{"id":676,"date":"2026-09-28T23:15:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/?p=676"},"modified":"2026-09-29T00:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:16:47","slug":"sounds-good-is-not-approval-why-japanese-collaboration-deals-take-longer-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/?p=676&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSounds Good\u201d Is Not Approval: Why Japanese Collaboration Deals Take Longer Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

One of the most common misunderstandings I see when overseas companies or event organizers work with Japanese companies is surprisingly simple: someone on the Japanese side says, \u201cSounds good,\u201d \u201cInteresting,\u201d or \u201cI like the idea,\u201d and the other side assumes the project is basically approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may not be. There is a big difference between a positive reaction, personal support from the person you are speaking with, and formal internal approval. The person in the meeting may genuinely want the project to happen and still have no authority to make the final decision. Depending on the project, approval may need to pass through a publisher, production committee, talent agency, legal team, brand-management team, or senior management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British business culture has its own famous use of \u201cInteresting\u201d when something is not necessarily considered interesting at all. Japan can sometimes feel similar. A polite or encouraging response may simply keep the conversation constructive. It should not automatically be read as, \u201cWe have approved this project under these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I experienced this with a collaboration involving a fairly major Japanese anime title. Under normal circumstances, we expected the internal approval process to take around three to six months. Because the title was large and several layers of confirmation were involved, it ultimately took about a year. The idea itself was not necessarily the problem. But by the time approval arrived, we had already missed the best timing for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is another issue people often overlook: similar products and existing collaborations. You may have a great concept, but if a similar product has already been released using the same IP, or if another territory already has a comparable collaboration, your proposal may be rejected or heavily restricted. In licensing, the question is not only, \u201cIs this a good idea?\u201d It is also, \u201cDoes this conflict with an existing product, agreement, territory, or brand plan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before pitching, research your own market and region. Check whether similar products or campaigns already exist. Ask who actually gives final approval, which departments will review the proposal, and what a realistic internal timeline looks like. Most importantly, do not treat the project as confirmed externally until formal approval is actually complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working with Japanese companies, the most useful question is often not \u201cDid they say yes?\u201d but \u201cWhat stage of approval are we in?\u201d A positive \u201cyes\u201d can be a very good start. It is just not always the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical takeaway<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate positive feedback from formal approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask who the final decision-maker is and how long internal approval normally takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research similar products or collaborations in your territory before pitching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most common misunderstandings I see when overseas companies or event organizers work with Japanese […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vk_print_noindex":"","sitemap_hide":"","vkExUnit_EyeCatch_disable":"","_veu_custom_css":"","veu_display_promotion_alert":"","vkexunit_cta_each_option":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en"],"veu_head_title_object":{"title":"","add_site_title":""},"featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",1920,1080,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",600,338,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail@2x":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",1200,675,false],"portfolio_item-masonry":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",600,338,false],"portfolio_item-masonry@2x":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",1200,675,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_cinema":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",596,335,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",600,338,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait@2x":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",1200,675,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_square":["https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LINKED-IN-\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc.png",800,450,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":682,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676\/revisions\/682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contents-construction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}