          
          
          
                  ARE YOU READY TO EXPORT TO JAPAN?
          
          Before your first sale, you should be prepared for all 
          facets of your export business.  How would you answer the 
          following questions?
          
          (1)  Have you selected a team of qualified export advisors?  
               (accounting, tax and customs advisor, attorney, 
               freight forwarder, banker)
          
          (2)  Have you developed a master international marketing 
               plan?
          
          (3)  Do you have long-term commitment by top management to 
               overcome the initial difficulties and financial 
               requirements of exporting?
          
          (4)  Have you carefully selected your Japanese distribution 
               channel?
          
          (5)  Have you researched the markets in one or two 
               geographic areas in which to concentrate your initial 
               export efforts?
          
          (6)  Have you considered the international market potential 
               for each of your products?
          
          (7)  Do you intend to treat your Japanese distributors on 
               an equal basis with their domestic counterparts?
          
          (8)  Have you considered the Japanese market separately in 
               designing your marketplace techniques?
          
          (9)  Are you willing to modify products to meet Japanese 
               regulations and/or cultural preferences?
          
          (10) Will you print service, sale, and warranty messages in 
               the Japanese language?
          
          (11) Are you prepared to provide readily available 
               after-sales service for the product?
          
          (12) Do you understand Japanese laws, culture, and business 
               practices?
          
          (13) Are you prepared to file your patent and trademark 
               applications in Japan?
          
          If you answered "yes" to each of these questions, you 
          should avoid the most common mistakes of potential 
          exporters.
          
