For overseas buyers of Japanese small businesses
More than 600,000 Japanese companies have no successor. Thousands are already for sale, in Japanese, with the fees and the true profits hidden. TSUGU searches for you and delivers a deal report in your language for every match.
Pilot program: free for the first 3 buyers. A person replies within 3 business days.
Deal report · sample
PursueHealthcare software company
Kansai (Osaka area) · 9 employees
Red flag: Founder is the only person who knows the core codebase
Read the full report →
41,000+
companies listed for sale on a single Japanese marketplace
1.27M
Japanese business owners aged 70+ with no successor
50.1%
of Japanese companies have no successor lined up (2025)
Watch the 80-second explainer
How it works
Four steps from a wish list to owning a company in Japan, with a report at every decision point.
01
Request
Industry, region, size, budget and the things you will not compromise on. Ten minutes, no Japanese needed.
02
Search
We screen companies already for sale on Japanese marketplaces and through partner brokers and accounting firms. No cold calls to owners.
03
Report
For each match: true earnings, the all-in price with every fee, the risks, a verdict and a suggested bid. In your language, within two weeks.
04
Succession
We stay with you through NDA, seller calls, due diligence and closing, then send monthly management reports once you own the company.
Try the numbers
Type what a Japanese listing shows. The calculator applies the same adjustments as our reports. Numbers in millions of yen; dollars at ¥150 = $1.
The deal report
Japanese listings show a profit number and a price. Neither is what you will get or pay. The report closes that gap.
01
True earnings
Owner pay, one-off items and tax-driven bookkeeping normalized, line by line.
02
All-in price
Asking price plus broker and marketplace fees, plus the debt you take over, less cash.
03
Multiple and payback
All-in cost divided by true earnings, so different deals compare on one number.
04
Business quality
Customer concentration, recurring share, prime contractor or subcontractor.
05
Owner dependence
Who holds the customers, who holds the knowledge, and who stays after closing.
06
Hidden liabilities
Unpaid overtime, social insurance gaps, personal guarantees, loans to the owner.
07
Questions and documents
What to ask the seller and which documents to request before you spend on lawyers.
08
Verdict and bid
Pursue, negotiate or pass, with the price we would offer and why.
Sample matches
A US search fund asked for a services business with recurring revenue, up to USD 1M all-in. Here are three of the matches, with details changed.
Kansai (Osaka area)
Software for clinics and care facilities · 2009 · 9 employees
Pursue at asking price. Move within two weeks.
Red flag: Founder is the only person who knows the core codebase
Greater Tokyo
Custom software development and maintenance · 2004 · 18 employees (15 engineers)
Negotiate. Bid ¥85M, walk away above ¥95M.
Red flag: Top client is 48% of revenue and the relationship is the owner's
Kansai
Cleaning and maintenance for condominiums and offices · 1998 · 4 office staff, ≈120 part-time cleaners
Pass, unless you have an operating partner living in Kansai.
Red flag: Owner is the business
Why TSUGU
We are buyers too
The founder is acquiring Japanese small businesses for his own company. Every report is built from the process he uses to spend his own money.
Built by an engineer, read by a person
Our AI reads the Japanese financials, contracts and listings. A person checks every number before it reaches you.
On the ground in Tokyo
We speak to sellers, brokers and accountants in Japanese and sit in on your calls.
Companies already for sale
We do not chase owners who are not selling. That keeps sellers comfortable and keeps you out of dead ends.
Pricing
Fixed search fee up front, success fee only if you close, optional monthly reports after.
Pilot program: free for the first 3 buyers
Through early 2027 we run full searches and deal reports for three buyers at no charge, in exchange for honest feedback. After that, the fees below apply.
Search fee
from USD 2,000
per search mandate
Covers the search across Japanese marketplaces and partner brokers, plus a deal report for each match. Fixed, quoted up front.
Success fee
3–5%
of the deal price, minimum applies
Only when an acquisition closes. Shared with partner brokers where they are involved. Sellers pay little or nothing.
Post-deal reports
USD 300–1,000
per month
Monthly management reports in your language so you can run your Japanese company from abroad. Optional.
Questions
No. Every document you receive from us is in your language, and we sit in on calls with the seller and the broker. You will need a Japanese-speaking manager or advisor to run the company after the deal, and we help you find one.
Yes. There is no general restriction on foreign ownership of small Japanese companies. A few sectors need notification or approval. Running the company yourself in Japan requires a visa, which was tightened in October 2025, so most overseas buyers keep a Japanese manager and own the company from abroad.
From companies already for sale: Japanese M&A marketplaces, partner brokers and accounting firms. We do not cold-call owners, and we do not copy listings. When a match needs a non-disclosure agreement, you sign it and we handle the exchange.
True earnings after normalizing owner pay and one-off items, the all-in price including broker and marketplace fees and any debt you take over, the resulting multiple and payback, customer concentration, dependence on the owner, hidden liabilities such as unpaid overtime, red flags, a verdict with a suggested bid, questions to ask the seller and the documents to request next.
Typically USD 100K to 3M in price, with revenue from USD 300K to 10M. Larger deals exist, but that is where the established cross-border advisors already work.
First matches within two weeks of your request. A deal from first contact to closing usually takes four to eight months in Japan.
We are the buyer's analyst and guide. Where a licensed intermediary is needed, we work with partner brokers and accounting firms and share the success fee with them. We only ever work for the buyer.
Because we use the same process to buy companies ourselves. The founder is an engineer who is acquiring Japanese small businesses for his own company, and every adjustment in the report is shown line by line so you can check it.
Ten minutes to describe what you want. Two weeks to your first matches. Free for the first three buyers.