits. You can consult them directly.

If you have an idea, build a real working product — a web app, tool, or service. The modern standard is to write code with Codex (AI coding), manage it on GitHub, and publish it on Vercel.

Once you have a product or service, it's time to actually sell it. Opening an online store, posting on social media, offering free trials, and word-of-mouth are all ways to get your first real sale.

Hiring people, renting a store, or leasing an office all become 'fixed costs' — money that goes out every month even if revenue is zero. The bigger your fixed costs, the shorter your runway (time before you run out of money). Keeping fixed costs low early on is critical.

Understanding 'where the money comes from (revenue structure)' makes you a much better business designer. Here we look at real data from four Japanese industries — sports, regional revitalization, shipbuilding, and children's services — to see how each one actually earns money. You'll find some surprising numbers!

The IT industry covers businesses using computers, software, cloud, and AI. Japan's IT services market is worth about ¥10 trillion in 2025 and is projected to reach ¥19 trillion by 2031. From giants like NTT DATA, Fujitsu, and NEC to AI startups, it's a huge and fast-growing space.

Japan's foodservice market is worth about ¥43 trillion ($289B) in 2025. How do chains like McDonald's, Yoshinoya, and Sukiya actually make money? Understanding the franchise model reveals how the money really flows in the restaurant business.

Japan's fashion champion is Fast Retailing, which runs Uniqlo. In fiscal year 2025 (ended August), revenue hit ¥3.4005 trillion — up 9.6% year-over-year. Uniqlo uses an SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel) model, controlling everything from design to manufacturing to sales, which drives high profit margins.

Agriculture supports Japan's food supply — but 41.3% of farmer revenue comes from government subsidies, double the OECD average! That shows how hard it is to farm without support. Meanwhile, the smart agriculture/AgriTech market is projected to grow to ¥570B by 2033, with AI, robots, and IoT rapidly transforming farming.

Anime and gaming are Japan's proudest export industries! The anime market hit a record ¥3.84 trillion in 2024 (about ¥2.17T from overseas). The gaming market is worth ~¥3.7 trillion and growing fast. Nintendo, Bandai Namco, and Sony PlayStation lead the world — earning through merchandise, streaming, licensing, and more.

Real estate is the business of making money from land and buildings. Japan's office real estate market alone is worth ~¥11.6T in 2025. Major players include Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Estate, and Tokyu Fudosan Holdings. There are two core revenue models: 分譲 (selling properties) and 賃貸 (renting them out) — each with different risk and return profiles.

Logistics is the business of delivering things. Japan's parcel delivery and e-commerce logistics market is worth about ¥7 trillion in 2025. Yamato Holdings, the largest player, earns ¥1.7626T in revenue with about 50% of Japan's parcel market. Driven by e-commerce growth, annual parcel volumes are hitting all-time records, making logistics one of Japan's most critical infrastructure industries.

When building a company, knowing 'who does what,' 'what documents to create,' and 'what rules apply' is essential. CEO, CFO, directors, shareholders, corporate registry, balance sheets, branches, licenses, patents, trademarks, and laws — you've heard these terms. Here's where you learn them all.